Tagline: Bust A Moo.
Home on the Range movie storyline. Life is at its best for the happy animals at “Patch of Heaven,” a “pretty as pie” dairy farm way out west owned by a kindly lady named Pearl. Seldom is heard a discouraging word except perhaps from Jeb, a cantankerous old goat who thinks every tin can belongs to him. In her unofficial role as barnyard boss is Mrs. Caloway, a fastidious British cow with an air of authority and a stylish straw hat. Grace, the younger cow, is wide-eyed, a bit naïve, and has a penchant for new age thinking.The farm’s other inhabitants include a colorful assortment of pigs, chicks, and ducks.
This idyllic life is shaken to its core by two major events. A sassy show cow named Maggie (three time winner of the Golden Udder Award and the original Happy Heifer) comes to live at the farm when her owner’s land is foreclosed and she finds herself in need of a new home. Shortly afterwards, Sheriff Brown, on his hotshot horse Buck, arrives to tell Pearl that “Patch of Heaven” is set to go on the auction block in three days unless she comes up with a payment of $750.Maggie proposes that the animals could win some Blue Ribbon prize money at the upcoming county fair, and suggests the three cows mosey into town to convince Buck to help them get more time.Mrs. Caloway sees Maggie as an outsider and is reluctant to leave Pearl, but ultimately agrees to go along with the plan.
In town, Maggie, Mrs. Caloway and Grace learn about a $750 reward being offered for a notorious cattle rustler named Alameda Slim. They decide to pursue the desperado themselves and collect the reward money in order to save the farm. Buck refuses to help the girls, and sets his sights instead on assisting his hero, a mysterious champion bounty hunter named Rico. When Rico chooses Buck to be his horse, the ambitious horse champs at the bit to ride into action.
Meanwhile, the three cows attempt to find Slim by hitching up to a chuck wagon that is headed to a cattle drive. Their plan pays off, but the wily cattle rustler sends all of the cattle into a hypnotic trance with his trademark yodel before Maggie and the gang can stop him. Luckily, a tone-deaf Grace is unaffected and manages to save her two traveling companions while Slim makes off with the rest of the herd. Rico arrives too late to catch the slippery varmint, and ends up dumping Buck in favor of a more reliable horse.
The cow trio can’t seem to catch a break, and getting caught in a turbulent flash flood leaves them wondering, “will the sun ever shine again?” Their luck changes with the arrival of Lucky Jack, a onefooted rabbit who turns out to be a Jack-of-all-trades. When he reveals that his home at Echo Mine has been taken over by a yodeling cattle rustler, the girls set out with a new sense of purpose.
At the mine, Slim outlines his master plan to his knuckle-headed nephews, the Willies, and prepares to sell off his hijacked cows to a shifty cattle broker named Wesley. Maggie, Grace and Mrs. Caloway arrive on the scene and set into motion a daring plan to de-rail Slim. Things seem to be going their way until Rico makes an appearance and reveals a few surprises of his own.
Slim escapes and heads for the “Patch of Heaven” auction. It is the last parcel of land he needs to complete his real estate kingdom and exact his revenge on the homesteaders who failed to appreciate his genius for yodeling. Buck finally sees Rico’s true colors and joins the girls as they make a last ditch effort to save the farm.With the odds firmly against them and time rapidly running out, the stage is set for a final confrontation with Alameda Slim.
Home on the Range (2004)
Directed by: Will Finn, John Sanford
Starring: Judi Dench, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker, Randy Quaid, David Burnham, Ja’Net DuBois, Gregory Jbara, Marshall Efron, Estelle Harris, Lance LeGault
Screenplay by: Will Finn, John Sanford
Production Design by: David Cutler
Film Editing by: H. Lee Peterson
Art Direction by: David Cutler
Music by: Alan Menken
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild rude humor.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: April 2, 2004
Views: 85
