Forest Warrior (1996)

A shape-shifting mountain man and a group of children team up to protect an enchanted forest from evil lumberjacks.

Director:

Aaron Norris

Writers:

Ron Swanson (story), Ron Swanson (screenplay)

Stars:

Chuck Norris, Terry Kiser, Max Gail

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	McKenna
Terry Kiser	...	Travis Thorne
Max Gail	...	Sherrif Ramsey
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Clovis Madison
Trenton Knight	...	Justin Franklin
Megan Paul	...	Austene Slaighter
Josh Wolford	...	Logan Anderson
Jordan Brower	...	Brian Anderson
Michael Friedman	...	Lewis Burdette
William Sanderson	...	Paul Carpio
Dennis Paladino	...	Mark Lelert
John Dennis Johnston	...	Williams
Elya Baskin	...	Buster
Loretta Swit	...	Shirley
Michael Beck	...	Arlen Slaighter

Storyline

John McKenna is a spiritual being who is able to transform into bear, wolf or eagle. He lives in the forests of Tanglewood and has dedicated his life to protect them. One day a gang of evil lumberjacks led by Travis Thorne arrive Tanglewood to chop the forest down. McKenna cannot let this happen, and together with his new friends - Lords of the Tanglewood, a band of children who love to play in the forest - he battles against Thorne and his evil gang.

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Plot Keywords:

environmental issue | deforestation | ghost | transformation | lumberjack | 

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Taglines:

A magical mountain. A mysterious legend. A story of courage against all odds.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for fight scenes and some mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spoofed/Reviewed on season 7, episode 40 of the YouTube series "Nostalgia Critic"

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Quotes

Travis Thorne: [on Tanglewood Forest] ... There's a hundred million board-feet of lumber up there, and I want it all... I couldn't care less about the progress of anyone except me.

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Alternate Versions

Cut by 31 secs to earn a 'PG' rating in the UK with edits to shots of McKenna instructing his young students how to deliver head kicks accurately.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our VHS Collection (2019)

User Reviews

Should come as no surprise that it's terrible

Terry Kiser must REALLY be a good friend of Norris; not only did he guest-star several times on his "Walker" TV show, he agreed to be the villain in this terrible family movie. Actually, you can't really call it a "family" movie - it's strictly aimed at the juvenile set instead of having something for kids AND their parents. Correction - make that a particular juvenile set that has its classes in the basement of a school. The dopey tone and the extreme exaggeration of the heavies will even have five year-olds rolling their eyes.

Poor Chuck; looking at him in the movie, it's obvious that he's past his prime. Watching him in action during the (badly choreographed and edited) fights, it's obvious that 99% that it's a double doing the action - since you only see his face 1% of the time in these scenes! (This was also very evident in his TV series after the first few seasons.) Actually, it's hard to feel any sympathy to him when you consider that he actually isn't in that much of the movie. Also, he appears utterly bored in his scenes. Well, at least Norris for once is showing emotion.

It's no wonder that this never got a theatrical release. It's an embarrassment to everyone involved. That is, except for the underrated Roscoe Lee Brown. He enters and leaves the movie with his dignity intact, giving a conviction to everything he says. What a performer, to be able to survive this!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lords of Tanglewood

Filming Locations:

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Turner Home Entertainment, Tanglewood Entertainment Group, LOT Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min (VHS release)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1