What did they smoke when making Home on the Range?

[Evil Genie Jafar]

As I said in other post, while I was watching it I was like and after watching it .

I knew the movie wasn't so good by some reviews but I never trusted them before:

Ok, Atlantis is not my favorite but at least you can tell the quality and time spent on it. And after all, it's an entertaing movie.

Brother Bear was quite good and very touching.

Treasure Planet, I like it a LOT.

but Home on the Range?

I mean, come on!!!! We've seen Disney movies lead by animal characters before but COWS?! (of course I knew it before purchasing it)

And the whole idea of a group of cows chasing a bandit didn't work AT ALL.

I just can't believe how Disney decided on making this. Heck, even when they were making it, they should have known it didn't make any sense; the funny thing is that if you see "The making of" feature" on the DVD you'll see that their first idea was the best (a guy character that enters a ghost town and has to deal with the bandit).

And that's the question of the of the post. How in the world they changed that concept from the guy, to a child, to a little bull, to one cow and finally three... it's like

PS

I'm guessing they made an extremely weak movie on purpose, so that someone could blame the format and get "an excuse" to move to 3D.

[ichabod]

Hell hath no fury like an Ichabod scorned!

[Jack]

Yeah, I agree the story is weak. It started out as a story about a cow herder, I believe, and because it wasn't working for one reason or another, they made it an animal-starrer instead. Yeah, they should've spent more time developing the story, but time equals money, and there was already a lot of money spent developing the movie before it became a comedy about cows. So at some point, I'm sure, the company just stopped the "developing process" and had them start animating it.

That's the problem with a lot of Disney's recent flicks I think. They spend so much time in the pre-production period, changing the story from one thing to another, that the project just ends up feeling half-finished and not focused.

[PatrickvD]

I don't know but... I liked it a lot better than Brother Bear, with all the stupid whiny little bears, the confession scene just screamed: cry people! CRY! And the ending was weak and re-used animation from the begining of the movie (Disney during the 70's anyone?) Brother Bear was good somewhere in the middle... the rest was a mess.

And Treasure Planey... well... talk about creative schizophrenia. What a trainwreck.

As for Home on The Range, well it's part of what I call "The Craptastic Three". It's obvious that when the plug was pulled on traditional animation back in 2002, these three movies were churned out just to "get it over with". You cant expect any of them to be as good as Lilo & Stitch. But of these three, Home on the Range is in my opinion, easily the best. But in this case, the best is still not good enough, not by a long shot.

Traditional animation.... was murdered. And after these three trainwrecks were made they said: see, 2d is dead. Well a little correction is in order. 2d was murdered .....

[Andy]

Well i havent seen Brother Bear or Home On The Range, but both im planning on buying on dvd very soon........

I just hope i enjoy them!

[Wonderlicious]

This is worrying now. This is the scenario:

1. Wonderlicious was a poo and didn't see Home on the Range on the big screen when he should have in order to support 2D.

2. Wonderlicious now wants to see Home on the Range and is thinking of renting it.

3. Ichabod likes Home on the Range.

4. Ichabod seems to be in the minority, as everybody apart from him dislikes Home on the Range.

5. Wonderlicious is scared that he will be in the majority and find another Disney movie bad.

6. Wonderlicious feels sad.

[ichabod]

Even though I have a slight ( understatemnt of the year) obsession with Home on the Range, I do admit it does have some weaknesses.

However most of the complaints I have heard about this film are pathetic, some of the complaints that I have heard, and have argued are:

1. It's badly animated.

Just because it's different, doesn't make it bad. Ok cows with points and 90 degree angles do look a bit odd the first time you see them. It's art! Just becaus ethey're not fluffy rounded critters like brother bear or the lion king so what! Now if they meant the cows to look round and fluffy and this was the outcome, then maybe you could say that.

2. It looks flat and simple.

Hello! It's an artistic style people.

3. It doesn't seem like a Disney movie.

This is the one I hear most, and my reply is so what? It doesn't feel like a disney movie therefore it's bad?

