Home on the Range is the third Disney animated film which I had to watch for the first time for this blog. I have heard some pretty terrible things about this film and, well, I think I agree. The music is beautiful (thank you Alan Menken!) but the storyline…cows being hypnotized by yodelling villains…?
Premiered on: March 21, 2004 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood
Directed by:
Will Finn
John Sanford
Produced by: Alice Dewey Goldstone
Based on: Original Story
Sequels: None
Cast:
Roseanne Barr – Maggie
Judi Dench – Mrs. Caloway
Jennifer Tilly – Grace
Cuba Gooding Jr. – Buck
Randy Quaid – Alameda Slim
Charles Haid – Lucky Jack
Carole Cook – Pearl Gesner
G.W. Bailey – Rusty
Joe Flaherty – Jeb
Steve Buscemi – Wesley
Richard Riechle – Sam the Sheriff
Lance LeGault – Junior the Buffalo
Patrick Warburton – Patrick
Estelle Harris – Audrey
Sam Levine – The Willie Brothers
Supervising Animators:
Dale Baer
Chris Buck
Sandro Cleuzo
Russ Edmonds
Mark Henn
Duncan Marjoribanks
Bruce W. Smith
Michael Surrey
Music by:
Alan Menken
Glenn Slater
Songs:
“(You Ain’t) Home on the Range”
“Little Patch of Heaven”
“Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo”
“Will the Sun Ever Shine Again”
“Wherever the Trail May Lead”
“Anytime You Need a Friend”
Academy Awards: None
The Story:
Home on the Range begins in the desert. The song “(You Ain’t) Home on the Range” is playing as a coyote chases a rabbit through a herd of cattle. The rabbit keeps getting into all kinds of trouble. The title card is shown. The cowboys ride by Sheriff Sam and the sheriff is putting up a Wanted Sign for Alameda Slim.
A narrator is telling a story of how once upon a time, she did have a home on the range but not anymore. A cow is hitched up to a wagon near a stream with her farmer. She says that she is currently between homes because she lost her old home to a mean bunch of cattle rustlers. Her story flashes back to when Alameda Slim and the Willie Brothers gang showed up on a cliff near the Dixon Ranch the night that they stole the cattle. They stole the whole herd before the farmer wakes up and runs out of his house to the field. The farm is empty except for the one cow still in the barn. She says that the poor farmer couldn’t afford to keep up the place or keep her. They leave in the wagon that has a sign on the back reading “California or bust.”
Back at the wagon, they move away from the stream and the cow says that no matter how bad it gets, someone always has it worse. The rabbit then runs by with a rattle snake on his head before running into a cactus.
The farmer tells Maggie to take a look at her new home, which is a dairy farm. The farm is called Patch of Heaven and the song “Little Patch of Heaven” plays.
Pearl is feeding the chickens and her cows are helping out with the chores.
The cows, Grace and Mrs. Caloway, hear an argument and Mrs. Caloway tells Grace that she should handle it because it is time that Grace has more reasonability on the farm. Grace heads over to the piglets who are arguing with Jeb the goat. The piglets want their tin can back and say that Jeb took it. Jeb insists that it is his can. Grace tries to help but she only makes it worse as the piglets declare that they are going to kill the goat and attack Jeb. A fight breaks out. Mrs. Caloway comes over and everyone immediately knows that she means business. She tells the piglets to leave the goat alone because Jeb needs peace and quiet. She then also gives the piglets the can and Jeb isn’t happy about that. Mrs. Caloway asks Jeb if he already has enough cans of his own and Jeb answers no, despite the giant pile of tin cans beside him.
Pearl is happy to take Maggie from her previous owner. He warns her that she is a bit headstrong but Pearl thinks that Maggie will fit right in then. The chickens excitedly tell Mrs. Caloway that there is a newcomer. Pearl introduces Maggie to the other animals and Maggie makes a big showy entrance. Pearl says that Maggie is a three time winner of the Golden Udder award and she is the original Miss Happy Heifer. Mrs. Caloway is not impressed that there is a show cow at Patch of Heaven.
Pearl leaves and the cows awkwardly introduce each other. One of the piglets says that Maggie is the biggest cow that he ever saw. Maggie responses that if he is in charge, then she should thank him, but if not, she will have to sit on him. The piglet runs away screaming but Maggie stops him and says that she is only kidding. She shows him a magic trick by pulling an apple out of his ear and then she pulls corn out of her own ear and all of the piglets think that this is great. Grace also thinks that the tricks are fun but Mrs. Caloway does not like that Maggie is teaching the piglets to play with food. Maggie ends up squishing Jeb and teaching the piglets how to belch. Mrs. Caloway is very unhappy about that.
