You've probably seen it.

If you tuned into PBS any time during the 80s, you probably saw a woodsy wildlife show, featuring a big guy with a thick beard, huge grin and homegrown narration style. That's Marty Stouffer, and that's "Wild America."

Marty has two brothers, Mark and Marshall, who are also widely-acclaimed wildlife documentarians. WILD AMERICA tells the story of the summer of 1967, when the three boys left home on a half-insane mission to document America's most endangered and most dangerous predators.

It has _nothing_ in common with the TV show.

The "happy camper" persona Marty Stouffer projects on "Wild America" belies how wild he and his brothers were as teens. Marshall, the youngest, narrates the story, and proclaims it "the story of how I survived my older brothers." The movie opens with Marty and Mark forcibly strapping Marshall into a chair, hoisting him a good ten feet over a pool, cutting the rope, then throwing cherry bombs into the pool. They tell Marshall they expose him to the risk of maiming and death to "build character." But it's their own adrenaline rush they're after. Mark and Marty film Marshall's perils and stunts of their own to screen for their friends.

In addition to danger and filmmaking, the boys love wild animals. Their mother takes in wounded wildlife; owls and fawns commingle with the usual dogs and cats sharing the Stouffer house. When Mark and Marty spot an Arriflex 16 in the local camera shop, the idea of a career forms. The two of them would film endangered animals before they vanished. But not just any endangered animals -- predators, big predators. They would get the shots that no-one else would dare get. The fearless shots. The dangerous shots. The outright, dumb-as-you-can-get, asking-to-have-your-head-chomped-off shots.

Needless to say, Marshall sneaks along for the ride.

It takes a while for the film to reach this point, and at times it feels as aimless as the boys' lives. But once they hit the road, WILD AMERICA becomes genuinely exciting. The Stouffers search with frightening dedication and naivete for a legendary cave of a thousand sleeping bears. Along the way, the interaction with their subjects made "the story of how I survived my brothers" seem to mean "the story of how I outlived them." Between alligators, wolves and F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers, there's action and suspense worthy of a summer blockbuster with three times the budget.

The relatively low budget of WILD AMERICA shows in special effects that are less than state-of-the-art. Digital compositing and animatronics are often obvious. And yet, because it was such a strong story and I cared for the characters, I found myself gripping the chair as much as I had during THE LOST WORLD.

While I was able to look past the unpolished special effects, other aspects of the film stretched my credulity. Until its very end, boys' mission seems charmed. They encounter no problems with money, no problems with equipment, despite their utter lack of experience and support. Throughout the film, Marshall displays a grating "wisdom beyond his years." I felt forced to chalk up a lot of it to, "well it's based on a true story, so it must have really happened."

I wish WILD AMERICA had ended in the wild, for that was its strongest point. Instead, it follows the boys back home where they must deal with their parents and struggle against the impression that the mission was a failure. The plot meanders, accumulating events that seemed warranted for historical accuracy and the development of relationships, but added little to the movie overall.

The three stars were well cast to target WILD AMERICA's projected early- and pre-teen audience. Scott Bairstow, who plays Marty, looks like a young Chris O'Donell, cut with Ewan MacGregor. Devon Sawa, who plays Mark, looks a bit like a morph between Matthew Modine and Leonardo DiCaprio. And Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who plays Marshall, reminds me of nothing if not a 12-year old Val Kilmer. (Thomas has the biggest credits of the three -- he did the voice of young Simba in THE LION KING and, yes, he's one of the sons on "Home Improvement.") These kids have more than looks, though. They act well and they act well together. I had no problem believing they were brothers.

With a few scenes trimmed from the beginning and end of the film and with a slightly grittier road trip, WILD AMERICA could have been one kicking flick. It's still quite enjoyable as it is, but it has an uphill battle for viewers. Much like FLY AWAY HOME, WILD AMERICA is being positioned as a kids movie. This pits it against the marketing might of HERCULES. It could probably interest teens and adults, too, but I can't imagine it pulling a big crowd away from the summer's bloated blockbusters.

WILD AMERICA may indeed slip through the cracks. But if you miss it at the box office, it is worth checking out on video.

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