It’s Film
Strip Friday!
Home on
the Range
Release
Date April 4th, 200
SYNOPSIS:
When a
greedy outlaw schemes to take possession of the "Patch Of Heaven"
dairy farm, three determined cows, a karate-kicking stallion named Buck, and a
colorful corral of critters join forces to save their home. The stakes are sky
high as this unlikely animal alliance risks their hides and match wits with a
mysterious band of bad guys.
FUN FACTS:
Home on the Range is a 2004 american animated musical western feature film produced by Walt disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on April 2, 2004, and was named after the popular country song "Home on the Range". The 45th feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, it was the last traditionally animated Disney film until 2009's The Princess and the Frog, and the last Disney animated film to be released on VHS.
Set in the old west, the plot centers on a mismatched
trio of dairy cows – brash, adventurous Maggie, prim, proper Mrs. Calloway and
ditzy, happy-go-lucky Grace (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench and Jennifer
Tilly respectively) – who must capture an infamous cattle rustler, for his bounty,
in order to save their idyllic farm from foreclosure. (As Grace puts it,
"Who better to catch a cattle thief...than a cow?") Aiding them in
their quest is Lucky Jack, a feisty, peg-legged rabbit, but a selfish horse
named Buck (Cuba Gooding Jr.), eagerly working in the service of Rico, a famous
bounty hunter, seeks the glory for himself.
Plot
Maggie is the only cow left on the Dixon Ranch after
Alamida Slim (a cattle rustler capable of stealing 500 in a single night) stole
all the rest of Dixon's cattle. Mr. Dixon sells Maggie to Pearl, a kind and
elderly woman that runs a small farm called Patch of Heaven.
The local Sheriff arrives to tell Pearl that her bank is
cracking down on debtors. Pearl has three days to pay the bank $750, or her
farm will be sold to the highest bidder. Hearing this, Maggie convinces the
other cows on the farm (Grace, a happy-go-lucky character, and Mrs. Calloway,
who has had leadership gone to her head) to go to town to attempt winning prize
money at a fair.
While the cows are in town, a bounty hunter named Rico
(who Buck, the Sheriff's horse, idolizes) drops a criminal off and collects the
reward. Stating he needs a replacement horse to go after Alamida Slim while his
own horse rests, he takes Buck. When Maggie find out that the reward for
capturing Slim is of exactly $750, she convinces the other cows to try to
capture him to save Patch of Heaven.
That night, they hide among a large heard of steers, when
Alamida Slim appears. Before any of them can do anything, Slim begins a yodeling
song which sends all the cattle (except Grace, who is tone deaf) into a trance
that causes them to dance madly and follow Slim anywhere. Grace is able to
bring Maggie and Mrs. Calloway back to their senses just before Slim closes the
path behind him with a rockslide to stop Rico and his men from chasing him.
As Rico discusses with his men what his next move will
be, Buck starts talking with Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway as old friends
and miming actions. This causes Rico to believe Buck is frightened by cows, and
sends Buck back to the Sheriff. Buck escapes, determined to capture Slim for
himself to prove his worth. Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway are left behind,
but they meet a peg-legged rabbit named Lucky Jack, who leads them to the
Slim's hideout mine.
At the mine, Slim reveals that he has been stealing all cattle from his former patrons. When his former patrons can't support their land anymore, he buys the land when it is auctioned off, under the guise of the respectable-looking Mr. O'delay, using the very money he gets from selling the cattle he stole.
After arriving to Slim's hideout, the cows capture Slim.
They run off with Slim's accomplices and buyer in pursuit on a steam train.
Rico arrives. When the chase stops, Rico is revealed to work for Slim.
Slim dons his O'delay costume and leaves the cows
stranded in the middle of the desert with the train, while he goes to attend
the auction. However, the cows arrive using the train to the farm and expose
Slim. Slim is arrested by the police, and Patch of Heaven is saved by the
reward money.
Cast
Rosanne Barr as Maggie. Chris Buck served as the
supervising animator for Maggie.
Judi Dench as Mrs. Calloway. Duncan Marjoribanks served
as the supervising animator for Mrs. Calloway.