Sheriff Sam is racing towards Patch of Heaven and tells his horse, Buck, to slow down.
At Patch of Heaven, Maggie is still playing with the piglets and they steal Jeb’s family heirloom tin can. Suddenly Buck and the sheriff comes flying into the farm and Buck calls himself a superstar. The piglets are very impressed and Maggie asks who the hotshot is. The mama pig responses “Buck” very dreamy like. Mrs. Caloway calls him a city slicker. The sheriff stops by Pearl and tells Buck to take it easy because this is no rodeo. The sheriff came out to bring Pearl another bank notice. Pearl just sighs and says that the bank will their money soon enough. Sheriff Sam says that the bank is calling gin everyone’s debt because they are losing money something fierce with all of the cattle rustling going on. He tells Pearl that if the bank doesn’t get their money in three days, they are going to auction off Patch of Heaven. The animals gather around and are just as surprised as Pearl. Sam says that he is sorry but there is nothing he can do. He and Buck leave and Mrs. Caloway says to Buck that she hopes he is proud of himself. He says that he is.
Pearl is very upset. Right before Sam leaves the property, he turns around and tells Pearl that she has the best livestock and all she needs to do is sell off a few of the critters. She is very upset at him. Pearl declares that they are all family and she can’t sell off family. Pearl tells Sam to get going. She swings a garden hoe at him and scares him off.
Pearl is very sad and she starts to faint but Mrs. Caloway and Grace catch her. She drops the bank notice on the ground. They bring her to her home. Pearl says that she is sorry but she is out of ideas. All of the animals look very sad. They are all quiet until Jeb declares he knows what is going to happen next, they are all going to be eaten! Mrs. Caloway tries to get him to stop talking and Maggie says that there must be something they can do. A pig says that this isn’t fair. And that gives Maggie an idea; she says that they can win lots of money at the county fair. Mrs. Caloway interrupts but everyone chants to let the new cow talk. Maggie says that they are all good looking bunch and she sees some real potential. The fair is in two weeks. She thinks that they should go to town and butter up Buck to give them more time. Grace is all for it but Mrs. Caloway doesn’t want to abandon Pearl in her hour of need for such a ridiculous plan.
Maggie says to suit herself because they have a farm to save! She and Grace hear off and Grace says to forgive Mrs. Caloway because she is just a little tense. Maggie asks what Mrs. Caloway’s special is, sour cream?
Mrs. Caloway still thinks that it is a crazy idea but the little chicks are chirping and glaring at her. She tells them not to look at her so crossly. She knows that they are going to say that Maggie and Grace will need someone like her to keep them on the straight and narrow. Mrs. Caloway gives in and says that there will be no mushy goodbyes and she follows the other cows. Maggie asks what made her change her mind and Mrs. Caloway says that she would rather not talk about it. Grace says that it is a chick thing and the chicks high five each other. All of the other animals wish them good luck.
Along their journey, Grace is badly singing “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain” and Maggie is getting very annoyed. She notices that vultures are starting to circle around. Mrs. Caloway gasps and Maggie yells at the birds that Grace isn’t dying. They ask if she is sure because Grace’s singing is so awful. Grace then asks the cows how to find the sheriff in town and Mrs. Caloway says that they will need to find Buck to find the sheriff. She comments that the horse is a legend in his own mind.
In Buck’s imagination it is high noon and he is in the middle of closing in on a bunch of bandits. He is able to take them all out. He hears someone call his name and comes back to reality. It is Rusty the dog calling him who is playing tic tac toe with Buck. Sheriff Sam is sleeping nearby. Rusty says that Buck was sleep fighting again and almost threw a shoe. Buck complains that all of the other horses out there are fighting bad guys and taking names! Rusty says that it might not be Dodge City but they do get their share of excitement.
Sam is woken up for a telegram. The message is about Rico catching another bad guy and Buck is really excited that Rico is coming to town. He would love a life like Rico’s.
The three cows arrive in town. They are surprised that there are no fences around to keep the people from roaming. They decide that the people must be domesticated. The cows think that the town is perfectly safe at first but then every little sound makes them jump! The cows run and hide. They find a door with a star on it and think that it must be the sheriff’s office. But it turns out to be a saloon’s backdoor.
