The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986) on Netflix
R19861h 38mAdventureDramaFantasy
Five-year-old Ayla is orphaned by an earthquake and injured by a cave lion in Paleolithic Europe. Iza, healer of a Neanderthal clan, takes her in though chief Brun ordered her to die.
- Netflix1.6/5
- IMDb5.4/107,547 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes10%
Trailer
Plot summary
Ayla is a Cro-Magnon child of five in Paleolithic Europe when an earthquake orphans her and a cave lion leaves her badly hurt. Starving, exhausted and infected, she is found by Iza, healer to a band of Neanderthals known as the Clan. Chief Brun wants the child of the Others left to die, but Iza refuses to abandon her, and her brother Creb, the Clan's shaman, believes the spirit of the cave lion marked Ayla and so allowed her adoption. Traveling with the Clan, Ayla wanders away while they discuss what to do and discovers a large cave suited to their needs, which wins her a place among them. She grows up quick-minded among people whose ancestral memories she lacks, and must hide her intelligence because she is female.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The cast worked in mountain locations wearing little more than animal pelts in temperatures as low as 5F, and the Neanderthal make-up took three and a half hours a day to apply. It was created by Michael Westmore and Michele Burke, who had already won make-up Oscars for Mask and Quest for Fire.
- The cave bear was played by Bart the Bear in one of the animal actor's earliest roles, and for some shots he was swapped for an animatronic bear built by Sonny Burman and Steve Johnson.
