the incredible journey 1963 trailer

The Incredible Journey (1963)

G | Adventure, Drama, Family

• Account Settings
• The Disney Bundle
• Parks & Travel
• Walt Disney World
• Disney Cruise Line
• All Parks & Travel
• Movies Anywhere
• Disney Movie Insiders
• 20th Century Studios
• Accessories
• Disney News
• Disney on Broadway
• Disney on Ice
• Disney Live!
• Walt Disney World Resort
• Disneyland Resort
• Aulani - A Disney Resort and Spa
• Adventures by Disney
• Disney Vacation Club
• D23: The Official Disney Fan Club

The Incredible Journey

November 20, 1963

Action-Adventure, Animals/Nature, Family

Finding themselves separated from their owners by 200 miles, the trio sets out on a perilous trek to find their family. Led by instinct, a young retriever, an old bull terrier and a self-sufficient Siamese cat face hunger, a dangerous bear, rushing rivers and much more along the way. These three unlikely friends soldier on, protecting and caring for one another in one of the most incredible journeys ever.

Rated: G Release Date: November 20, 1963

Directed By

• motionpictures.org
• filmratings.com

The Incredible Journey (1961)

Recommended movies.

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Wings of Life

Secretariat

Trail of the Panda

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos

Eight Below

Aliens of the Deep

Sacred Planet

The Young Black Stallion

Thor Ragnarok

Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange

Adventures in Babysitting

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Tomorrowland

Sorry, Disney+ is not available in your region.

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Walt Disney's The Incredible Journey (1963) Trailer

Video item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

3 Favorites

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

In collections.

Uploaded by The Duke Mitchell Film Club on June 24, 2021

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Link to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• The Fall Guy Link to The Fall Guy
• The Last Stop in Yuma County Link to The Last Stop in Yuma County

New TV Tonight

• Interview With the Vampire: Season 2
• Bridgerton: Season 3
• Outer Range: Season 2
• Spacey Unmasked: Season 1
• After the Flood: Season 1
• The Big Cigar: Season 1
• The Killing Kind: Season 1
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Season 11.1
• Harry Wild: Season 3
• RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars: Season 9

Most Popular TV on RT

• Dark Matter: Season 1
• Bodkin: Season 1
• X-Men '97: Season 1
• Fallout: Season 1
• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• Doctor Who: Season 1
• Hacks: Season 3
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Bridgerton: Season 3 Link to Bridgerton: Season 3
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Cannes Film Festival 2024: Movie Scorecard

The Best Movies of 1999

Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

What’s Next For Marvel’s Merry Mutants In X-Men ’97 ?

Kinds of Kindness First Reviews: Unpredictable, Unapologetic, and Definitely Not for Everyone

• Trending on RT
• Furiosa First Reviews
• Most Anticipated 2025 Movies
• Cannes Film Festival Preview
• TV Premiere Dates

The Incredible Journey

Where to watch.

Watch The Incredible Journey with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Fletcher Markle

Emile Genest

John Longridge

John Drainie

Professor Jim Hunter

Tommy Tweed

Sandra Scott

Mrs. Hunter

More Like This

The Incredible Journey

• Photos & Videos

Film Details

• Articles & Reviews

Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, fletcher markle, emile genest, photos & videos, technical specs.

When the Hunter family depart from their Canadian town for a summer in England, they leave their pets--Bodger (an elderly bull terrier), Luath (a yellow Labrador retriever), and Tao (a Siamese cat)--with their friend John Longridge, who lives in Ontario 250 miles away. Toward the end of the summer, John goes off on a hunting trip, and the three homesick animals set out to find their way back to the Hunter house. During their journey across some of Canada's wildest terrain, the three participate in numerous adventures. There are an encounter with a lynx, a battle with a vicious farm dog, and a scuffle with a bear. Tao, a natural hunter, brings Bodger food after he collapses from weakness. The dogs become separated from Tao when he falls into a river and nearly drowns, but they are reunited after the cat has been rescued and nursed back to health by a little Finnish girl. Luath has a painful encounter with a porcupine, but his wounds are treated by a kindly farmer. Along the way an old hermit entertains the trio as his guests. Upon returning from England, the Hunters are informed of the disappearance of their pets. A short time later a somewhat unhappy birthday party in the Hunter garden is turned into a homecoming celebration as the three pets emerge from the woods behind the house and rush to join the family for a happy reunion.

John Drainie

Tommy tweed, sandra scott, marion finlayson, ronald cohoon, robert christie, beth lockerbie, irena mayeska, eric clavering, james algar, lloyd beebe, carroll clark, robert o. cook, jack couffer, walt disney, halleck h. driscoll, chuck keehne, evelyn kennedy, william r. koehler, john b. mansbridge, mickey mccardle, pat mcnalley, william o'sullivan, norman r. palmer, kenneth peach, walter sheets, charles thompson, erwin l. verity, oliver wallace.

