 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Home on the Range
- Review Date: September 16, 2004
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2004
Common Sense Media says
Not a classic, but cute and fun for families.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie has some peril (no one hurt) and mostly comic action sequences. A roller-coaster-ish ride may be too intense for the youngest children. The movie has brief crude humor, including a quick cross-dressing joke, and some mild language. Some children may be upset by the idea of having a bank foreclose a mortgage and might need to be reassured that their home is safe.
What's the story?
Maggie (voice of Roseanne Barr) is a brassy but warm-hearted cow who arrives at the Patch of Heaven Dairy Farm just as the bank is about to foreclose its mortgage and put it up for sale. Her previous farm was sold after cattle rustler Alameda Slim (voice of Randy Quaid) stole the rest of the herd. Mrs. Calloway (voice of Dame Judi Dench), the highly civilized alpha cow of Patch of Heaven, is offended by Maggie's brash wisecracks, but the other animals are more welcoming. When Maggie comes up with a plan to save the farm, Mrs. Calloway and gentle but tone-deaf Grace (voice of Jennifer Tilly) go along. They meet up with Buck (voice of Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a horse who wants to be a hero, and Lucky Jack, a peg-legged jackrabbit (voice of Charles Haid). The five animals will get in each other's way more often than they help each other, but there are moments of wit and heart and even a thrill or two, along with sparkling musical numbers from Disney's best contemporary composer, Alan Mencken (The Little Mermaid and Aladdin), sung by country stars k.d. lang, Tim McGraw, Bonnie Raitt, and The Bleu Sisters.
Is it any good?
I love it when Disney doesn't take itself too seriously. No one tried to reach for the stars or make this into a classic. HOME ON THE RANGE is just a cute little story about some not-so-contented cows who save the day. It modestly aspires to be nothing more than a lot of fun, and it does that job very well.
The style and music of the film harks back to Disney's 1950's featurettes like Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, Donald in Mathmagic Land, and Pecos Bill. Pearl, the owner of the Patch of Heaven farm (voice of Carole Cook), could be Sluefoot Sue, thirty years later. The characters are vivid, the animation is superb, and the balance between sweet, silly, and exciting is expertly handled.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why Mrs. C and Maggie don't get along. How are they different and how are they alike?
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AGE
"Full of fun and laughs"
I really enjoyed seeing this movie with my mom, dad, and 5 year old brother on a Saturday night. One thing that I noticed about it was that no one in the movie really had the complete focus of everyone because you were so wrapped up in action. Each of the charecters were so different that I ended up thinking "how could it get any better?". Although I think that some of the ways that the characters thought ended up being a little too biased, all in all I thought it was a great movie and I would defenetly recomend it as something that could be seen by all ages. Also, as a little bit extra the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic.
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AGE
Great family movie that spans the sibling gap
We took our 10 year old daughter and 5 year old son to this movie and all of us loved it. Its incredibly well-written, funny, and the animation is a nice departure from the "Pixar-style try to look human" stuff we've come to expect from Toy Story et. al. The animation is painterly and simple. It also doesn't hurt to have k.d. Lang and Bonnie Raitt on the soundtrack (at least for us 40-something moms).
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AGE
Very Cute
My kids (5 & 7) have watched this over and over, and they laugh each time.
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AGE
A little too much violence
My parents bought this movie for our 4 year old daughter and we watched together on our weekly movie night.
It is a cute story, but with a little too much violence, both physical and verbal. I was also dissappointed to see guns in a kids' movie. A lot of it went over my daughter's head but she laughed at the visually funny parts. And we used it as a good starting point for a conversation about hitting and guns. It's an average film, but there are better movies to watch with your kids.
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AGE
Rented it, and never gave it back
We rented this from Blockbuster, and ended up just buying it because we enjoyed it so much. My boys watched it over and over, and laughed every time. It is so nice to have a kid's movie with no death of the mom, or super-scary chase scenes, or other inappropriate material. I thought the whole thing was very delightful, funny, and the soundtrack is great.
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AGE
HOME ON THE RANGE
I recently viewed HOME ON THE RANGE with my brother and dad, and it was very funny. It wasn't a 3 or 4 but 3 1/2 (I put 4). It is off an assembly line of various other Disney movies but it was a joy to watch. (k.d Lang's song is great!!!)
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AGE
The stupidest most boring disney movie ever
I hate this movie. It's an idiot-boy film. It's so boring. The jokes are not funny and the character look bland. I hate it. Skip it
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AGE
not for me
I was very disappointed at the language used. My son watched the movie and started saying shut up and stupid all the time so I decided he wouldnt be watching it. Its not a very good movie anyway. It was kinda lame. It really didnt move me. Also, I think there was too much violence, but it is rated PG....
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AGE
Don't Bother
I couldn't sit five minutes through this movie, even as a young kid. Skip it.
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AGE
It's okay
I can kinda see why this movie caused the end of hand-drawn animation for a good 5 years. No, I am not downrating this for the stupid and generic reasons the oversensitive parents and children who shouldn't be reviewing movies in the first place are. The thing is... the story was a little too generic for its time. The characters weren't really that charming and it felt rushed at the start. And you can just see the lack of effort that went into the animations for this. The truth is, they wanted to get this over with quickly, so they rushed the animations. The humor also felt kind of bland. It was funny, but it also felt a tad forced, especially the moments involving the Willies. All of this combined with a non-threatening villain (Which, btw, is NOT something to praise a movie for, parents!!!) loses the film 2 points.
Now for the good: Although laughably bad for a 2004 theatrical release, the animations aren't horrid. Plus some characters are actually pretty interesting and likable. The only problem is that these characters are kind of downplayed and don't take up much of the movie. I would have LOVED to see more of the goat and the "bounty hunter", but since that bounty hunter barely had any screentime, it didn't come across as special when his dark secret was revealed. Another strong point is the music. Let's face it, the best Disney songs of all time are those that came from the rhythm composed by Alan Menken and while the songs in this are kinda short, Alan's musical stylings still manages to get me tapping my feet.
All in all, Home on the Range is just okay. It's one of the weaker Disney films, yes, but it's good.
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| Topics: | horses and farm animals |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Will Finn |
| Cast: | Judi Dench, Roseanne Barr, Steve Buscemi |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 90 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 2, 2004 |
| DVD release date: | September 14, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | brief mild rude humor |
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