North (1994)

Eleven-year-old North has had it with his parents. They are always busy with their careers and don't give North the attention he needs, so he files a lawsuit against them. The judge rules ... See full summary »

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Alan Zweibel (novel), Alan Zweibel (screenplay),

Stars:

Elijah Wood, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elijah Wood	...	North
Jason Alexander	...	North's Dad
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	North's Mom
Marc Shaiman	...	Piano Player
Jussie Smollett	...	Adam
Taylor Fry	...	Zoe
Alana Austin	...	Sarah
Peg Shirley	...	Teacher
Chuck Cooper	...	Umpire
Alan Zweibel	...	Coach
Donavon Dietz	...	Assistant Coach
Teddy Bergman	...	Teammate
Michael Cipriani	...	Teammate
Joran Corneal	...	Teammate
Joshua Kaplan	...	Teammate

Storyline

Eleven-year-old North has had it with his parents. They are always busy with their careers and don't give North the attention he needs, so he files a lawsuit against them. The judge rules that North should either find new parents or return to his own parents within two months. Thus north starts off on an hilarious journey around the world to find the parents that really care about him.

---

Plot Keywords:

parent | school | one word title | divorce | child boss | 

---

Taglines:

Ever wonder what your life would be like with different parents? A boy named North did.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for a few words

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Det perfekte barn

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,138,449 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The members of the Nelson family, Ward, Donna, Bud and Laura, are named after characters from classic family television shows. Ward named after Ward Cleaver from Leave It to Beaver, Donna named after Donna Stone from The Donna Reed Show, Bud named after Bud Anderson from Father Knows Best, and Laura named after Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Plus the last name of Nelson is named after Ozzie and Harriet Nelson from The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

---

Goofs

When the lawyer, Arthur Bell, meets North for the first time on the street, he hands North his card an promptly takes it back. In the next shot, North is still holding the card. At that point, Mr. Bell reaches to shake North's hand (which is still holding the card) and in the next shot the card disappears again.

---

Quotes

Gabby: We got a saying out here. Sometimes when you're panning for gold, you gotta try more than one stream.

---

Crazy Credits

Scarlett Johansson is credited as Scarlett Johanssen. Her surname is spelt wrong!

---

Connections

Spoofs The Last Emperor (1987)

---

Soundtracks

"THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA"
Music by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes
English lyrics by Norman Gimbel

User Reviews

Offbeat, to be certain, but just not funny...

Director Rob Reiner in eccentric spirits, but not quite getting the offbeat laughs and sentimental subtext he was going for. Extremely unfunny fantasy concerns unappreciated youngster who receives emancipation from his parents under the proviso he find a new set of guardians within 2 months. Celebrity-studded misfire is slick but not clever, with Bruce Willis in nearly a career-killing role as an angelic "guide" (he's also the film's narrator, in what plays like a last minute decision to fill in all the gaps). One or two fanciful scenes, but it needed more humor, less gooey uplift, and most especially an ending that didn't turn the picture into a pointless dodge. *1/2 from ****