History Main / KidsWildernessEpic

* * Literary Example: ''Two Years'' Vacation'' by Creator/JulesVerne, is another early example, written in 1888. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff This particular story was very popular in Japan]] and influenced numerous anime and video games.

* * Literary Example: ''Two Years Vacation'' by Creator/JulesVerne, is another early example, written in 1888.

* Literary Example: ''Two Years Vacation'' by Creator/JulesVerne, written in 1888, may be the UrExample.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' (1998 - 2001) is basically the animated-series version of this genre, but for a [[LighterAndSofter slightly younger demographic]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AstroKid'': Combines many elements of this genre with {{Robinsonade}} [[RecycledInSpace in space]]. Protagonis Willy is a ten-year-old boy, whose parents are space explorers. Their ship is wrecked by asteroids, and Willy ends up in an EscapePod that crashes on an unknown planet. While waiting for rescue, he learns to survive (first aided by a surival robot named Buck), befriends a local animal he names Flash and who becomes his loyal companion, and survives several encounters with vicious wildlife. There are no villains though; just wild beasts and a harsh environment.

* While we're on the subject of cartoons... ''[[{{WesternAnimation/Rugrats}} The Rugrats Movie]]''! The main cast gets lost in the woods and try to get home. And they're BABIES!

* Literary example: the ''Literature/StephanieHarrington'' series is about an adventurous girl, the daughter of two scientists, who is a colonist on the planet Sphinx. Something of a {{Reconstruction}} of the genre, as her first adventure in the wilderness results in her [[RealityEnsues almost being killed]], and the adults see to it that she is better supervised and receives the type of training that will allow her not to die a senseless death in the [[DeathWorld vast wilderness of Sphinx]]. The local natives also pull double-duty as the cute animals Stephanie must protect from the poachers who [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman refuse to consider the 'cats as sentient beings.]]

* ''Film/{{Walkabout}}'' (1971) may be the TropeMaker

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' (1990) although it should be mentioned that unlike many other examples, the boy protagonist of this movie actually lives in the Australian outback and therefore knows his way around in the wilderness.
* ''Film/AFarOffPlace'' (1993) - the [[Film/{{Wild}} other movie]] where Creator/ReeseWitherspoon goes for a walk in the wilderness.
* ''Film/TheAmazingPandaAdventure'' (1995) is your standard-issue one of these. That is, aside from a bizarre scene in which the young boy and girl (thankfully not siblings in this case) decide to get naked... well, not so much "decide" as "panic and strip while trying to get rid of the ''leeches''", but still rather unexpected.

* ''Film/{{Alaska}}'' (1996): Complete with BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins-wearing, MagicalNativeAmerican mentor.
* ''True Heart'' (1997)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' (1998 - 2001) is basically the animated-series version of this genre, but for a [[LighterAndSofter slightly younger demographic]].

* ''The Coral Island'' is both a book, and much earlier than any of these (1857), but fits the basic description. ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' was intended as a {{Deconstruction}} of this.

* [[{{Literature}} Literary]] Example: ''Baby Island''

* ''WesternAnimation/RaceForYourLifeCharlieBrown'' (1977) The Peanuts gang has a white water race down a river in the wilderness and encounter numerous perils and hazards along the way, with Charlie Brown learning a little bit about leadership and getting some self-respect -- though it isn't much.

* In the same vein as the above, ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' (2015). Once again the main character isn't human and neither are the villains, but it otherwise follows the mold pretty closely. It even has the requisite "cute animal" that the hero befriends and the villain wants to kill-- except that this time, the animal in question is a ''human''.
* ''The Gods Must Be Crazy II'' (1989)
* In a roundabout way ''Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'' (1989) is sort of one, except the "wilderness" in a backyard... but the kids [[IncredibleShrinkingMan have been shrunk]] and a few other "classic" elements of this show up.

* ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002) has some elements of this genre.
* ''Film/{{Ulvesommer}}'' (2003) has some elements, but has a DumbBlonde [[GlamorousSingleMother "Glamorous" Single Mother]] who ReallyGetsAround, the KidHero is a single girl, although the boy she wants to be LikeBrotherAndSister with has a huge crush on her, and the hunter crosses the MoralEventHorizon.
* Literary example: ''Literature/MySideOfTheMountain'', presents the most realistic wilderness epic (with a happy ending) possible. A very long time is spent recounting the vast amount of research the main character did to prepare for his stay in the woods.
* Literary semi-example: In the Literature/SovereignStoneTrilogy, Children of Dunner who are called to become Dominion Lords are required to hunt through the wilderness to find Dunner's grave. One of the main characters goes through it with his sister (though it is only described in passing).
* Literary example: the ''Literature/StephanieHarrington'' series is about an adventurous girl, the daughter of two scientists, who is a colonist on the planet Sphinx. Something of a {{Reconstruction}} of the genre, as her first adventure in the wilderness results in her [[RealityEnsues almost being killed]], and the adults see to it that she is better supervised and receives the type of training that will allow her not to die a senseless death in the [[DeathWorld vast wilderness of Sphinx]]. The local natives also pull double-duty as the cute animals Stephanie must protect from the poachers who [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman refuse to consider the 'cats as sentient beings.]]
** It's only partially in this genre because after the original short story (which formed the core of the first book when expanded upon later) really involves Stephanie having to survive on her own at all (with the help of Climbs Quickly, the Treecat she befriends). Most of the rest of the books take place at the Harrington homestead or in more metropolitan settings on Sphinx, such as Twin Forks.
* ''The Bones on Black Spruce Mountain'' by David Budbill. Yet another example of the author having [[ShownTheirWork shown his work]] by depicting all the research and knowledge necessary to live safely in the wilderness--and this is for a trip just a few short miles away from home, for less than a week! Despite the occasional hazards and dangers the boys in the book face (particularly when climbing the titular mountain and weathering a terrible storm), the book is generally not filled with death-defying escapes due to the knowledge they have gained from camping and their next-door neighbor who acts as TheMentor. There's also no befriending of cute animals or danger from poachers and such. The book does, however, have a very mature theme to it worthy of a Newbery Medal, with the meaning of friendship, family, loneliness, and despair being explored; and the boys, who are not related but one of which has been adopted by the other's parents, do bond even more as a result of the journey.
* Literary example: ''Literature/IslandOfTheBlueDolphins'' details the survival of a Nicoleño girl, Karana, who is left stranded on her island when her people are taken away on a ship. Initially, she and her brother Ramo work together to gather food and maintain their home, but when he is killed by a pack of wild dogs she must survive on her own - for nearly two decades.
* Literary example: ''Literature/TunnelInTheSky'', which starts off with a group of high school students sent on a survival test on an uninhabited planet. The test is meant to last a few days at the most, but they realize they're stranded when no one comes to retrieve them. The students must band together to survive on the alien planet until they can be rescued - however long that takes.
* ''Music/KidsPraise'': The fifth album has shades of this; the kids are hiking up a mountain to go camping, and throughout the narrative, the kids have a lot of difficulties: tents are hard to set up, hiking is hot, sweaty work, and when it gets dark, two of the kids get lost when they disobey Psalty's instructions to stay on the trail.
* ''WesternAnimation/AstroKid'': Combines many elements of this genre with {{Robinsonade}} [[RecycledInSpace in space]]. Protagonis Willy is a ten-year-old boy, whose parents are space explorers. Their ship is wrecked by asteroids, and Willy ends up in an EscapePod that crashes on an unknown planet. While waiting for rescue, he learns to survive (first aided by a surival robot named Buck), befriends a local animal he names Flash and who becomes his loyal companion, and survives several encounters with vicious wildlife. There are no villains though; just wild beasts and a harsh environment.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies.'': A bunch of kids get stranded on a DesertedIsland..... [[TeenageWasteland and then proceed to collapse into anarchy and start murdering each other without the mitigating influence of civilization.]]
* ''[[Literature/BriansSaga Hatchet]]'': City kid gets stranded in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his back and a hatchet. He nearly dies multiple times from poison berries, wild animals, malfunctioning equipment, and other things, and he is always miserable, hungry, and filthy. And then once he gets back to civilization, he's so changed from his experience in the wilderness that he can't fit in anymore.
* ''Literature/LifeOfPi'' is like ''[[Literature/BriansSaga Hatchet]]'' except it's set [[RecycledInSpace on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean]] and [[PantheraAwesome has a tiger]]. The protagonist's family is killed, and he resorts to acts of increasingly extreme savagery and brutality in order to survive.