Jennifer Tilly as Grace. Mark Henn served as the
supervising animator for Grace.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Buck. Michael Surrey served as the
supervising animator for Buck.
Randy Quaid as Alameda Slim. Dale Baer served as the
supervising animator for Slim.
Charles Dennis as Rico. Russ Edmonds served as the
supervising animator for Rico.
Charles Haid as Lucky Jack. Shawn Keller served as the
lead animator for Lucky Jack.
Carole Cook as Pearl Gesner. Bruce W. Smith served as the
supervising animator for Pearl.
Joe Flaherty as Jeb the Goat. Sandro Cleuzo served as the
supervising animator of Jeb.
Steve Buscemi as Wesley. Mark Henn served as the
supervising animator for Wesley.
Richard Riehle as Sam the Sheriff. Sandro Cleuzo served
as the supervising animator of the Sheriff.
Lance LeGault as Junior the Buffalo. Dale Baer served as
the supervising animator for Junior.
G.W. Bailey as Rusty. Mark Henn served as the supervising
animator for Rusty.
Patrick Warburton as Patrick
Estelle Harris as Audrey the Chicken
Sam J. Levine as the Willie Brothers. Russ Edmonds served
as the supervising animator for the Willies.
Ann Richards as Annie
Production
Prior to the film's release, Disney stated that it would
be their last film in their animated features canon to use traditional
animation. Although Disney animated films have featured some computer-generated
effects for many years, Disney announced plans to move entirely to CGI
animation after Home on the Range, beginning with 2005's Chicken Little,
and laid off most of its animation department. However, after the company's
acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, new leaders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull
decided to revive traditional animation, and announced the 2-D animated film, The
Princess and the Frog. Still, Home on the Range is the final feature in
the canon to use the CAPS system which was first fully used in The Rescuers
Down Under. The film began pre-production after the release of Pocahontas in
1995. In August 2000, the film was announced as Sweating Bullets and
scheduled for a fall 2003 release. The title was changed to Home on the
Range in April 2002. This film was originally slated to have been released
in November 2003, but story and production problems forced Disney to swap
release dates with Brother Bear (originally slated for spring 2004) in December
2002. The studio also broke from its own tradition of releasing major films at
either Thanksgiving or summer vacation (to maximize the family audience),
releasing it on April 2.
Release
Box
office
The film had a budget of about $110 million, making a
U.S. box office gross of $50,026,353, and a worldwide gross of $76,482,461.
Critical
reception
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 55% of critics gave
positive reviews based on 118 reviews. According to Metacritic, the film's
average rating was 50%, based on 30 reviews. Users gave the film a 4.2/10
approval rating based on 12 votes.
Soundtrack
Home on the Range: An
Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Disney’s
2004 animated feature Home on the Range. It contains music written by Alan
Menken and Glenn Slater, and vocal songs performed by k.d. lang, Randy Quaid, Bonnie
Raitt, Tim McGraw, and The Beu Sisters along with the film's score composed by
Alan Menken. The album was released on March 30, 2004 by Walt Disney Records.
(You Ain't) Home On The Range - Chorus
Little Patch of Heaven –k.d. lang
Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo – Randy Quaid and Chorus
Will The Sun Ever Shine Again – Bonnie Raitt
(You Ain't) Home On The Range - Echo Mine Reprise -
Chorus
Wherever The Trail May Lead – Tim McGraw
Anytime You Need A Friend – The Beu Sisters
Cows In Town/Saloon Song (Score)
On The Farm (Score)
Bad News (Score)
Storm And The Aftermath (Score)
Cows To The Rescue (Score)
Buck (Score)
My Farm Is Saved/Little Patch of Heaven(Reprise) (Score)
Anytime You Need a Friend – Alan Menken
A
Dairy Tale
A Dairy Tale is a 3-minute spinoff
released in 2004. Mrs. Calloway tries to tell the story of the Three Little
Pigs but is interrupted by Maggie, Grace, Buck, Jeb, Ollie and Audery, who tell
the story in their own ways. The characters are featured in super deformed and
'storybook' style.
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