"Home on the Range"
Patch of Heaven dairy farm, run by kindly Pearl (voice
of Carole Cook), is an idyllic place where seldom is
heard a discouraging word. That is until two things
happen: a brazen show cow named Maggie (voice of
Roseanne Barr) descends upon the ranch as its newest
member and Sheriff Brown (voice of Richard Riehle), on
his arrogant horse Buck (voice of Cuba Gooding, Jr.),
comes bearing bad news. Unless she comes up with $750
in three days, Pearl will lose the farm and all of the
creatures she protects. It is up to the farm's bovines
to get the money and save the ranch in "Home on the
Range."
The animation industry has gone through some huge
changes over the last decade as the computer-generated
imagery (CGI) has taken dominance over the old
fashioned hand drawing. Walt Disney Studios challenges
this domination with its latest traditional 2-D action
adventure anime - and, once again, comes out on top.
Maggie's owner lost his farm after the infamous cattle
rustler, Alameda Slim (voice of Randy Quaid), and his
gang, the Willie brothers (voice of Sam J. Levine),
stole his herd and the bank foreclosed on the
rancher's property. Now broke, the poor cattleman can
no longer take care of his sassy cow and gives her
into Pearl's care. But, dark clouds loom over Patch of
Heaven when they learn of their own predicament with
the bank. Pearl, in despair, is at her wits end over
what to do. Her prize cow, Mrs. Calloway (Judi Dench),
a very proper Brit bovine, wants to stick by her
owner's side, but Maggie has other plans.
When the third Patch bovine, Grace (voice of Jennifer
Tilly), sides with Maggie's plan - go into town, get
Buck's help to get an extension from the bank, enter
the upcoming county fare, win first prize and pay off
the mortgage - and Mrs. Calloway reluctantly agrees to
join in the quest. Once in town, though, they learn
that there is no chance in getting an extension but
they also learn that there is a reward for the capture
of Alameda Slim - $750!! Maggie comes up with Plan B:
hook up with a chuck wagon, join a cattle herd, get
rustled and capture the notorious thief. A piece of
cake.
The plan works flawlessly, except for one thing. Slim
is a yodeler and uses his hypnotic talent to mesmerize
almost every one of the cattle but for one - Grace,
who, fortunately for the trio, is tone deaf and immune
to Slim's siren song. Meanwhile, Buck hooks up with
the famous bounty hunter, Rico (voice of Charles
Dennis), and joyfully ports his new master on his hunt
for the rustlers. It becomes a race against the clock
and each other as the cows test their mettle, with the
help of a peg-legged rabbit named Lucky Jack (voice of
Charles Haid), against the mesmerizing Alameda Slim
and the unexpected treachery of Rico.
"Home on the Range" has those qualities, whether in
cel drawing or CGI, which represents terrific,
for-all-ages family entertainment. The film starts out
light enough with Maggie and her owner hitting the
road. "California or bust" says the sign on their
wagon and we learn the real situation. One by one, the
local ranchers are being robbed of their cattle and,
without income, lose their ranches to be bought up at
a discount by the mysterious Mr. Y. O'Del. Then we
find out that Patch of Heaven is the only property
left and it looks like that will be lost to the
speculator's greedy clutches. With all the subterfuge,
thievery, treachery, a flash flood and other dangers,
the subject matter will have resonance for older kids
and beyond.
Remember, though, that this is a Disney animation with
barnyard animals as heroic figures, lots of bright
colors, catchy tunes (at least for the younger kids)
and silly humor that will appeal to the diminutive
crowd for repeated viewings. The slapstick humor is on
par with the best of Warner Brothers's Roadrunner and
Coyote cartoons from the 1950's - this is especially
well done during the opening credits sequence when we
meet the capable but extremely unlucky Lucky Jack.
Two long time animators, Will Finn and John Sanford,
make their feature film debut as directors and
screenwriters with a fresh, delightful take on that
old western staple - save the ranch. This duo and
their creative teams of animators and vocal talents
have crafted an imaginative rip roarin', action packed
yarn. The colorful, amusing characters are coupled
with six original songs by eight-time Oscar winner
Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater that will
entertain the kiddies (although I did not find the
songs too memorable). The quality of the cel animation
is classically accomplished with great attention to
character expression and background details.
Of course, high quality animation needs equally high
quality voices and "Home on the Range" excels in this
aspect. Roseanne Barr is perfect as the voice of
Maggie. The comedienne gives the right tone of
impudence to the corpulent three-time Golden Udder
Award winner. Dame Judi Dench lends dignity to
straw-hatted Mrs. Calloway who may be a bit too formal
but has it in her to lay it on the line to help save
her mistress's farm. Jennifer Tilly rounds out this
bovine trio as the ditzy, tone-deaf, holistic Grace.
Tilly's off-key rendition of "She'll Be Coming 'Round
the Mountain" is ear piercingly amusing.
Besides the well-voiced lead triumvirate, the
supporting vocal cast is richly fleshed out. Cuba
Gooding, Jr., combined with the great animation of
Buck, makes the ambitious horse, "a legend in his own
mind" according to Mrs. Calloway, a hero in the end.
Randy Quaid is first class as the artistic criminal,
Alameda Slim, and his alter ego. Sam J. Levine's
voicing of the none-too-bright Willie Brothers
provides some very funny comic relief in a film loaded
with humor. Charles Haid, too, does a fine job giving
Lucky Jack a voice that suits the character perfectly.
Even Governor Ann Richards does her bit as the owner
of a dance hall that the cows invade in their mission
to save Pearl's Patch of Heaven. The rest of the
characters are given vocal attention that one rarely
sees anymore in animation.
The humor runs the gamut from silly slapstick for the
kids to some very witty one-liners that, many times,
made me laugh out loud. The filmmakers even pay homage
to Edward G. Robinson in "Little Caesar" with the line
from that great gangster movie. "Home on the Range" is
the kind of movie that will have the adults,
especially those with kids (and, who may not have much
choice), watching it again and again to get all of the
jokes not meant for little children comprehension.
This mixture of child and adult humor is skillfully
blended in the Finn and Sanford script.
If you are of a mind to catch a rip snortin', very
funny, action-adventure with thrills, spills and a
great deal of heart, then do I have a movie for
everyone - and it is only 76 minutes long. This is
true "fun for all ages" and I give "Home on the Range"
an A-.
robin@reelingreviews.com
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