There are dancers on stage and the cows come running in. There is lots of screaming and a fight breaks out between the dancers and the crowd. The patrons think that this is all part of the show. The cows get thrown out of the saloon.
The cows bump into Buck and Rusty and say that they want a word with Buck about the bank notice. They ask for two weeks and will have $60 then. Buck says that it is three days only and Rusty says that it isn’t even enough money. He sniffs the notice and concludes that they will need $750. The cows have no idea where to get the money.
A storm comes in and everyone in town that Rico is coming. Rico and his horse arrive and the whole town is terrified of him. Grace asks who that is and Buck comments that she doesn’t know a hero when she sees one. Rico tosses a bandit to the sheriff and demands his money. Maggie thinks that the sheriff is giving away free money and heads off. Rico asks who is next to capture and Sam says that there is only one bad guy left and that is Alameda Slim. Rico asks what the reward is and Sam says $750. Maggie’s eyes grow very wide at that. She tells the other cows that they should go nab Slim and use the reward money to save the farm. Mrs. Caloway doesn’t agree.
Rico says that he will need a fresh horse and Buck is very excited at this! He prances around to get attention and Rico asks what about Buck and Sam warns that he is a handful. But Rico chooses Buck anyway and the horse is delighted at this.
Maggie is still trying to convince Mrs. Caloway of the plan. She says that they just need to follow the nearby chuck wagon to a cattle drive and let the bad guys come to them. They end up pushing and shoving each other into the mud as Grace tries to calm them but gets caught in the middle.
Rico and Sam see this fight and Sam lassos the cows to the chuck wagon. The chuck wagon’s driver does not understand English and thinks that he is being gifted free cows and accepts them eagerly. Maggie says that this is not exactly what she had in mind but this will work. They take off. Rico and Buck leave town as well.
On the journey, Grace is badly singing “Home on the Range.” It is sunset and they go by Dixon Rach being auctioned off. Maggie is very sad about it. Grace asks what will happen to the cow that lived there and Maggie responses that she will be okay. Maggie wants to know how Maggie knows this and Maggie responses that Grace is looking at her. Maggie tells them about her old farm and how Slim stole their cattle. A sign in put up by the farm that reads “Sold to Mr. Y. O’del, Esq.”
They arrive at the cattle drive and Mrs. Caloway is nervous about being around all those bulls. Maggie assures her that it is fine but then all of the cattle wake up to check out the dairy cow. Mrs. Caloway says to ignore them but Grace pipes up that they are looking for Alameda Slim. The bulls laugh at them and say that Slim is only a made-up scare story. A gun then fires and the cowboys are snatched away from their nearby campfire. Grace thinks that it must be Slim and the Willie Brothers and the bulls are terrified.
The cowboys are tied up and Maggie and Mrs. Caloway are able to slip out of their ropes but Grace is stuck. Maggie sees Slim and says that it is payback time. She keeps trying to attack him but Slim ducks away every time. He begins to sing “Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo” and hypnotizes the cattle to follow him. Maggie and Mrs. Caloway are hypnotized as well but Grace is not. She tries to get the other cows to snap out of it. She drags the wagon which is still attached to her and stumbles down a hill. The wagon swipes up Maggie and Mrs. Caloway and they are able to escape.
The cowboys and Rico are closing in on Alameda Slim and the cattle but then Slim knocks over a giant rock which blocks the path. The wagon with the cows crashes into Rico and Buck. The cowboys tells Rico what happened as Maggie and Mrs. Caloway tell Grace how Slim started singing and then they felt like they were dreaming. Buck pleads with the cows not to embarrass him in front of his partner and the cows laugh at him. Buck goes crazy trying to show off his skills and so Rico tells the cowboys to take Buck back to town because he is too skittish around cows. Buck is very sad when Rico takes off on another horse. Mrs. Caloway and Maggie start up the path that Rico just took. Grace invites Buck to join their team but tells him that he must work on his anger management issues first. But Buck says that he wouldn’t help the cows if his life depended upon it. Grace leaves to follow the other cows.
Buck says to himself that he could catch Alameda Slim with one hoof tied behind his back. Then he gets the idea that he should. The cowboys try to catch him but he escapes and takes off. He passes the cows and Mrs. Caloway now thinks that they won’t be able to compete with both Rice and Buck trying to catch Slim. Grace reminds them of their secret weapon which is “who better to catch a cattle thief than a cow.” Mrs. Caloway gives in and the cows continue their journey.
