The Education of Little Tree (1997)

Director:

Richard Friedenberg

Writers (WGA):

Forrest Carter (novel)
Earl Hamner Jr. (teleplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A boy of two worlds must learn to be his own man.

Plot:

Little Tree is an 8-year-old Cherokee boy, who, during the time of the depression, loses his parents...

Plot Keywords:

Cherokee | Grandparent | Against The System | 1930s | Coming Of Age

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

James Cromwell	...	Granpa
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Granma
Joseph Ashton	...	Little Tree / Joshua
Mika Boorem	...	Little Girl
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Pine Billy
Christopher Fennell	...	Wilburn (as Chris Fennell)
Graham Greene	...	Willow John
Leni Parker	...	Martha
Rebecca Dewey	...	Dolly
Bill Rowat	...	Henry
Robert Daviau	...	Ralph
Norris Domingue	...	Mr. Jenkins
Mark Jeffrey Miller	...	Preacher
Gordon Masten	...	Politician
Howard Rosenstein	...	Calf's Owner
Teddy Lee Dillon	...	Revenuer #1
James Rae	...	Revenuer #2
Alain Goulem	...	Revenuer #3
Griffith Brewer	...	Church Man
Dawn Ford	...	Church Woman
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Elisabeth
Larry Day	...	Mr. Lane
Dean Hagopian	...	Joe Taylor
Jonathan Stark	...	Girl's Father
Pauline Little	...	Mrs. Higginbotham
Peter Colvey	...	Proctor #1
Michel Perron	...	Headmaster
Victoria Barkoff	...	Abusive Teacher
Karentiio Phillips	...	Older Boy
Pierre Boudreau	...	Pilgrim
Richard Jutras	...	Indian
Jeff Jeffcoat	...	Older Little Tree (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rob Carpenter	...	Coal miner worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Friedenberg

Writing credits (WGA)
Forrest Carter		(novel)
Earl Hamner Jr.		(teleplay) (as Earl Hamner) &
Don Sipes		(teleplay)
Richard Friedenberg		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jake Eberts	....	producer
Louise Gendron	....	co-producer
Laurie Marie Parker	....	associate producer
Lenny Young	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Mark Isham

Cinematography by
Anastas N. Michos		(director of photography) (as Anastas Michos)

Film Editing by
Jere Huggins
Wayne Wahrman

Casting by
Rene Haynes		(as René Haynes)
Vera Miller

Production Design by
Dan Bishop

Art Direction by
Peter Stratford

Set Decoration by
Eve Boulonne		(decorator)

Costume Design by
Renée April

Makeup Department
Damian Fisher	....	special makeup effects artist
Johanne Hansen	....	hair stylist
Richard Hansen	....	key hair stylist
Adrien Morot	....	special makeup effects artist
Ryan Nicholson	....	special makeup effects artist: Maestro Studios
Marie Régimbald	....	makeup artist
Diane Simard	....	key makeup artist
Patrick Tenascon	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Ginette Hoyse	....	unit manager
Danièle Rohrbach	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Luc Campeau	....	first assistant director
John Hepworth	....	third assistant director
Darren Kotania	....	second assistant director
David McLeod	....	assistant director
Laurie Marie Parker	....	second unit director

Art Department
Claire Alary	....	props buyer
Alain Brochu	....	construction crew
Rejean Brochu	....	construction coordinator
Marie-Noel Bréard	....	assistant scenic painter
Nathalie Cabot	....	assistant greensman
Marie Cailhier-Chartrand	....	assistant property master
Robert Carpentier	....	swing gang
Jocelyn Clouatre	....	swing gang
Nadine Ferenczy	....	art department trainee
Serge Gagne	....	construction crew (as Serge Gagné)
Bernard Gagnon	....	construction crew
Martin Gendron	....	set designer
Alain Giguère	....	key scenic artist
Steve Glasson	....	construction crew
Denis Hamel	....	property master
Gilles L'Heureux	....	swing gang
Pierre L'Heureux	....	head greensman
Paul Lacerte	....	painter
Eric Lafrance	....	carpenter
Richard Lebon	....	swing gang
Ray Légaré	....	greensman
Véronique Pagnoux	....	scenic painter
Jean-Pierre Paquet	....	assistant decorator
Katia Quijano	....	art department coordinator
Michel Robichaud	....	scenic painter
Mario Santini	....	painter
Doris Simard	....	art department coordinator
Francine Simpson	....	painter
Steve Ward	....	painter

