''Harry and the Hendersons'' is a 1987 American
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
directed and produced by
William Dear and starring
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...
,
Melinda Dillon,
Don Ameche
Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...
,
David Suchet,
Margaret Langrick
Margaret Langrick (born 1971) is a Canadian writer and retired actress. She is now known as Maggie Langrick, and is the CEO of the publishing company Wonderwell.
Filmography
Films
*''My American Cousin'' (1985) as Sandy Wilcox
*''Harry and the ...
, Joshua Rudoy,
Lainie Kazan, and
Kevin Peter Hall.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
served as its uncredited executive producer, while
Rick Baker provided the makeup and the creature designs for Harry. The film tells the story of a
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
family's encounter with the
cryptozoological
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness M ...
creature
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
, partially inspired by the numerous claims of sightings in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and other parts of both the United States and Canada over three centuries. In conjunction with the film's setting, shooting took place at several locations in the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
of Washington state near
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
and the town of Index near
US 2, as well as Seattle's
Wallingford,
Ballard and
Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood
* Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia
* Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan
* Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec
United ...
neighborhoods and other locations in or around Seattle.
''Harry and the Hendersons'' grossed $50 million worldwide. It won an
Oscar for
Best Makeup at the
60th Academy Awards, and inspired a
television spin-off of the same name. In the United Kingdom, the film was originally released as ''Bigfoot and the Hendersons'', though the television series retained the American title. The DVD and all current showings of the film in the UK now refer to the film by its original title. The original title was and still is used in Spain.
Plot
Following a camping trip in the nearby
Cascade mountains, George Henderson drives home to suburban
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
with his family when he hits a
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
with his
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
. Believing it to be dead and the key to fame and fortune, the family straps the creature to the roof of their car. A lone hunter tracking the creature discovers the Hendersons' damaged license plate.
That night, George goes to the garage to examine the Bigfoot and discovers it was alive and has escaped. He finds the creature in the kitchen, having knocked over the refrigerator while looking for food. The family soon realizes that the creature is intelligent and friendly. The family bonds with the creature and George decides to return him to the wilderness. Naming the Bigfoot "Harry", George tries to lure him into the station wagon with food, but Harry becomes upset and runs off.
Saddened, the family attempt to resume their normal lives, but sightings of Harry become more frequent as media fervor heightens. George tries to find Harry and visits the "North American Museum of Anthropology" to speak with Dr. Wallace Wrightwood, a supposed expert on Bigfoot. Giving his phone number to the museum clerk, George resumes his search. The legendary hunter-turned-Bigfoot-tracker, Jacques LaFleur, finds the Henderson household. At work, George's father asks him to make a poster of a vicious Bigfoot to drum up gun sales, but George throws the sketch away, replacing it with a proper depiction of the peaceful Harry. His father in turn alters it to make him look threatening, resulting in George quitting his job. George soon follows a Bigfoot sighting into the city while the terrified and confused Harry continues to evade hunters and the police as he attempts to find safety. George saves Harry from LaFleur, who is arrested. George brings Harry home and he is reunited with the Henderson family.
George invites Dr. Wrightwood to dinner, revealed to have been the museum clerk. He urges the Hendersons to give up on Bigfoot as it has destroyed his life. He then meets Harry, restoring his enthusiasm. Bailed out of jail, LaFleur travels to the Henderson house to kill Harry. Harry and the Hendersons escape with Dr. Wrightwood in his truck, and LaFleur gives chase. Fleeing back to the mountains, George tries to force Harry to leave. Confused and upset, Harry departs but the family realizes that LaFleur can track Harry's footprints in the snow. Despite their efforts to misdirect him, LaFleur tracks Harry and attempts to shoot him with a rifle. Harry subdues LaFleur and George intervenes when LaFleur attempts to escape, but Harry stops George from assaulting LaFleur. Through Harry's kindness, LaFleur gives up the hunt when he realizes that Harry is more than a simple beast.
As the family says goodbye, George thanks Harry and the two embrace. George tells him to take care of himself, to which Harry replies, "Okay" – revealing he has the ability to learn language. As Harry leaves, three other hiding Bigfoots and one adolescent suddenly emerge and then quickly disappear into the wilderness with Harry as the Henderson family watches in amazement.
