Where the Red Fern Grows is a 2003 American drama adventure film directed by Lyman Dayton and Sam Pillsbury and starring Joseph Ashton, Dave Matthews, Ned Beatty and Dabney Coleman.

Based on the children's book of the same name by Wilson Rawls and a remake of the 1974 film of the same name, it follows the story of Billy Colman who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhound hunting dogs to hunt raccoons in the Ozark mountains.

He takes care of it, having a flashback to when he was a ten-year-old boy living in the Ozark mountains with his parents and two younger sisters.

After coming across an article in a sportsman magazine offering a pair of Redbone coonhounds, he earns the money himself by working for two years.

He reveals the money to his Grandpa, having kept it a secret from his family, fearing his father would use it for a long-needed mule.

Billy's impatience and concern for his pups' wellbeing drive him to sneak out the following night to walk to Tahlequah.

While at his Grandpa's store, his rivals - Rubin and Rainie Pritchard - challenge him to a bet to hunt and chase the Ghost Coon, which seemingly disappears every time a dog trees it.

Grandpa persuades Billy to enter Old Dan and Little Ann in a championship raccoon hunt in the Ozarks.

Billy decides to accept, agreeing with Grandpa that Dan and Ann deserve to prove their worth.

As they move, older Billy narrates his desire to return to the Ozarks, "where the red fern grows".