Treehouse Hostage (1999)

Timmy is a bright boy but a lousy student. His teacher, Mrs. Stevens, has threatened to fail him. While he is supposed to be working on a current events project, he captures an escaped convict and holds the man hostage in his tree-house.

Director:

Sean McNamara

Writers:

Scot Lewis, Jeff Phillips

Stars:

Jim Varney, Joey Zimmerman, Todd Bosley

Cast

Cast overview:
Jim Varney	...	Carl Banks
Joey Zimmerman	...	Timmy Taylor
Todd Bosley	...	Stevie
Kristopher Kachurak	...	Buddy
Mark Moses	...	Rick Taylor
Debby Boone	...	Beth Taylor
Richard Kline	...	Principal Ott
Jack McGee	...	Nick
Christopher Doyle	...	Scalise
Aria Noelle Curzon	...	Janie Paulson
Cliff Emmich	...	Detective Nelson
Louan Gideon	...	Mrs. Stevens
Sam Rubin	...	TV Reporter
Frank Welker	...	Kato (voice)

Storyline

Timmy Taylor and his two friends, Stevie and Buddy capture escaped convict Carl Banks (Jim Varney) and hold him hostage in their treehouse over the weekend so that Timmy can use Carl as his current event project at school on Monday. The boys then find that Carl is mixed up in a counterfeiting ring that could spell trouble for them too.

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Plot Keywords:

glasses | nightmare | whispering in ear | whisper in ear | whispering into someone's ear | 

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Taglines:

It takes an entire police force to look for an escaped convict...And a group of ten-year-olds to catch him.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and crude humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean McNamara and Jim Varney also worked together in 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998), where Varney's character was an antagonist.

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Goofs

Stevie's hair during the treehouse courtroom scene.

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Quotes

Buddy: [taking off Carl's fake women's eyelashes] What'd you put these on with, airplane glue?
Carl Banks: Ouch! How do I look?
Buddy: Like a movie star.
Carl Banks: Yeah, which one?
Buddy: Ever see Nightmare on Elm Street?

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Connections

Features Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1996)

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Soundtracks

Don't Mess with Us
Written by Richard Bowers, John DeFaria and T. Lavitz
Performed by Sean Holt

User Reviews

Great Message

I am such a fan of Jim Varney's and watch everything he's been in. 'Treehouse Hostage' is a great family film. It is like the modern day version of 'The Boy who cried Wolf'. When you play pranks and make up wild stories all the time, don't expect people to believe you when you tell the truth. Case in point, Timmy has an overactive imagination which gets him into trouble with his parents, teachers, cops and the principal. So when escaped counterfeiter, Carl Banks, played by Varney, ends up in the boys'(Timmy, Stevie and Buddy's) security system of their tree house, no one believes him even when tells his dad and the police. Along the way, they befriend Carl, who turns out to actually be a really nice guy. This DVD gets regular use in my home. It's a clean movie that's kid friendly for all ages. Watch with your kids. It's funny and sometimes serious and definitely heartfelt, thanks to Varney's dramatic scene in the tree house when he was telling the boys how he got mixed up with counterfeiters. Varney's talents are sorely missed.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Treehouse Hostage

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, PorchLight Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1