Sound Department
Christopher Assells	....	foley editor (as Chris Assells)
Lon Bender	....	supervising sound designer
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Leslie Bloom	....	foley walker (as Les Bloom)
Kelly Cabral	....	adr editor
Kelly Cabral	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Canonica	....	supervising sound recordist: mix stage
Dino Dimuro	....	foley editor
Brian Dixon	....	adr stage assistant
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	sound editor
Paul Flinchbaugh	....	digital assistant sound editor
Claude Hazanavicius	....	sound mixer
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jennifer L. Mann	....	sound effects editor
Earl Martin	....	foley stage
Thierry Morlaas-Lurbe	....	boom operator
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lauren Stephens	....	dialogue editor
Lauren Stephens	....	sound editor
Rich Weingart	....	adr mixer: Los Angeles
Gayle Wesley	....	first assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Antonio Vidosa	....	special effects technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Auclair	....	electrician
Chris Bramford	....	grip
Alain Brouillette	....	key grip
Sandrine Béchade	....	second second assistant camera
Jean Courteau	....	chief lighting technician
Gilles Fortier	....	best boy electric
Daniel Gagnon	....	grip
Nathalie Lasselin	....	focus puller: second unit
Michael J. Latino	....	focus puller: second unit (as Michael Latino)
Stéphane Leblanc	....	electrician
Jacques Leduc	....	camera operator: second unit
Christian Lemay	....	second assistant camera
Jean Levasseur	....	electrician
Nicolas Marion	....	assistant camera: "a" camera
Jeff Nichol	....	best boy grip
Yves Ouimet	....	generator operator
Paul Ryan	....	director of photography: second unit
Mike Sallustio	....	electrician: second unit
Jan Thijs	....	still photographer
Jacques Tremblay	....	grip

Casting Department
Rosina Bucci	....	additional casting: Montreal
Craig Fincannon	....	casting: North Carolina
Robin Gurland	....	casting: San Francisco
Michelle Lang	....	additional casting
Michelle Lange	....	casting: Los Angeles
Nadia Rona	....	additional casting: Montreal

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fabienne April	....	key dresser
Johanne Baril	....	wardrobe assistant (as Joanne Baril)
Mureille Blouin	....	costume breakdown artist (as Murielle Blouin)
Blanche-Danielle Boileau	....	costume supervisor
Valerie Bordeleau	....	wardrobe assistant
Lise Brousseau	....	wardrobe assistant
Stéphanie Chagnon	....	extras wardrobe mistress
Sylvie Charbonneau	....	wardrobe assistant
Sylvie Dagenais	....	dresser
Mark J. De Coste	....	wardrobe assistant (as Mark De Coste)
Valérie Delacroix	....	wardrobe assistant
Pascale Deschênes	....	wardrobe assistant (as Pascale Deschenes)
Angela Di Marzio	....	wardrobe assistant
Martine Gagnon	....	assistant wardrobe
Suzanne Gaudreault	....	wardrobe assistant
Stéphane LaRoche	....	dresser: second unit
Caroline Poirier	....	extras wardrobe assistant
Lison Proulx	....	wardrobe assistant
Michel Proulx	....	wardrobe assistant
Thyrza Richardson	....	wardrobe assistant
Stéphane Ross	....	wardrobe assistant
Danielle Terreault	....	extras dresser

