Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967)

hyped garbage

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Winston Hibler directed this pleasant story from Walt Disney studios about a group of loggers in the Pacific Northwest who adopt an orphaned cougar cub they found in the woods, and make him their unofficial mascot, who entertains them with his playful antics throughout camp. When he gets bigger, it isn't quite so funny, since he tends to raid and wreck their kitchen! When Charlie gets lost, he embarks on a series of adventures that cause him to revert to being wild, so when he finally makes his way back to camp, starts to become destructive, and possibly dangerous, though one man in particular(played by Ron Brown) is determined to save his life, and protect his future(along with a nice lady cougar he met along the way...) Entertaining film is fun for the whole family, and cat lovers in particular.

Excellent film. I don't know how they contained a cougar, domesticated or not, as he ran through a town, a lumberyard, etc. How did a cougar run around in the open forest without just taking off? I wouldn't trust my cats or dogs to do this. Must have been a very well-trained cougar. I never knew that log flumes stretched for over ten miles! How did they get the cougar to ride a log? It was obviously happening, since there was no computer generated imagery back then. The part where he chased a raccoon up a tree and they both fell in the river....I don't know if that borders on animal cruelty - what did they do - release a raccoon and let the cougar chase it? How many raccoons did they go through until they got it right?? I actually watched this movie on the big screen TV with my two cats in the room. They were riveted - I think it's their favorite movie. My black cat, Shaft, jumped up on the table in front of the screen and stayed there - watching Charlie's every move. Too funny!

I recently saw this film on TV for the 1st time in more than 30 years. The memories it brought back are indescribable. It reminded me of a time when Disney made family films that were not just cartoons. For those of us who are parents now, it is becoming harder and harder to find films that we can take our children to, except for cartoons. It is very sad that films such as Swiss Family Robinson, Candleshoe and Freaky Friday are no longer being made. And after seeing this film again made me curious about what happened to the cougar who played Charlie. As far as I know, he never played in another film. Where did he live and when did he die? If anyone knows, I would appreciate any information they can offer.

this is one of my favorite movies ever! along with casablanca and cannibal holocaust, this is near perfect cinema. rex allen narrates this wonderful tale of a cougar who just needs a little loving. contains action, adventure, suspense, comedy, and riverbed chaos! SEE THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVE TO KILL TO DO IT!!! you will not find a better cat picture anywhere, with "cat from outer space" coming in as a not so close second. charlie's performance is magnificent. even includes animal cruelty and intense logging! gotta love disney, for all moral failures!