Filmed on location in Canada.

Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM.

Your Browser is Not Supported

To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers:

Safari v11+

Firefox Quantum

Microsoft Edge

• Live-action films
• Homeward Bound
• G-rated films
• Films about animals
• Films based on books
• Português do Brasil

The Incredible Journey

• View history
• 5 Copyright info
• 6 References

The Hunter family receive a telegram detailing that the father, James, has been offered a visiting fellowship at Oxford University in England. However, their two children, Peter and Elizabeth worry about what is to be done with their two dogs, Luath the young Labrador Retriever and Bodger the elderly English Bull Terrier, along with their Siamese cat Tao, while they are away. Family friend John Longridge offers to have the animals stay with him, so that is what is arranged.

After a few days of having the animals in his care John leaves for the opening day of duck hunting season; he leaves his housekeeper, Mrs. Oakes and her husband, Bert to look after his house and the animals during his absence. Soon after John drives away, Luath hears the calls of wild geese overhead, returning home. This makes him want to do the same, so he starts off down the road, and Tao and Bodger soon follow after him. Later, Mrs. Oakes arrives at John's house expecting to see the animals, but can't find them. Then she finds half of a note that John had written that appears to imply that he took the animals with him on the trip (however, the other half of it was accidentally knocked into the fireplace by the cat, but Mrs. Oakes doesn't realize this).

Now well on their way home, the animals stop at a river to have a drink, but have to hide from a passing truck in case they are recognized. After that, they continue on. By the next morning, old Bodger is very tired and is beginning to slow down, so the animals stop for a rest in a clearing and wait for Bodger to regain his strength. Tao goes off into the brush to hunt a partridge while the old dog rests. Soon, two bear cubs happen upon Bodger and investigate him, but then their mother arrives on the scene. The mother bear thinks Bodger has been hurting her cubs and attacks him; the cat witnesses this and in turn attacks her in trying to protect his friend. However, Tao eventually backs up, frightened. Finally, Luath sees the bear and starts barking furiously; this, combined with the yowling, spitting cat, is enough to cause the mother bear to back down and run away.

After a whole week of traveling, the animals adapt to traveling after dark so that there is less chance of someone seeing them. They cut through an old saw mill, but are shot at after Bodger, rather foolishly, steals an old bone from a cookhouse's rubbish bin. They escape unharmed, although Bodger's dignity is given a serious blow. After ten days, while Bodger is resting, he hears the singing of a hermit, named Jeremy.

The eccentric old man takes the animals to his hut, where he makes a stew for them to eat. The dogs don't really take to the stew and Tao is more interested in stalking Jeremy's pet crow, but they don't show that they aren't interested. After a while they decide to leave and continue their journey. Many miles along, the animals come to a wide river, which they realize they have no choice but to cross. Luath and Bodger make it across easily, but Tao prefers not to get wet so he finds a dam to cross. However, when he reaches a large gap, he tries to jump over it but falls into the water. Luath tries to rescue him, but is too slow to keep up and loses him.

After trying to console one another, Bodger and Luath decide to press on without their friend. However, many miles downriver, a young girl named Helvi discovers Tao, soaking wet, barely alive, and half-starved, by the side of the water. She and her parents proceed to take Tao into their care and nurse him back to health over a number of days. One night, after recovering fully, the cat decides to leave the family and get back to the dogs.

Tao takes his time in traveling, now that he is alone. But, as he journeys deeper into the forest he discovers that he is being quietly stalked by a hungry lynx. The lynx attacks Tao and chases him up a tree, but he escapes. Then, the lynx corners Tao in a log, but is driven off by the arrival of a young boy with a rifle, allowing the cat to press on.

Not long after that, Luath and Bodger hear Tao calling. They immediately recognize their friend and the threesome are joyfully reunited. Together once again, the animals set off in search of food. Luath spies a porcupine, but gets too close to it, leaving him with quills stuck in his muzzle. Soon, while soothing his pain at a river, Luath meets hunter James MacKenzie, who takes pity on the young Labrador and brings him back to his house for treatment. When he arrives, he discovers that his wife Nell has found Bodger. The cat hides on a wood pile outside the house, watching and waiting and unnoticed by James or Nell. James removes the quills from Luath's muzzle (despite initially being on the receiving end of Bodger's protective instincts over the young dog) and that night, he locks the dogs in his barn, planning to ask around and find out who they belong to. Tao then rejoins his friends.

