Home on the Range (2004)

To save their farm, the resident animals go bounty hunting for a notorious outlaw.

Directors:

Will Finn, John Sanford

Writers:

Will Finn, John Sanford,

Stars:

Judi Dench, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
G.W. Bailey	...	Rusty, the Dog (voice)
Roseanne Barr	...	Maggie (voice)
Bobby Block	...	Piggy (voice)
Steve Buscemi	...	Wesley (voice)
Carole Cook	...	Pearl Gesner (voice)
Charlie Dell	...	Ollie, the Pig (voice)
Judi Dench	...	Mrs. Caloway (voice)
Charles Dennis	...	Rico (voice)
Marshall Efron	...	Larry, the Duck (voice)
Joe Flaherty	...	Jeb, the Goat (voice)
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Buck (voice)
Charles Haid	...	Lucky Jack (voice)
Estelle Harris	...	Audrey, the Chicken (voice)
Lance LeGault	...	Junior, the Buffalo (voice)
Sam J. Levine	...	The Willie Brothers (voice)

Storyline

Alameda Slim, a wanted cattle rustler, uses an alias to buy up properties all over western Nebraska, and his next target is the Patch of Heaven dairy farm, where the widow owner cares more for her 'family' of yard animals's welfare then for profit, so she just hasn't got the cash to keep in business. The other animals, mainly carefree youngsters, being unable, three cows of very different temperament and manners rise to the desperate occasion and set out to do battle for their dream home, teaming up unnaturally with each-other, the sheriff's megalomaniac horse and any other animal who can possibly help, even a crazy lucky rabbit and an invincible buffalo, hoping to beat the crook to the Patch's auction, or anything it takes...

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Plot Keywords:

farm | cow | rustler | dairy farm | cattle | 

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Taglines:

"Beef Thief"

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Music | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief mild rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Disney Disney [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sweating Bullets

Box Office

Budget:

$110,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$139,981 (South Africa) (12 November 2004)

Gross:

$139,981 (South Africa) (12 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Feature Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final feature film to use Disney's CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) pipeline. The system - more than a simple software application, it encompassed a complex UNIX-based network of workstations and servers handling the creation, editing, storage, and workflow of multiple animated sequences - was dismantled when the animation unit was shuttered.

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Goofs

With the Willy brother sitting in front of Slim's map, Little Patch of Heaven doesn't show up, ever, until Slim moves the character out of the way. The outline of Little Patch of Heaven should show up, for instance, while the camera is pointing straight at the boy's face, however, it's not there.

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Quotes

Maggie: Look, we don't eat meat. It's kind a professional courtesy.

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Connections

References Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Home On The Range (Echo Mine Reprise)"
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Performed by Tim Blevins, Gregory Jbara, William Parry (as William H. Parry),
Wilbur Pauley and Peter Samuel

User Reviews

2D Films Can Compete

To say Home On The Range is a little dated looking is not entirely fair. We just are not used to seeing two-dimensional cartoon characters. So to some this film may run to tastes remindful of Saturday morning cartoons in years past. But there is a little more here than just how anthropomorphism is projected on the big screen.

Where Home On The Range does not measure up is in the laughs department. There are some awfully funny scenes in the more recent Shrek II, and one of those (involving an arrest scene) is of the two funniest I have ever seen in an animated film (the other is in Finding Nemo, when Ellen Degeneres speaks whale). And in that regard Home doesn't quite hit the mark.

The plot revolves around saving the farm. The animals living thereon (humans cannot save farms very often) contrive to do this through the usual convoluted methods. And it is somewhat interesting how this is developed. Interesting enough for your children, that is – there is not much here for the more adult crowds.

Cuba Gooding is the show stealer in the voice department. But the yodeling we hear by the cattle rustler early on is a close second.

There are some surprisingly neat looking scenes, and not many cartoons of yesteryear had characters drawn as sharply. Two dimensional film is not done by any means.

All in all this is a C+ effort. There are some sharp moments (watch Buck the horse run around the barn, check out the Rico (a decidedly un-Western sounding name) character, and listen to everything Jeb the goat says. They are the scene stealers.