HOME ON THE RANGE
-----------------
Maggie (Roseanne Barr) is a dairy show cow at the Dixon Ranch until its
entire herd is stolen one night by the West's Most Wanted, Alameda Slim
(Randy Quaid, "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle"). After his ranch is
foreclosed, Maggie's heartbroken owner Abner gives her to Pearl (Carole
Cook, "The Incredible Mr. Limpet"), who runs the idyllic dairy farm known
as "Patch of Heaven." No sooner has Maggie locked horns with Pearl's
fastidious bovine hat-wearer Mrs. Caloway (Judi Dench, "Shakespeare in
Love") than she's faced with the foreclosure of the home she hasn't even
settled into. Backed by younger cow Grace (Jennifer Tilly, "Monsters,
Inc."), Maggie convinces Mrs. C to try and beat bounty hunter Rico (child
actor and playwright Charles Denis) in the race to capture Slim and save
the farm in "Home on the Range."
Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner, has declared traditional cel animation dead,
but there is plenty of life in the exuberant "Home on the Range." While
the kids get to watch loads of colorful animal characters engage in all
sorts of adventures, adults will be tickled by loads of in jokes.
As the film's opening credits run to its first new song, we see a hapless
rabbit given the Wile E. Coyote treatment as herds are driven across the
prairie. Roseanne Barr, our narrator, introduces Maggie with 'That's me.
I'm a cow.'
This style of irreverent humor is woven throughout this 'save the farm'
saga. Visual gags include three hens simultaneously laying eggs upon being
introduced to Maggie, and the peg-legged Lucky Jack (Charles Haid, TV's
"Hill Street Blues"), the aforementioned rabbit who lost his foot for the
luck it brought. Dialogue is spiked with witticisms ('It's a chick thing'
Grace tells Maggie after Mrs. C is brought low by the accusatory looks of
four baby hens) and punny references to zodiac symbols, Glen Campbell tunes
and Dreamworks animations. Bounty hunter Rico appears to have been named
just for the delight the filmmakers got from using an immortal Edward G.
Robinson line from "Little Caesar." Grace gets to quote Mae West. The
standoff between Maggie and Slim, with Slim framed in the landscape beneath
Maggie's ponderous udders, is a comical take on classic spaghetti Westerns.
Casting Roseanne Barr against Judi Dench was a stroke of genius - the oil
and water nature of this combination perfectly fits their characters, with
Maggie being a loud mouthed, vulgar entertainer who puts the refined Mrs. C
into high dudgeon. Jennifer Tilly is equally right for the naive, off-key
peacemaker Grace. Cuba Gooding Jr. ("Radio") fares better as the voice of
Buck, an egotistical, karate practicing horse, than he has in recent film
roles. Other talents on hand include Joe Flaherty ("National Security") as
Jeb, a stubborn old goat who presides over a pile of cans, story
contributor Sam Levine as the voice of Slim's three dimwitted nephews and
Texas Governor Ann Richards as a saloon owner. The animators do a terrific
caricature match for Steve Buscemi ("Big Fish") as Slim's oily partner in
crime Wesley.
The debut feature directing team of Will Finn (Supervisor of Disney
characters Cogworth and Iago) and John Sanford (story developer "Atlantis,"
"Lilo & Stitch") shepherd their characters through brawls, floods and
runaway trains while developing loyalties against heartland issues still
relevant today (OK, maybe not the herd hijacking). The film's only
weakness is the work of usually reliable composer/songwriter Alan Menken
("Beauty and the Beast"), who fails to come up with a memorable tune this
time around. That failing is shored up by employing such exceptional vocal
talents as k.d. lang and Bonnie Raitt. The best musical moment is a
psychedelic song and dance number that showcases Slim's ability to
hypnotize cows with his yodelling. Yee-haw.
B+
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