Meanwhile, John arrives home and it is discovered that the animals have disappeared. After some initial confusion as to why, the humans deduce that Luath has taken them home. John telephones the various ranger stations around the Ironmouth Range area, but they all say they will get in touch with him the following day. Later, the Hunters arrive home; John lets them know what's happened and Peter is quick to realize that an older dog such as Bodger most likely wouldn't have the strength to complete a journey so long, but Elizabeth remains firmly convinced that Tao will, sooner or later, return home. The animals, meanwhile, escape from the barn and the humans realize where they are and that they have only 40 miles left to go; this leads the humans to believe that if they've managed to get this far, they just may be able to make it all the way home.

On Peter's birthday soon afterwards, John gets Peter a registration paper from the Kenmore kennel, who are holding another Bull Terrier puppy in his name. All of a sudden, Elizabeth hears a dog barking in the distance and becomes immediately convinced that it must be Luath. Despite initial reservations, James whistles to the dog to see if Elizabeth is right; moments later they see Luath charging across the heathland ahead and barking, overjoyed to have finally returned home. A few seconds afterwards, Tao follows on and also arrives home safely.

Sadly, Peter is convinced that Bodger wasn't able to make the journey because he was too old, but is happy to see Tao and Luath again. Just then, Peter suddenly spots a white shape on the horizon, which he soon realizes is, in fact, Bodger, coming as quickly as he possibly can. The boy and the old dog are ecstatic to be reunited once again. The cat and Labrador join Bodger and Peter in their frolicking and all is well as the three very brave animals finally complete their incredible journey.

• Emile Genest as John Longridge
• John Drainie as Professor James Hunter, the father and husband of the Hunter family
• Sandra Scott as Nancy Hunter, the mother and wife of the Hunter family
• Marion Finlayson as Elizabeth Hunter, the daughter and sister of the Hunter family
• Ronald Cohoon as Peter Hunter, the son and brother of the Hunter family
• Tommy Tweed as Hermit
• Robert Christie as James MacKenzie
• Beth Lockerbie as Nell MacKenzie
• Beth Amos as Mrs. Oakes
• Eric Clavering as Bert Oakes
• Muffy as Bodger, a Bull terrier
• Rink as Luath, a Labrador retriever
• Syn Cat as Tao, a Siamese cat

Gallery [ ]

In 1993 , Disney made a new version of the film, entitled Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey . Featuring the voices of Don Ameche, Sally Field , and Michael J. Fox , the film keeps the same basic story line, but adds a subplot in which the kids are dealing with a new step-family. All three pets are renamed, the original breeds are switched, the Bull Terrier is replaced with an American Bulldog, the gender of the cat switched, and the ages of the original Labrador and Bull Terrier are switched. It also has vocalizations of the animals' thoughts and communications with each other.

Copyright info [ ]

The film's copyright was renewed on October 3 , 1991 . [1] The copyright to the story it is based on was also renewed in the U.S. [2]

References [ ]

• ↑ Online Copyright Catalog search (form autofilled, pressing "begin search" brings up the entry)
• ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries (Source material)
• 2 Inside Out 2
• 3 Inside Out 2/Gallery

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

The incredible journey.

Directed by Fletcher Markle

Three against the wilderness... nothing could stop them - only instinct to guide them across 200 perilous miles of Canadian wilderness!

The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?

Émile Genest John Drainie Sandra Scott Jan Rubeš Tommy Tweed Syme Jago Marion Finlayson Ronald Cohoon Robert Christie Beth Lockerbie Iréna Mayeska Beth Amos Eric Clavering Rex Allen

Director Director

Fletcher Markle

Producers Producers

Walt Disney James Algar

Writer Writer

James Algar

Original Writer Original Writer

Sheila Burnford

Editor Editor

Norman R. Palmer

Cinematography Cinematography

Kenneth Peach

Art Direction Art Direction

Carroll Clark John B. Mansbridge

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Emile Kuri Charles S. Thompson

Composer Composer

Oliver Wallace

Sound Sound

Robert O. Cook

Costume Design Costume Design

Chuck Keehne

Makeup Makeup

Pat McNalley

Walt Disney Productions

Releases by Date

20 nov 1963, 15 oct 1964, releases by country.

• Theatrical 0
• Theatrical G

80 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by FilmApe ★★★ 3

As a kid you're like "look at the cat in the water, I hope it lives, and it did, hooray". As an adult you're like "they just threw a cat into some rapids, and it looks like it is going to drown, and they probably had five other cats to take its place if it did, people suck".

Review by Dan Abel ★★½

Three pets, a Bull Terrier, a Golden Retriever, and a Siamese cat are left with a relative while the family travels for a job. After watching a flock of geese flying west the animals decide to do the same and take an incredible journey 250 miles through to wilderness in hopes of returning home.

