Home On The Range Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)March 31st, 2004
HOME ON THE RANGE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
HOME ON THE RANGE, another traditionally animated misfire from Disney, again reminds us of the crucial role of the script in a comedy. No matter how famous the voice talent, the composers and the singers are in an animated movie, especially a non-computer generated one, the movie's humor works -- or doesn't -- based on the dialog. And, by that metric, HOME ON THE RANGE fails at almost every turn. There are a few mildly funny moments and some kind-of-cute lines, but that's about it.
The movie opens with a stunning shot of a range painted in gorgeous pastels. The beauty doesn't last. Most of the movie is shown in close-up with dull colors and singularly uninspired drawings. The painterly background artists so outshine the character animators that it makes you wish most of the movie were backgrounds rather than characters.
A chunky cow named Maggie (voiced by Roseanne) comes to live at the little Patch of Heaven farm, which is just about to be auctioned off. Mrs. Calloway (voiced by Judi Dench), a cow with a silly hat who is the matriarch of the farm animals, resents the new cow, calling Maggie, "the original Mrs. Happy Heifer." Maggie has her own putdowns. "Don't everybody speak at once," she tells the speechless animals upon her arrival. "What is this? The frozen foods section?" Jennifer Tilly supplies the voice for Grace, the third cow. Eventually Maggie, Grace and Mrs. Calloway become something like the Three Moosketeers, fighting the bad guys, who are led by Alameda Slim (voiced by Randy Quaid). Other actors involved in the picture include Cuba Gooding Jr., who does the voice of the horse, and Steve Buscemi, who provides the voice for one of Slim's slimier minions.
The musical numbers, sung by k.d. lang and written by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken (THE LITTLE MERMAID), are pleasant enough but instantly forgettable. Ten minutes after leaving, I couldn't recall any of them.
The big fight scene at the end and a trio of belching pigs were the favorite parts for my audience. Personally, I liked the runaway mine car sequence best. HOME ON THE RANGE does provide one significant challenge for the audience. The adults will be hard-pressed to stay awake.
HOME ON THE RANGE runs a long 1:16. It is rated PG for "brief mild rude humor" and would be acceptable for all ages. This is really a G movie, no matter what the MPAA claims.
My niece Liana, age 7, and her brother William, age 9, both thought the film was funny. Liana's favorite character was the cow with the funny hat (Mrs. Calloway), and William liked it best when the horse beat up Slim and his gang.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday April 2, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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