***Gentle Ben in the wilds of Northern California with Dean Cain and Ashley Laurence*** A boy from Los Angeles (Reiley McClendon) visits his ranger uncle (Dean Cain) in remote Northern California where he tries to save a friendly black bear from poachers and a rancher who’s convinced the bear is slaughtering his sheep (Corbin Bernsen). Gil Birmingham plays an AmerIndian ranger while Cody Weiant appears as a tomboy who assists the kid & bear. Released to TV, “Gentle Ben” (2002) wasn’t based on the late 60’s TV series, which took place in the Florida Everglades as opposed to Northern Cal. The movie was popular enough to produce a sequel with the same cast the next year. It belongs to the family wilderness drama/adventure genre and comes across as a meshing of movies like “Prophecy” (1979), “Magic in the Water” (1995) and “Free Willy” (1993), albeit with a TV budget. (Yes, “Prophecy” is a horror/thriller but, like the other two flicks, was shot in the same general region, has an Indian side character and involves a threatened animal species). Ashley Laurence from the Hellraiser series is on hand as the ranger’s potential babe, Dakota. She’s winsome and looks great in jeans; I wish she had a bigger role though. Ashley, the magnificent locations, the bear and the quality cast make this TV flick worth catching for those interested. Martin Kove even shows up as a genial mountain man. The movie runs 1 hour, 29 minutes and was shot in Placer County, Northern California (Auburn & Foresthill). GRADE: B-/C+

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