John Henry (2000)

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

Director:

Mark Henn

Writers:

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

Stars:

Alfre Woodard, Geoffrey Jones, Tim Hodge

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

John Henry, a freed slave, happens across a railroad building project. An entire crew of freed slaves has been promised land if they can finish by deadline, but they're exhausted and unable to continue. John, though, has the strength of ten men, and revitalizes all of them. But despair sets in again when the railroad sends a steam hammer to replace the crew and burns the contract. John proposes a challenge: man against machine. After a heroic effort, including a tunnel through solid rock by swinging two hammers at once, John wins, but he also collapses in his wife Polly's arms. She's recounting this whole story to their young son, to explain why his father was so great.

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Plot Keywords:

john henry | legend | african american | 1860s | man versus machine | 

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Genres:

Short | Animation | Musical | Family | Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

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.

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Connections

Featured in Disney's American Legends (2001)

User Reviews

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!