Toby McTeague (1986)

Toby is a teenager who doesn't care much about school. In fact, he has his eyes on the title of a prestigious dog-sleigh race. He will have to undergo extensive training in order to win it.

Director:

Jean-Claude Lord

Writers:

Jamie Brown, Jeff Maguire (screenplay),

Stars:

Yannick Bisson, Winston Rekert, Andrew Bednarski

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Yannick Bisson	...	Toby
Winston Rekert	...	Tom McTeague
Andrew Bednarski	...	Sam McTeague
Stephanie Morgenstern	...	Sara
Timothy Webber	...	Edison Crowe
Liliane Clune	...	Jenny Lessard
Evan Adams	...	Jacob
George Clutesi	...	Chef
Hamish McEwan	...	Mike Lynn
Tom Rack	...	Faulkner
Anthony Levinson	...	Peter
Mark Kulik	...	Ben
Joanne Vannicola	...	Parker
Doug Price	...	Annonceur
Ian Finlay	...	Reporter TV

Storyline

Toby is a teenager who doesn't care much about school. In fact, he has his eyes on the title of a prestigious dog-sleigh race. He will have to undergo extensive training in order to win it.

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Plot Keywords:

public domain | dog racing | 1980s | canada | independent film

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Taglines:

He Just Has To Win!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Toby

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Filmline International, La Societe Generale du Cinema du Quebec

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Cold as Ice"
Written by 'Peter Pringle' and Kevin Hunter
Performed by 'Peter Pringle'

User Reviews

This is why Canadian-based films should not be watched.

It is very easy to watch this movie and hate it simply because of how dated it is. There are many haircuts which look as if they've been ripped off from David Bowie, a computer program Toby uses to design his sled looks like an early MS Paint, and the music sounds like some guy just bought a synthesizer for the first time and thought it'd be a really good idea to use it for the entire soundtrack.

To hate it for only these reasons would be silly, though, because there are much more legitimate reasons to hate this move.

First, the acting needed a lot of work. Particularly Toby's little brother who just got very annoying. Although, I credit that little kid for delivering his cheesy lines with a straight face; lines that mostly consisted of terrible insults such as "You're a turkey!" Which brings me to my second complaint, the dialog was abominable. When a competitor is talking to Toby before a race, for example, he tries to psych Toby out by delivering the forceful one-liner "I heard your dogs are ugly, but man, those dogs are ugly!" In addition, the plot is dull and predictable, and the characters are stereotypical (except for the "wise" Native American, Chief Wild Dog, who just seemed to be insane).

The only highlight comes when the camera pans on a childish painting of an almost alien-looking woman, who turns out to be their dead mother, and afterward Toby's little brother explains how Toby is very artistic but he couldn't get this painting "quite right." Sadly, I don't think this was supposed to be a joke.