Where the Red Fern Grows

The movie takes place during the great depression. A little boy, Billy (Joseph Ashton), wants a couple of red tick coon hounds, but the family does not have the money. Billy shows persistence as he works for two years at odd jobs to save up for his dogs. His Grandfather (Dabney Coleman) orders the dogs after Billy has the money. After Billy gets the dogs, he begins to train them and soon they are able to hunt. During his first hunt the dogs chase the coon up a large tree and Billy again shows persistence in chopping down the tree, which takes more than a day. Some bully boys, the Pritchards (Andrew Dickison and Stuart Dickison) challenge Billy and his dogs to catch the "ghost coon"--an all-white animal. Following that adventure, Billy, his grandfather, and dad (Dave Matthews) enter the dogs in a competition. They are successful there, although it takes a lot of effort. Then one day, Billy is hunting with the dogs and trees a mountain lion and one of the dogs is seriously injured. Throughout the movie, Billy has been growing into a mature young man and this last sequence challenges his faith in God.