John Henry (2000)

Director:

Mark Henn

Writers:

Shirley Pierce (screenplay)
Broose Johnson (story) ...

Genre:

Short | Animation | Musical | Family | Drama

Plot:

Disney's retelling of the legend of John Henry, the steel-driving man.

Plot Keywords:

John Henry | Legend | African American | 1860s | Man Versus Machine

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Alfre Woodard	...	Polly / Narrator (voice)
Geoffrey Jones	...	John Henry (voice)
Tim Hodge	...	MacTavish (voice)
Dave Murray	...	Thomas (voice)
Carrie Harrington	...	Polly - Singing (voice)

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Certification:

USA:G

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The director, Mark Henn, is a collector of antique firearms. The pistol in the film used to start the race is based on one of his own Civil War era pistols.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Disney's American Legends (2001) (V)

An unusual style makes this Disney short worth checking out.

Considering this was just a project to keep animators occupied, it is a pretty darn impressive film. Disney's take on the tall tale is nothing new, but the style and look of this short is fantastic. The characters were made to look like animation before "clean-up" which is very interesting to watch, and also a brave move on Disney's part! Great backgrounds, too. Let's hope the Mouse takes more chances like this one!