In Alameda Slim’s secret lair, he says that they have the last of the MacDonald cows so the farmer will soon be flat broke. He gets dressed in a business outfit and says now it is time for a businessman to step and take all of the land. His nephews, the Willies Brothers, don’t recognize Slim in his outfit so the villain has to explain that this is his disguise to sneak into the farm auctions to buy up all of the land. He brands Dixon Ranch on his map of all the land to mark the new land he just acquired. He complains about how he was not appreciated in his past jobs as a farm hand but one of his nephews suggests that maybe the farmers did not like his singing. Slim is very angry about his yodeling being called singing and another nephew insults his yodeling and Slim tries to smack him. He is sitting on the couch and ducks from Slim and Slim realizes that behind his nephew’s head on the map is an outline of Patch of Heaven which he did not see before. He asks his nephew if he sits in that exact same spot every time they are in the secret lair and his nephew admits that he does. Another nephew reads the paper and says that Patch of Heaven is going on auction Thursday morning and Slim is very excited.
Sheriff Sam puts up an auction sign on Patch of Heaven and all of the sad looking animals are wearing auction numbers. They are panicking and Jeb tells everyone that the cows are not coming back. There is even more panic but the father pig shouts and gets everyone’s attention. He assures the other animals that the cows are fine and will come back. He gives examples of how Mrs. Caloway and Grace have helped them all in the pass. Sam tells Pearl how sorry he is and he leaves. The father pig comes close to Pearl and she says that she doesn’t know what is worse, that she is losing her farm or that her cows are all lost and alone out there.
The cows are following the cattle tracks. Buck is not impressed that the cows are keeping up so he races ahead and makes tracks in every direction to confuse them. The cows know that the trick was Buck’s and aren’t going to fall for it but then it starts to rain and all of the tracks are washed away. The cows are then caught in a flash flood and are trying to make it to higher ground. They are swept away in a wave. Mrs. Caloway saves from Maggie from drowning and they are able to make it to the high ground. Maggie says that they can’t give up but Mrs. Caloway says that the minute the water lets up, they are heading home. The cows argue and Mrs. Caloway says that Maggie is the biggest catastrophe to hit Patch of Heaven. They decide to go their separate ways but cannot leave the high ground so they just lay down away from each other.
At Patch of Heaven, Pearl is inside packing up and looking at photos of her animals. She goes to the barn and her and her animals are all looking sadly and Mrs. Caloway’s and Grace’s stalls. The song “Will the Sun Ever Shine Again” plays.
In the town, the cowboys are talking to Sam about what happened. Sam sadly puts his hand on Buck’s saddle.
Buck is by himself and looking very down. He then sees a reward poster for Slim and gets new energy to keep going.
The cows are also still very sad. They are still sleeping on the high ground and it is still raining. The song ends.
In the morning, the cows wake up and Mrs. Caloway comments that she supposes Maggie is going to take off and Maggie agrees. They look for Grace, who is behind the large rock. The rain has stopped and the flooding has gone. She is with a rabbit that she calls the Desert Shaman. The rabbit’s name is Lucky Jack and he says that people have come from all over to rub his lucky foot, which is actually a peg leg. He isn’t very lucky as he steps on his campfire. He cooks up a scorpion for the cows but they do not want to eat meat. Mrs. Caloway and Grace say that they are going back to their farm to say their last goodbyes. Lucky Jack sympathizes and says that his home, Echo Mine, was lost recently as well to some bandit who came in and forced out all of the rabbits. He shows them a wanted poster for Alameda Slim and says that was the bandit. Maggie now knows that Slim is hiding in Echo Mines and is determined to go get him. Grace wants to help but Mrs. Caloway refuses. Maggie is able to convince the other guy by reminding her that they need the money. Maggie promises to leave Patch of Heaven forever after they nab Slim. They take off with Lucky Jack to a reprise of ““(You Ain’t) Home on the Range.” Buck is also continuing his journey.
Alameda Slim is still trying to convince his nephews that he and the business man, Mr. Y. O’del, are the same person. A train comes into the mines and Mr. Wesley jumps out of it. He wants to load up the cows right away but Slim wants to count his money first.
Mrs. Caloway, Grace, and Maggie arrive outside the mines. They see Buck trying to make his way past Junior the bouncer buffalo. Junior will only let the cows in. Buck tries to pretend that he is ‘with’ the cows but they pretend not to know him. After the cows go into the mine, he sees Rico climbing up the rocks of the mine on his new horse.