Cast
Music
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...
composed the film's original score, and co-wrote "Love Lives On" with
Barry Mann
Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.
He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US.
Early li ...
(music),
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
Life and career
Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...
(lyrics) and
Will Jennings (lyrics), performed by
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
over the end credits (in place of Broughton's planned end title cue); the soundtrack version of "Love Lives On" has a saxophone solo on a single and was later released as a single.
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
released a soundtrack album on record and cassette; in 2007,
Intrada Records issued an expanded album, marking the music's premiere CD release, with the exceptions of the original album version of "Love Lives On" and "Your Feet's Too Big".
1987 MCA soundtrack album
2007 Intrada album
The album begins with the film version of "Love Lives On", which has a flute solo, rather than the guitar heard on the single and on the 1987 soundtrack album.
Personnel on "Love Lives On"
*
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
– vocals
* Robbie Kilgore – keyboards
*
Dan Hartman – additional keyboards
* Phil Grande – all guitars
* Kevin Totoian – bass
* David Beal – drums
*
Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone solo
* Lawrence Feldman – tenor saxophone intro and ending
Reception
Box office
''Harry and the Hendersons'' opened third behind ''
Beverly Hills Cop II'' and ''
The Untouchables''. It went on to gross $29.8 million at the North American box office and $20.2 million internationally for a total of $50 million worldwide.
[
]
Critical response
Michael Wilmington of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' commended Lithgow's performance and the film's "technical triumphs", the latter of which he noted "seem to overpower its weak, juiceless ..gags". Dave Kehr
David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...
, writing for ''The Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', wrote that the film "takes a leisurely spin through the standard Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
themes, without gathering the visual grandeur or emotional extravagance that are Spielberg's trademarks". Both Wilmington and Kehr noted an influence of Spielberg on director William Dear, with Wilmington calling Dear "a film maker immersing himself so thoroughly in the sensibility of another that he disappears--like a drowning man sinking slowly beneath waves of chocolate"; Kehr wrote that " ear'spersonality seems wholly subsumed by Spielberg's."
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...
and Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
reviewed the film negatively, with Siskel calling it "a very manipulative movie that anyone who's seen ''E.T.
''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...
'' has seen before", and Ebert stating that "What it lacks is any sense of awe about the fact there could be a Bigfoot, an unknown creature living in the woods with a mind of its own, ..Harry is so cute, so gentle, so lovable that there is no sense of mystery and no sense of awe. There's no belief that he's really Bigfoot."
In 2007, ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
''s Eric Henderson gave the film a score of two out of four stars, writing that "Just as '' Mac and Me'' eventually devolved into a feature-length commercial for McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
, ''Harry and the Hendersons'' eventually emerges as a vegetarian screed."
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of 45% based on reviews from 22 critics, with an average rating of 5.2/10.
Awards
Home media
The film was released in December 1987 on LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...
, and was also released on VHS. It was later released on DVD in January 2011. A single-disc Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
of the film was released on March 4, 2014.
Television spin-off
The film had a television series spin-off, also called '' Harry and the Hendersons''. Kevin Peter Hall reprised Harry until his death in 1991. After that, Harry was performed by Dawan Scott in 1991-1992 and by Brian Steele in 1992–1993. Harry's vocal effects were provided by Patrick Pinney
Patrick Cullen Pinney (born June 30, 1952) is an American television, film and voice actor.
Early life, family and education
Pinney was born in San Francisco County, California. His mother's maiden name is his middle name.
He attended college a ...
.
Leon Redbone's version of " Your Feet's Too Big" was used as its theme song.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{William Dear
1980s buddy comedy films
1980s English-language films
1980s fantasy comedy films
1987 comedy films
1987 films
Amblin Entertainment films
American buddy comedy films
American fantasy comedy films
Bigfoot films
Fictional portrayals of the Seattle Police Department
Fictional quintets
Films about animal rights
Films about cryptids
Films adapted into television shows
Films based on urban legends
Films directed by William Dear
Films scored by Bruce Broughton
Films set in Seattle
Films set in Washington (state)
Films shot in Washington (state)
Films that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup
Films with screenplays by William Dear
Universal Pictures films
1980s American films