4. It's only 75 minutes long.

Ok I agree I was disappointed by the short running time, but so many disney films have a shorter running time than that! And I think it is pathetis to judge a film simply by its running time, the film doesn't need to be any longer, it does the job in 75 minutes.

5. 3 cows chasing a cattle rustler is a weird idea for a film.

Really? What even weirder than:

Mad woman wants coat made out of puppies
Elephant learns to fly
Chinese woman dresses as man and joins army
Bear takes boy to village
Princess flees stepmother and moves in with dwarfs
Lion is framed for his father's murder
Allien crash lands on earth and makes friend with hawaiian girl

It ain't that weird an idea, it's basically the pied piper of Hamelin with cowboys!

I think that one major point in the failure of Home on the Range is the fact that the story is not like a modern animated film. It is not a grand epic atory like Mulan or Tarzan or The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is a sweet little film that does not try to be a great epic and I think that is why I love it. I think Home on the Range is more similar in terms of content, plot and story to films like 'The Jungle Book', 'The Aristocats' and '101 Dalmatians'.

I also think it's artistic style was to its detriment, I honestly believe that CGI has won people over for the moment, If HOTR was CGI I bet it would have made at least $100,000,000. I think people see traditional animation as childish whereas CGI is something people any age can see. For exmple I have a friend who said he would watch Shrek, Ice Age and Toy Story. But not anything made by Disney because traditional animation is for kids, Which is a statement of pure insanity in my opinion. Also how else can you explian successes like the travesty that was Shark Tale. I honestly believe that people will get sick of CGI and soon 2D will start to come back though.

I may be alone in my liking of Home on the Range, but I do not think it is bad at all, and like I say people are probably a bit 'what the hell?' about it because it is tame by the standards of modern animation, and as i said i feel it is very similar to the films like the Jungle Book.

Almost Every film released by Disney in the 2000s has either been rubbished by the press or has been a financial failure, however I do not think that there has been a single bad film amognst them, Everything from Fantasia 2000 to Hotr has been fantastic IMO and I would rate them all in my top 20 at least.

[RJKD23]

ok, it's not a great movie (i'll say that.. Sorry Ichabod!)
but it's still entertaining. and different.
i don't think i've seen a movie with COWS being the lead.

i'll agree that the Disney Animated films are getting weak!

[Evil Genie Jafar]

I'll give more details on each of the films Patrick mentions and why do I think they're better than Home on the Range; and here I mean better than this one:

-Treasure Planet as flawed as you want to see it, the main source (Treasure Island) is still there and that's why it shines.

- Brother Bear is weak all right but it manages to acomplish what it reaches for: being touching and dramatic.

And most importantly: in one way or the other both of these films manage to keep on with the plot and feel well driven from start to finish. And in the end make you feel you had a complete experience.


Home on the Range on the other hand feels rushed, unbalanced and awkward in almost every possible way. And it just fails to acomplish it's main goal: being as funny as it wants to be (and that's what hurts it so bad having The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo and Stitch as previous statements. and obviously trying to reach them but pales in comparison).

Also as strange and simple as the story is Disney could have worked it so much better; Lilo and Stitch anyone?

And of all these 3 it's a shame Disney chose this one as the last one in 2D. Even if I'd like the movie the story is so bland and simple it was a bad choice to make it last.


PS

Also you may say that Brother Bear scene was made to make you cry from the begining it was shown...well... the same way Scar killing Mufasa was meant to be dramatic.

[PatrickvD]

Also you may say that Brother Bear scene was made to make you cry from the begining it was shown...well... the same way Scar killing Mufasa was meant to be dramatic.

well, I guess that is why I dislike The Lion king with every inch of my being Don't try Lion King on me, doesn't work

Anyway, I respect your opinion and I understand why you find Treasure Planet and Brother Bear to be better than Home on the Range. I still found Home on the Range to be more entertaining than TP and BB But like I sais, overall, all three are major let downs in my opinion.

[2099net]

This isn't a dig at Evil Genie Jafar, but reviewers and the public in general.

There has been nothing but hating for Home on the Range. Why?

