Alaska (1996)

While searching for their missing father in the mountains of Alaska, two siblings come across a baby polar bear on the run from a pair of poachers.

Director:

Fraser C. Heston

Writers:

Andy Burg, Scott Myers

Stars:

Thora Birch, Vincent Kartheiser, Dirk Benedict

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thora Birch	...	Jessie Barnes
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Sean Barnes
Dirk Benedict	...	Jake Barnes
Charlton Heston	...	Perry
Duncan Fraser	...	Koontz
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Ben
Ben Cardinal	...	Charlie
Ryan Kent	...	Chip
Don S. Davis	...	Sgt. Grazer
Dolly Madsen	...	Mrs. Ben
Stephen E. Miller	...	Trooper Harvey
Byron Chief-Moon	...	Chip's Father (as Byron Chief Moon)
Kristin Lehman	...	Florence
Adrien Dorval	...	Burly Fisherman
Ed Gale	...	Animatronics Bear Cub

Storyline

Jake Barnes and his two kids, Sean and Jessie, have moved to Alaska after his wife died. He is a former airline pilot now delivering toilet paper across the mountains. During an emergency delivery in a storm his plane goes down somewhere in the mountains. Annoyed that the authorities aren't doing enough, Jessie and Sean set out on an adventure to find their father with the help of a polar bear which they have saved from a ferocious poacher. Conflict ensues.

---

Plot Keywords:

survivalist | rifle | arcade game | airplane crash | eagle | 

---

Taglines:

A missing father. A desperate search. An unforgettable adventure.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and adventure/peril

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aljaska

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,801,250, 18 August 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$11,567,023, 17 November 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Fuchs/Burg, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby SDDS (re-release) (2001) DTS (re-release) (2001) Dolby Digital (re-release) (2001)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bear cub was found by director Fraser Clarke Heston in a Swedish zoo and was called Agee. It was born in January 1995 and had to be trained. The bear worked well with the two co-stars.

---

Goofs

At the end of Sean and Jesse's Rapid run in their canoe, Sean says "We did it" but his lips don't move.

---

Quotes

[On the Inuit boy's first hunting trip]
Ben: Go a boy and come back a man.

---

Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: The Wicker Man (2014)

User Reviews

Breathtaking scenery...

This movie is visually stunning. In a nutshell this movie is about a father who is a pilot and delivers toilet paper around the Alaskan wilderness. His plane crashes and his kids go out to search for him after being angry at the authorities for not doing enough to find their father. They free a cute little polar bear cub who has been caught by a poacher and the polar bear helps them find their lost father. The storyline isn't anything special and basically we have all seen a movie like this many many times. You know the..'kids go out to rescue mother/father/uncle/grandpa and get into lots of life threatening situations with cute animal in toe, but everything is a just fine and dandy in the end'.

Was good to see Dirk Benedict who played Jake Barnes in Alaska, in something as I loved him in The A Team all those years ago. Thora Birch plays the part of Jessie Barnes his daughter and does the kind of acting job that we have come to expect from her... excellent. Vincent Kartheiser plays Sean Barnes the typical anx ridden/angry teenager who comes good and to the aid of his father.

If you like visually beautiful movies and don't need them to be intellectual masterpieces, then watch Alaska