Where the Red Fern Grows is an American family adventure film, directed by Lyman Dayton and Sam Pillsbury. The film stars Joseph Ashton, Dave Matthews, Ned Beatty and Dabney Coleman. It is based on the children's book of the same name and follows the story of Billy Coleman who buys and trains two redbone coonhound hunting dogs to hunt raccoons in the Ozark mountains.
An older Billy Coleman (Kris Kristofferson) rescues a Coonhound from attack by another neighborhood dog. The older Billy Coleman takes the coonhound home with him so its wounds can heal. In light of this event, Billy has a flashback to when he was a ten year old boy living in the Ozark mountains with his two coonhounds.