Why do people think Disney story staff on drugs? What about Spongebob Squarepants? What the heck were the creators of that show on? Or The Powerpuff Girls? Or even Shark Tale? What was that all about?

People thought it would be fun to have a film about cows who become reluctant bounty hunters. And I agree. It was fun.

As for the designs. Well, if you make your animation too realistic, you have to ask, why animate? The designs were great. The animation was great. See how many expressions Buck the horse could get from so few lines. Now, that's animation that requires skill, not just rotoscoping actual movements.

Disney tried to do something different with Home on the Range. It was only one film before that, that all the reviewers were complaining that Disney were following a set standard for Brother Bear.

How can Disney win?

[ichabod]

This isn't a dig at Evil Genie Jafar, but reviewers and the public in general.

There has been nothing but hating for Home on the Range. Why?

Why do people think Disney story staff on drugs? What about Spongebob Squarepants? What the heck were the creators of that show on? Or The Powerpuff Girls? Or even Shark Tale? What was that all about?

People thought it would be fun to have a film about cows who become reluctant bounty hunters. And I agree. It was fun.

As for the designs. Well, if you make your animation too realistic, you have to ask, why animate? The designs were great. The animation was great. See how many expressions Buck the horse could get from so few lines. Now, that's animation that requires skill, not just rotoscoping actual movements.

Disney tried to do something different with Home on the Range. It was only one film before that, that all the reviewers were complaining that Disney were following a set standard for Brother Bear.

How can Disney win?

If only there was a 'you summed everything up perfectly, in a way better than i ever could. Thankyou' smilie!

That is my general feeling with Disney and reviewers lately, 'How can Disney win?'. No matter what they do it always seems to be frowned upon. If they try something different, it's always 'it doesn't seem like a disney film' or 'it's too different'. If they attempt something more grown up without cute characters and songs it'sa always ' it's not the kind of disney film that's suitable for kids' and if Disney then decides to do something more familiar and traditional, like Brother Bear it's always 'haven't we seen this before'. I really think the press needs to give disney a break.

And yet they give insane 5 star review to crap like Shrek!

[PatrickvD]

This isn't a dig at Evil Genie Jafar, but reviewers and the public in general.

There has been nothing but hating for Home on the Range. Why?

Why do people think Disney story staff on drugs? What about Spongebob Squarepants? What the heck were the creators of that show on? Or The Powerpuff Girls? Or even Shark Tale? What was that all about?

People thought it would be fun to have a film about cows who become reluctant bounty hunters. And I agree. It was fun.

As for the designs. Well, if you make your animation too realistic, you have to ask, why animate? The designs were great. The animation was great. See how many expressions Buck the horse could get from so few lines. Now, that's animation that requires skill, not just rotoscoping actual movements.

Disney tried to do something different with Home on the Range. It was only one film before that, that all the reviewers were complaining that Disney were following a set standard for Brother Bear.

agreed. You pretty much summed up all the things that made this film memorable. And I don't understand the big hate at all, well I understand a little, but why did Sharktale get away with it? Sure 'Home' was dissapointing compared to other recent Disney films. Wich is mainly due to the fact that the last three films felt really rushed, to get it over with quickly. But it continues to amaze me how so many other studios get away with a lot of bad stuff, while disney gets criticised for every little fart.

[Disney Guru]

Yeah, I agree the story is weak. It started out as a story about a cow herder, I believe, and because it wasn't working for one reason or another, they made it an animal-starrer instead. Yeah, they should've spent more time developing the story, but time equals money, and there was already a lot of money spent developing the movie before it became a comedy about cows. So at some point, I'm sure, the company just stopped the "developing process" and had them start animating it.

That's the problem with a lot of Disney's recent flicks I think. They spend so much time in the pre-production period, changing the story from one thing to another, that the project just ends up feeling half-finished and not focused.

