CriticSociety- film reviews

Review

Home on the Range

Director

Will Finn

John Sanford

Year

2004

Rating

Reviewed by

José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris

Review date

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of animated movies. I don’t necessarily watch them all, but when I set my sight on any given one, I won’t stop at anything to watch it. So what’s the big deal? Just go to the theater, you might say. Thing is, I don’t live in the U.S., and here in my home country animated movies are dubbed. Picky as I am, I just can’t stand the fact that I can’t watch a movie in its original language with its original dialogues. That’s how sometimes it becomes a crusade to get hold of the original version of this kind of movie. Luckily, I almost always get away with it!

Maggie the cow (voice of Roseanne) is forced to leave her farm and owner, so she joins an eclectic group of animals in a new farm and finds a new adventure there as her new owner is just about to lose the place due to lack of money. Maggie then convinces fellow cows Mrs. Calloway (voice of Judi Dench) and Grace (voice of Jennifer Tilly) to help her catch bounty hunter Rico (voice of Charles Dennis) so they can cash in on the reward. But they’re not alone out there, as a stallion, Buck (voice of Cuba Gooding Jr.) embarks on the same quest to attain the glory that has always eluded him.

I have a confession to make… I love cows. Not real-life ones, but animated creations of them. I don’t really know why. I guess they’re funny. So the moment I heard cows would be the basis for a new Disney movie I knew I wanted to see it. Sure, the movie is subdued Disney at its best. It isn’t one of their big releases or one that will be long remembered. It is, in a few words, a simple, funny, fast ride that does what it has to do.

That said, this movie is not really for adults. In the past years, animated fare has been given an extra dimension so that kids and adults can enjoy the same movies. Home on the Range, on the other hand, is clearly aimed at kids. Sure, it does have a few jokes only grown-ups will understand, but mostly the movie has all the characteristics to appeal to kids: it is fast paced, high on action, has cute characters and even bursts into sing-and-dance mode here and there. Ultimately the approach might be a bit tiring for people like me and you, but not as much as to deter you from watching it.

Ultimately it is the voice work that did it for me. Can you imagine Roseanne, Jennifer Tilly and Judi Dench all together? Only Disney can do it folks, and it pays off because they’re great together and the three of them provide exceptional talent and charisma. Their work here is splendid, and Roseanne’s character, above all, is a riot!

A perfectly fine diversion.

“Yeah, they’re real, quit staring!”

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