The Incredible Journey

The Incredible Journey is a 1963 adventure film directed by Fletcher Markle and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Scottish writer Sheila Burnford, the film follows the adventure of Luath the Labrador Retriever, Bodger the Bull Terrier, and Tao the Siamese cat as they journey 300 miles (480 km) through the Canadian wilderness to return to their home. The film's human cast consists of Émile Genest, John Drainie, Tommy Tweed, and Sandra Scott, with Rex Allen providing narration. Released on November 20, 1963 by Buena Vista Distribution, the film received $4.2 million in overall rentals. It was the final film to be scored by longtime Disney composer Oliver Wallace, who died two months prior to its release. Plot One night, deep in the forests of Ontario, bachelor John Longridge plans a long hunting trip. His housekeeper Mrs. Oakes is coming the next day, so he leaves her a note, including how he plans to let the three animals staying with him - Tao the Siamese Cat, Luath the Yellow Labrador, and Bodger the elderly English Bull Terrier - out for a morning run. He retires to bed, and reflects on how his friend John Hunter (Luath's owner, who lives nearly 250 miles away) received an offer for a visiting fellowship at Oxford University. Tao and Bodger belong to Hunter's children Elizabeth and Peter, respectively, and Longridge offered to take in all three pets while the family was away. Tao, meanwhile, accidentally knocks the crucial half of the note into the fireplace, destroying it.