Out of reading all of the posts I agree with Jack. This film was nice and sweet, I bought the dvd so I must have liked it. But the plot was lacking in some parts. I thought that they took some scenes and made them to long. Just like in One of Our Dinosuars is Missing with the Car Chase scene, when the Evil chinese Gentleman lead by Peter Ustinov, are chasing the Nannies driving the "Lowry" they stole from the Chinese, which the Nannies were lead up by that Brilliant Hellen Hayes. They must have run out of script because that Car Chase was to long.

[MickeyMousePal]

Home on the Range is one of my least favorites Disney Animated Classic. In my opinion I think that Brother Bear, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet were way better. When I first saw Home on the Range at the theater I was angry because I went to support Disney’s 2-D animation and after seeing the film I thought it suck.
The characters were so lame and the story was too much of a coincidence. Also the villains were so lame and dumb except Alameda Slim he was the only great character in the film. At a point I thought even the sequels from Disney animations were better then Home on the Range. For example I loved Pocahontas 2, Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves and The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride.

[IggieKuzco]

im not really sure wat happend cause i felll asleep about 20 minutes into the flick... there were some cows and i think i saw a horse... but i know tha i heard cuba gooding junior after i started to drift off.

wtvr... from wat i saw... first 20 min werent amazing.. obviously.. i fell asleep. but u never know where a movie like that could lead to.

it's strange for som reason the opening (until they got to a town or smtn tby then i was out) reminded me alot of an old winnie the pooh cartoon in "the new adventures" where they sorta put on this play out west and there'r a bunch of donkies and piglet's made sherriff smtn lik that... any1 know wat its called?

[lord-of-sith]

I saw this....., for a lack of a better word, movie in theaters, and I found the jokes to be underdeveloped (i.e. the cans joke, "Don't you think you have enough cans?" "No" (See a pile of Cans)). And plus, it disgusts me to see such gross humor in a Disney movie. Brother Bear was the better of the three by a long shot. And no, the plot is not weirder than the norm, but the plot is not pulled off as well. Plus, the train scene made me want to cry as I saw a poor display of Animals doing things that only humas can do. And plus, Buck was annoyning. Come on Disney, you can do better than this!

[Jack]

And plus, Buck was annoyning.

Actually, I thought Buck was the biggest saving grace of the film. Without him, it would've been much less entergetic and would've fallen squarely in company with the lackadasical and lazy '70s Animated Classics. Plus, that sequence with Buck in 2.35:1 is just rad.

[goofystitch]

Ichabod, you are not alone. I really liked "Home on the Range." I love the art style of the film. I think it has some really unique and beautiful backgrounds. I also like the character design and animation. I like the story alot too. It's sweet and simple. Three dairy cows trying to save there home. I don't think every Disney movie needs a big complicated plot. I love the music too. Something that has been missing in some of Disney's more recent films, with the exception of "Brother Bear." I especially love "Will the Sun Ever Shine Again." As for the comedy, I have a weird sense of humor and found this movie to be hilareous. I especially loved the "Seinfeld" references. Anyways, it's all subject to opinion. I think it is sad that Disney's last 2-D film was not well received, but I am a satisfied customer. However, my brother has also made the following comment about me: "If they slaped the Disney name on a turd, you would buy it and like it." So maybe my opinions can't really be taken seriously since it is mildly biased. lol.

[Evil Genie Jafar]

I saw this....., for a lack of a better word, movie in theaters, and I found the jokes to be underdeveloped (i.e. the cans joke, "Don't you think you have enough cans?" "No" (See a pile of Cans)). And plus, it disgusts me to see such gross humor in a Disney movie. Brother Bear was the better of the three by a long shot. And no, the plot is not weirder than the norm, but the plot is not pulled off as well. Plus, the train scene made me want to cry as I saw a poor display of Animals doing things that only humas can do. And plus, Buck was annoyning. Come on Disney, you can do better than this!

Yep, when I saw the part of the belches I was like... , what's up with that?

In the case of Buck, I didn't find it that bad.... just that they tried to make him so funny it didn't work for me; plus his scenes were besides of shallow too long.

the villains tough were the worst on a Disney movie ever (including sequels).

PS

The only good thing for me was the music, I did like it (and it should come to a surprise for someone that dislikes country music)