Inside, the cows are trying to think up a plan. They decide that Mrs. Caloway and Grace will distract Slim and Maggie will push him into a mine cart and tie him up. They will wheel him away in the cart.
Buck goes up to Rico’s horse and convinces him to run away by saying that Rico will use the horse whip on him. He will also have to carry the big bad guy away. After the horse runs away, Buck comments that he was as stupid as the buffalo, not realizing that the buffalo is right behind him.
Alameda Slim is counting his money but he loses count because the Willie Brothers are counting the cattle out loud. Slim has to start all over again.
The cows find him from above and Grace reminds the others of the hypnotizing yodel and stuffs some of Lucky Jack’s fur into their ears.
The Willie Brothers count 4997 cows and Mr. Wesley is upset because it was supposed to be an even 5000. Slim thinks that they just must have miscounted but then they spot Grace. He starts to yodel but she is not affected. Slim then sees Mrs. Caloway and tries again but she is not affected either. He gets closer to the two cows and they pretend to be hypnotized to distract him and Maggie comes running up with the mine cart and pushes him in. Lucky Jack comes up and ties Slim up with the rope.
They run off and the Willie Brothers chase them. Junior is chasing Buck from the other direction and they all come to a crash. Buck is then pushing the cart with Slim in it, Junior is chasing Buck, the cows are chasing Junior, and the Willie Brothers are chasing the cows. Mr. Wesley comments that he gave up the circus for this.
The chase continues along the mine cart tracks and they run right by Rico. Buck tries to show Rico that he caught Slim but the cows grab the cart and take off again. The chase is on again. Rico rides on Buck and the horse is very excited to be a hero again. A bunch of dynamite suddenly goes off and the chase leaves the mine.
They race along train tracks as Mr. Wesley is driving the cow train from the other direction. The train and the mine cart crash together. Slim escapes and ties up the cows. He thinks that they have it out for him. He grabs the money from Mr. Wesley and reveals that Rico is actually is partner in crime. Buck is shocked. Slim takes off on Junior and says that he is off to go buy Patch of Heaven.
Buck turns around with Rico on him to go save the cows. They have been put on the train but Buck knocks out Wesley and bucks off Rico. He rescues the cows. Mrs. Caloway gets the idea to drive the train right to their farm. The free the rest of the cattle, lock up the bad guys, and take off with just the train engine.
Buck and Lucky Jack ride ahead to switch the train tracks to avoid another collision and the cows continue on.
The farm has just been sold to Mr. Y. O’del and Sheriff Sam gives him the deed to sign. The train then rides off the train tracks and crashes into the farm. Slim is shocked to see the cows and pulls a gun out at them. Jeb and the piglets attack him with tin cans and the other farm animals join in the attack. Slim’s disguise falls off and everyone then knows that he is actually the villain. Sam arrests Alameda Slim and gives the reward money to Pearl and her cows. They are all very excited that they farm is saved.
Grace and Mrs. Caloway think that Maggie has left Patch of Heaven like she said she would. They talk about how much they actually liked Maggie. Maggie was just behind them eating a snack and decides to stay at Patch of Heaven after hearing what nice things they had to say. A photo is taken of Pearl and her animals for the newspaper. Lucky Jack reads the newspaper story about how the cows nabbed Slim.
The cows, Pearl, Sam, and the other animals are coming back from the fair. They have all won many prizes. The reprise “Little Patch of Heaven” plays as everyone celebrates.
The end credits play to “Wherever The Trail May Lead” and “Anytime You Need A Friend.”
Trivia:
- The working title was Sweating Bullets.
- The saloon owner, Annie, was voice by former Texas governor Ann Richards.
- Home on the Range is the only animated film Alan Menken worked on during the Post-Renaissance Era.
- The idea for the film was originally pitch by Mike Gabriel around the same time he was directing Pocahontas. He was later removed from the project in 2000 due to persistent story problems and Will Finn and John Sanford were brought on board.
- Home on the Range suffered major financial loss at the box office.
- Alan Menken composed the song “Will the Sun Ever Shine Again” after the September 11 attacks.
- This film was the last Disney animated film to have a general release on VHS.
- The end credit song “Wherever The Trail May Lead” was sung by Tim McGraw and the song “Anytime You Need A Friend” was sung by The Beu Sisters.
Representation in the Disney Parks:
There is currently no representation of Home on the Range in the Disney Parks.
Check out the other films of Disney’s Post-Renaissance Era:
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