Film

The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family

Name: The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family
Genre: Adventure, Family
Released: 1978
Cast: Robert Logan, Susan Damante, Heather Rattray, Ham Larsen, George Buck Flower

Survival adventure

A 1978 family adventure about the Robinsons, who've left civilization to live in the Colorado wilderness. It's earnest outdoors cinema with real mountain scenery, genuine peril (avalanches, wolves, blizzards), and a philosophy that family bonds matter more than creature comforts. For viewers who want their adventure genuine and their sentiment unironic.

TMDb rating

3.2

If you liked this

The Adventures of the Wilderness Family1975

The original that started it all. Robert Logan and his real family built something authentic—actual mountain living, real animal encounters, no studio tricks. Pure seventies sincerity about choosing nature over suburban life.

But The pacing is deliberate, almost meditative. If you want action-movie beats, this moves at the speed of a family unpacking boxes.

The Adventures of the Wilderness Family poster

Jeremiah Johnson1972

Robert Redford in the mountains, trapping beaver, living off the land with real consequence. Gorgeously shot, far more mythic than the Wilderness films but sharing that reverence for wilderness self-reliance and isolation.

But It's a revisionist western with genuine tragedy baked in. The ending won't settle for easy comfort.

Sometimes a Great Notion1971

Paul Bunyan as a logging dynasty drama. Stunning Oregon scenery, Henry Fonda versus Paul Hogan in a family that chooses hard work and independence over surrender. That same stubborn faith in self-sufficiency as a value.

But Three hours long and it's really about family stubbornness and its costs, not adventure for its own sake.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Grey Owl1999

Both explore the fantasy of leaving civilization for authentic wilderness life, but *Grey Owl* asks what happens when the dream meets who you actually are. It's the dark mirror.

Pierce Brosnan as a man who abandons English society to live in the Canadian wilderness with his wife, protecting beavers and teaching the world about conservation. It's the Wilderness Family dream but with moral complication—he's not who he claims, and nature demands truth.

But A later film with a more mature, melancholy view of escape. The man is complicated and flawed. Not family entertainment, and the ending is sad.

Heaven's Gate1980

Cimino's epic about settlers and civilization versus wilderness. If the Wilderness Family films represent the dream, this is the nightmare—what happens when the dream meets actual history and competing claims.

But It's notoriously long, slow, and philosophically dense. Not a family film. The failure of the American pastoral is the whole point.

Alive1993

A true story of survival in the Andes that respects both the mountains and the human breaking-point. Beautiful cinematography, real stakes, family bonds tested by actual horror rather than scripted danger.

But It ends with cannibalism. The tone is serious, sometimes grim. This is survival as trauma, not philosophy.

The Black Stallion1979

A boy and a horse on an island, learning to trust and survive together. Released the year after *Further Adventures*, it shares that gentle faith that nature teaches us what matters. Gorgeous to watch.

But It's quite slow and meditative. The second half involves horse racing, which might feel like a tonal shift if you came for the island sequence.

Where the Red Fern Grows1974

A boy and his hunting dogs in the Ozark Mountains. Deeply felt, respectful of both the wilderness and the animals within it. That same authentic seventies reverence for outdoor life and what it teaches.

But It builds toward real, grief-stricken animal death. Not a comfortable film. The sentiment is genuine but the cost is high.

My Side of the Mountain1969

A boy lives alone in the Catskills for a year. Low-budget, authentic seventies family fare that trusts the audience to find peace in quiet self-sufficiency. Genuinely moving without being manipulative.

But Nothing much happens. If your idea of adventure requires conflict or stakes, this offers only peace and learning.

Race for the Yankee Zephyr1981

A New Zealand adventure about a downed plane and wilderness salvage. Lesser-known gem with real scenery, practical stunts, and that same earnest belief in competence and family resilience.

But The plot is pretty thin and it shows its modest budget. The acting is solid but not famous. This is deep-catalogue territory.

Quest for Fire1981

The core story is the same: a family unit enduring wilderness trials to survive and flourish. But where the Robinsons find joy in simplicity, these ancestors find only hunger and fear. Same structure, absolute opposite emotional register.

Prehistoric humans journey across a harsh landscape to find fire, communicating almost wordlessly. Shot in real wilderness with authentic hardship. A primal version of the Wilderness Family survival story—humans testing themselves against nature without modern safety.

But It's deliberately made in a strange language you'll subtitled. Scenes of violence and sexuality. And it's bleak—survival here isn't peaceful, it's desperate.