A few days ago I chose Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey to be my 700th review. I like all of my centennial reviews to be special films that have a chance of being granted that elusive five star rating, and that film is one that I've seen many dozens of times while growing up. I love it. It was while I was writing that review that…

Review by Bryce Receveur ★★★

So these dogs can go on an incredible 3 week journey to return to their owners where they avoid death by bear, drowning, and gun shot but you can't text me back?

#DumbMemePost

Review by Craig Lumley ★★★½ 4

VERY GOOD DOGS AND CAT <3<3<3 They should have gotten oscar nominations. I bet them traveling to the oscars would be interesting to see. Imagine them on the red carpet! And then maybe some misguided person from PETA would throw paint on them for wearing fur.

Review by Leighton Trent ★★★½

A simple, old fashioned animal adventure that can still rope me into very much caring all these year later despite the telegraphed story and Rex Allen's drawl-like narration that feels like the nature documentaries Disney was putting out around the same time as this. Though the 90's remake (and its sequel) will always be my nostalgia, this is about as charming and wholesome as charming and wholesome can get - and sometimes that's just fine.

Review by Gorr The Pod Butcher ★★½ 1

One of the few Disney movies where the cat is not racist.

Review by reed 📽️ ★★★★

Well, I think this is just as charming as the remake! Rex Allen’s narration feels like a safe place for me. (Solely because his voice transports me to Carousel of Progress)

There was a lot that is really unchanged in the remake! It was honestly a lot of fun to watch the original. The scenery is gorgeous and the colors are immaculate.

ABC's of Disney+

Review by Zā ★★½ 3

The animal actors are incredible, though I am a little wary of them being stressed during this production. Especially interacting with a bear and a lynx!! (Also this film calls lynxes evil and like... what?) It's overall very quaint like most Disney films of this era. It feels like a documentary with the narrator giving exposition and then it being weirdly interrupted by human actors.

I remember I only watched this like once as a kid. The Homeward Bound movies were my favorite, but the animals didn't talk in this one so I found it so boring!!

Review by Rylan California ★★½ 2

Did... did they actually get a porcupine to fuck up that dog?

Review by Matthew Noble ★★★½

"Funny how they seem to know each other... "

Saw this movie many times as a kid, along with the remake and its sequel. The parts with the humans are typical Disney fluff, but everything with the three pets is still engrossing over five decades on. Some sequences left me pondering how the crew filmed it, or how they got the animals to do certain things. Good stuff.

Seeing the poster in Inside Llewyn Davis was a lovely Easter egg, btw. I wonder if the Coens are fans, or if they just picked it because of that title.

Review by Andrew Worboys ★★★

I wish my cat could fight off a bear nearly single handily

Review by 🌸George🌸 ★★ 2

I don’t know what Disney did to make animals do things and I don’t really wanna know.

Select your preferred poster

Upgrade to remove ads.

Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Please consider upgrading to a Pro account —for less than a couple bucks a month, you’ll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages ( example ), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads!

THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

MPAA Rating

Produced by, released by, the incredible journey (1963), directed by fletcher markle.

• AllMovie Rating 7
• User Ratings ( 0 )
• Your Rating
• Overview ↓
• User Reviews ↓
• Cast & Crew ↓
• Releases ↓
• Related ↓

Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Characteristics, related movies.

• Rankings FA
• TV Premiere Calendar
• Coming in 2024
• Latest Reviews
• Cannes 2024 New

The Incredible Journey

• Credits 
• Image gallery  [2]

All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and/or producers/distributors.

• John Drainie
• Tommy Tweed
• Sandra Scott
• Marion Finlayson
• Ronald Cohoon
• Robert Christie
• Beth Lockerbie

• See all credits

All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.

User history

The Incredible Journey (1963)

Three against the wilderness... nothing could stop them - only instinct to guide them across 200 perilous miles of canadian wilderness.

• Release Date: 1963-11-20
• User Rating: 6.6 / 10 from 102 ratings
• Runtime: 1h 20min
• Language: English
• Production Company: Walt Disney Productions
• Production Country: Canada, United States of America
• Director: Fletcher Markle

The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?

Is The Incredible Journey on Disney Plus?

Yes! The movie The Incredible Journey is now on Disney Plus in the countries listed below.

Émile Genest

John Drainie

Sandra Scott

Jan Rubeš

Tommy tweed, marion finlayson, ronald cohoon.

Robert Christie

Beth lockerbie, iréna mayeska.

Eric Clavering

Related Movies

A Boy Called Woof!

The Island of Thirty Coffins

Without Family

The Money Pet

狼犬历险记

Call Of The Wild

One Million B.C.

The Flaming Signal