Editorial Department
Karen Dimmig	....	assistant editor
Mike Milliken	....	color timer (as Michael Milliken)
Theresa Repola Mohammed	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Thomas A. Carlson	....	music editor
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Janice Hayen	....	music preparation
Stephen Krause	....	score recordist
Stephen Krause	....	scoring mixer
Ken Kugler	....	orchestrator
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Cindy O'Connor	....	music preparation
Adam Reuveni	....	assistant score recordist
Dann Thompson	....	assistant score recordist

Transportation Department
Fernand Boudrias	....	picture car coordinator
Mario Munari	....	transportation coordinator
François Riendeau	....	picture car wrangler

Other crew
Marjolaine Albert	....	production assistant
Michael Boulonne	....	production assistant
Johanne Caporicci	....	location manager
Pierre Carroll	....	location scout
James R. Cowan	....	hawk wrangler
Shauna Cowan	....	hawk wrangler
Donna Croce	....	script supervisor: second unit
Chantale Desgagnes	....	production assistant
Judy Dickerson	....	dialect coach (as Judi Dickerson)
Jean-Marc Ducasse	....	animal trainer
Raymond Ducasse	....	animal trainer
Chantal Dufresne	....	unit publicist
Bram Eisenthal	....	unit publicist
Isabelle Faivre-Duboz	....	script trainee
Josée Francis	....	assistant location manager
Paule Girardin	....	production secretary
Lance Holland	....	location manager: North Carolina
Nick Huard	....	location scout
Benoit Jacob	....	office runner
Jean-Patrick Joseph	....	production assistant
Josée Juteau	....	animal trainer
Christina Kontos	....	production auditor
Ken Korrall	....	location manager
Hans Laliberté	....	production assistant
Roy Laughren	....	office runner
Benoît Lefebvre	....	production assistant
Isabelle Lindsay	....	production secretary
Xin Ling	....	title designer
Valérie Lonargan	....	receptionist
Pota Manolakos	....	assistant auditor
Claudette Messier	....	script supervisor
Vasiliki Michalakopoulos	....	second assistant accountant
Mario Pellerin	....	animal trainer
Jean-Clément Renaud	....	production assistant
Hélène Ross	....	production coordinator
Bessy Sakaris	....	bookkeeping clerk
Jules Sylvester	....	snake wrangler
Myriame Tessier	....	animal trainer
Donald Tetreault	....	production assistant: second unit
Alain Thériault	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Allied Films
• Lightmotive

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• United International Pictures (UIP)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)
• Rainmaker Digital Pictures (digital visual effects)

Other Companies

• Elite Model Management  extras casting
• Fincannon & Associates  casting
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Pro-Film Animal Inc.  animals provided by
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Sony Classical  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and thematic elements including old fashioned discipline

Runtime:

Argentina:116 min | USA:112 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 (video premiere) | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | USA:PG | UK:PG (TV premiere) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Blue Ridge Mountains, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Allied Films

Trivia:

The book on which this movie was based was originally published in 1977 under the title and subtitle "The Education of Little Tree: A True Story," with the author's name given as "Forrest Carter." However, after the publication, it was alleged (largely incorrectly) that the book was not really a true story, and "Forrest Carter" was actually a pseudonym for Asa Earl Carter. Asa Carter was a Ku Klux Klansman and the alleged author of George Wallace's 1963 "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" speech.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Little Tree's grandmother is serving the meal, there's a large spoon to the right of her plate. Then there's a close-up shot of Little Tree as she sets the two bowls on her and Little Tree's plates and then fetches the dictionary and her glasses, and a wide shot of the whole table again. But now the spoon has vanished. When she finishes reading to him out of the dictionary, there's another wide shot and the spoon has reappeared.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: Episode #21.7" (1999)

Read it!!!

I didn't even know that this book had been filmed, until I stumbled across it on cable. The movie is hokey, mostly, but the story is so incredibly powerful that it is worthwhile, no matter how it is conveyed. The book is on my all-time top-20 list. The film is not. But it is still worth seeing, for it does represent the social facts of life encountered by Forrest Carter, as described in this autogiography.