Wild America (1997)

Director:

William Dear

Writer (WGA):

David Michael Wieger (written by)

Release Date:

2 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

take a ride on the wild side.

Plot:

Three brothers - Marshall, Marty and Mark dream of becoming naturalists and portraying animal life of America...

Plot Keywords:

Brothers | Filmmaking | 1970s | Based On True Story

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jonathan Taylor Thomas	...	Marshall Stouffer
Devon Sawa	...	Mark Stouffer
Scott Bairstow	...	Marty Stouffer Jr.
Frances Fisher	...	Agnes 'Mom' Stouffer
Jamey Sheridan	...	Marty 'Dad' Stouffer, Sr.
Tracey Walter	...	Leon, the Stouffer's Farmhand & Neighbor
Don Stroud	...	Stango the Aligator Man
Zack Ward	...	D.C.
Claudia Stedelin	...	Carrie Stokes
Anastasia Spivey	...	Donna Jo
Leighanne Littrell	...	Tanna Stewert (as Leighanne Wallace)
Amy Lee Douglas	...	Julie Anne
Sonny Shroyer	...	Bud
Rachel Fowler	...	Sarah
Jennifer Crumbley	...	Beby

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some adventure peril.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:S | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:7 | UK:PG (video premiere) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

Francis Fisher plays Jonathan Taylor Thomas's character's mother in this film. In 1991 she was cast as his character's mother in the show "Home Improvement", but was replaced due to poor early audience reaction to her.

Goofs:

Continuity: Marshall uses his brothers' toothbrushes (the green and yellow ones) to clean the toilet, then places them back in the holders with their names on them. Marty's is yellow, Mark's is green and Marshall's is blue. Later that night, Marty is using the blue toothbrush, Mark is using the dirty green, and Marshall is using the dirty yellow one.

Quotes:

Leon: [fantisizing with the clouds] I'm thinking dinosaur.
Marshall Stouffer: Rabbit lying down.
Leon: Could be a hog head. Big old skunk. Or a turtle. Chevy bumper.
Marshall Stouffer: [narrating] Leon had been in the Air Force with my dad. They used to patch up fighter planes, then dad would take them up and test them. After the war, he followed my dad home, and lived with us ever since.
Leon: [still trying to make out what a cloud looks like] Bushel Basket. Gold spud. Nope, definitely a rabbit lying down.

Movie Connections:

References "Wild America" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Magic Carpet Ride

Nice Story

The movie was nice, no more, no less. The acting was fine and the plot was good enough. This movie is probably best for teenage girls who like blond boys. I think that people can relate to the Stouffers brothers: Sweet, quiet, animal loving Marshall (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), who narrates and is the epitome of a young boy; Girl crazy Mark (Devon Sawa); or Marty (Scott Bairstow), the older, most mature of the group who loves filming.

Better movies exist, but worse ones do as well. Although I don't recommend this movie to those who want something great, I encourage everyone to decide for themselves.