I remember seeing old yeller and savage sam back in the 1960's and always looked for the remakes and then one day they had them...

Old yeller is most definitely a classic and the original where the red fern grows is equal to old yeller... The part 2 of where the red fern grows is not that good and the remake of said movie is not that good either...
So for someone who has not seen any of them , would it be best to watch the originals or the remakes ?
I'd say the originals. They just don't always appeal to the younger crowd.