* ''Walkabout'' (1971) may be the TropeMaker

* ''A Far Off Place'' (1993) - the [[Film/{{Wild}} other movie]] where Creator/ReeseWitherspoon goes for a walk in the wilderness.

* ''A Far Off Place'' (1993) - the [[Film/{{Wild}} other movie]] were Creator/ReeseWitherspoon goes for a walk in the wilderness. (
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* ''A Far Off Place'' (1993)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' (1988) could almost be a complete example, execpt that the "kids" in this case are juvenile dinosaurs, and the villain in question is a predatory T-rex that is stalking them.

* ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder'' (1990) although it should be mentioned that unlike many other examples, the boy protagonist of this movie actually lives in the Australian outback and therefore knows his way around in the wilderness.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies.'': A bunch of kids get stranded on a DesertedIsland.....and then proceed to collapse into anarchy and start murdering each other without the mitigating influence of civilization.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies.''
* ''[[Literature/BriansSaga Hatchet]]''

* Literature/TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon

* ''Film/FarFromHomeTheAdventuresofYellowDog'' (1995): It's about a boy and his dog, and there's no human villains, but otherwise, yeah.

* ''Film/FarFromHome:TheAdventuresofYellow Dog'' (1995): It's about a boy and his dog, and there's no human villains, but otherwise, yeah.

* ''Film/Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'' (1995): It's about a boy and his dog, and there's no human villains, but otherwise, yeah.

* ''Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'' (1995): It's about a boy and his dog, and there's no human villains, but otherwise, yeah.

* ''The Coral Island'' is both a book, and much earlier than any of these (1857), but fits the basic description. It's what ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' was intended as a {{Deconstruction}} of.

* Literary semi-example: In the SovereignStoneTrilogy, Children of Dunner who are called to become Dominion Lords are required to hunt through the wilderness to find Dunner's grave. One of the main characters went through it with his sister(though it is only described in passing).

* Literature/TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon

* ''Disney/TheRescuers Down Under'' (1990) although it should be mentioned that unlike many other examples, the boy protagonist of this movie actually lives in the Australian outback and therefore knows his way around in the wilderness.

* Arguably, Christopher [=McCandless=], as documented in the biography (and film) ''[[Film/IntoTheWild Into the Wild]]'' tried to pull this off in real life. He was a upper-class college graduate who gave away all of his money to charities, hitchhiked across America, then tried to live through the winter in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness. The subversion comes in when he was found dead the next spring, having accidentally poisoned or starved himself to death.
** Despite the deconstruction, [[MisaimedFandom there is a noticeable amount of people who see McCandless's story as "inspiring" and have expressed their desire to emulate him.]] To the extent that fans of the movie and book [[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-30-1898419718_x.htm do pilgrimages to the bus site]]. This bewilders many local Alaskans, who don't understand how so many people became obsessed with a young man--who in their minds, is just one of ''many'' people who have gone into the wilderness unprepared and died before their time.

* [[{{Literature}} Literary]] Example: ''Baby Island'' (Was this ever made into a movie?)
** Dear God I hope not.

* The villains are {{Evil Poacher}}s. They come in two varieties: menacing killers and ''Home Alone''-esque [[TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily idiots]] (it ''was'' the '90s, after all).

* ''Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'' (1995): It's about a boy and his dog, and there's no poachers, but otherwise, yeah.

* ''TheBlueLagoon'': Children are shipwrecked and benefit from none of civilization's knowledge- including sex education. Cue freakouts when the girl gets her period.