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Back Shelf Beauties
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Home on the Range As you have probably heard, Disney will not be entering into a new agreement with Pixar, the company that created Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. These have been Disney's most successful movies over the past 10 years, while its own animated division has delivered box office bombs like Treasure Planet and Atlantis. It's an understatement to say that Disney is under the gun to produce something on its own that can be as successful as those Pixar projects, so plenty of people like me have been looking very hard at this week's release, Home on the Range. Roseanne (minus the Barr, minus the Arnold) provides the voice of Maggie - a cow without a home. Her farm was devastated when the evil Alameda Slim and his gang stole all of the cattle and drove the owners into bankruptcy. She has been sold off to the Patch of Heaven farm, where she meets up with fellow cows Grace (Jennifer Tilly) and Mrs. Calloway (Judi Dench), but things aren't much better there. To save Patch of Heaven and avoid bankruptcy, can the three cows capture Alameda Slim and collect the reward money? Kids will love Maggie's wisecracks and vulgar traits (who would have thought that Roseanne would be good for a character that likes to burp and make lots of noise?), but don't let that scare you away from the movie. Writers/directors Will Finn and John Sanford have put together an interesting, if simple, story that kids will be able to understand and enjoy, while parents won't feel bored out of their minds. They give us plenty of laughs, sight gags and even a few sly jokes for those who are paying attention, but they don't come close to the heart-grabbing emotion and drama of classic movies like Finding Nemo or Bambi. On the positive side, Home on the Range is one of the few children's movies that dedicates some time and effort to developing the characters, which makes it work for me. We have several stories about the characters and their hopes and dreams, like Maggie's desire to find a place to call home, and Buck the Horse's (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) dream of becoming a big hero. This material gives us a reason to care for the animated characters and brings them to life for us. It brings them all together into a family of sorts, which gives the movie more drama and makes us hope that they will be successful. Maybe it's this heart and soul that attracted such major talent. While there are plenty of big name stars in Home on the Range, Judi Dench is the biggest surprise. I never thought this grand dame of the theater and movie legend would be interested in a Disney cartoon, but she adds something special to the movie. Roseanne is great doing her typical Roseanne shtick of being the loud, vulgar, obnoxious center of attention. Gooding Jr. is fine, but maybe tries a little too hard with Buck, and Tilly gets the biggest laughs as the dorky, tone deaf cow, Grace, who likes to sing all day and night long. However, Dench must bring dignity to a cow. She does a wonderful job making Mrs. Calloway into a dignified, but not snooty, leader who will win the audience's love. This is the kind of movie that kids will love, it isn't too scary, and you'll laugh. 2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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