Alaska (1996)

Jake Barnes and his two kids, Sean and Jessie, have moved to Alaska after his wife died. He is a former airline pilot now delivering toilet paper across the mountains. During an emergency ... See full summary »

Director:

Fraser Clarke Heston

Writers:

Andy Burg, Scott Myers

Stars:

Thora Birch, Vincent Kartheiser, Dirk Benedict

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thora Birch	...	Jessie Barnes
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Sean Barnes
Dirk Benedict	...	Jake Barnes
Charlton Heston	...	Perry
Duncan Fraser	...	Koontz
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Ben
Ben Cardinal	...	Charlie
Ryan Kent	...	Chip
Don S. Davis	...	Sergeant Grazer
Dolly Madsen	...	Mrs. Ben
Stephen E. Miller	...	Trooper Harvey
Byron Chief-Moon	...	Chip's Father (as Byron Chief Moon)
Kristin Lehman	...	Florence
Adrien Dorval	...	Burly Fisherman
Ed Gale	...	Animatronics Bear Cub

Storyline

Jake Barnes and his two kids, Sean and Jessie, have moved to Alaska after his wife died. He is a former airline pilot now delivering toilet paper across the mountains. During an emergency delivery in a storm his plane goes down somewhere in the mountains. Annoyed that the authorities aren't doing enough, Jessie and Sean set out on an adventure to find their father with the help of a polar bear which they have saved from a ferocious poacher. Conflict ensues.

---

Plot Keywords:

mountain | poacher | polar bear | pilot | alaska | 

---

Taglines:

A missing father. A desperate search. An unforgettable adventure.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and adventure/peril

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alaska - Die Spur des Polarbären

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,801,250 (USA) (16 August 1996)

Gross:

$11,567,023 (USA) (15 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Fuchs/Burg, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 1h 08 mins) When the children are in the patched canoe, right after the bear floats on the drift log, you can see power lines stretching across the river in the far background behind the children, yet they are supposed to be in the remote wilderness.

---

Quotes

Jake Barnes: Mayday, mayday! 909Tango is going down! Mayday, mayday, mayday!
[screams]

---

Connections

Features Street Fighter: The Movie (1995)

User Reviews

What part of: "This is a Children's Film" don't you understand?

Hard to figure the negative comments about this film. It is geared to an elementary school audience who will find it very entertaining. But it is also good family viewing because the scenery is terrific and the polar bear cub is very cute. Since there was never a conspiracy to keep the demographic identity of the target audience a national secret, those complaining about its lack of sophistication were just too lazy to check it out before actually viewing it. The film delivers exactly what it promises so there is no real basis for that kind of criticism.

The editing is first class; especially on the canoe down the rapids sequence where the second unit stuff is perfectly cut into tight shots of the two stars. Thora Birch turns in another excellent performance and Vincent Kartheiser shows that even before "Angel" he modeled his acting on William Shatner (this is not a complement).

There are a number of plot holes but nothing that really matters. One interesting thing is the scene where the bear cub helps in the rescue effort by pulling the rope with his teeth. Seldom can you point to a "single" stupid detail that drastically dumbs down a film but that is the case here. Lose that one moronic shot and the film gains about 20 IQ points and could add a couple years to its target audience.