Bunyan and Babe
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''Bunyan and Babe'' is a 2017 American
computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
adventure
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 ol ...
directed by Louis Ross, featuring the voices of
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...
as Paul Bunyan and
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...
as
Babe the Blue Ox Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major ...
. The film premiered online on Google Play, where it has been made available to watch for free until February 16, 2017. It was then released theatrically in 12 American markets on February 3, 2017.


Premise

Loosely based on the folklore of Paul Bunyan (
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...
), the film is about two children exiled on their grandfather's farm in Minnesota who discover a lair where Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox (
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...
) have resided since their disappearance from the Dead Forest. The story sees Bunyan and Babe teaming with the two kids to stop an evil land developer from destroying a town.


Plot

12 year-old Travis Barclay and his little sister Whitney are sent begrudgingly on a summer trip to visit their grandparents' farm in Delbert County. A greedy land developer, Norm Blandsford, has been buying up the little country town, running the hard working residents off their land. After Travis has a run-in with one of Blandsford's men, he is chased into the forest where he stumbles upon a magic portal to the hidden world where Paul Bunyan lives. Paul has been in self-imposed exile for 100 years, ever since the advent of machines made his role in society obsolete and left him feeling of little value to the new world. Paul, reluctantly, escorts Travis back to the farm. But upon returning, Paul witnesses Blandsford's sinister plan. Suddenly filled by a long-forgotten sense of purpose, Bunyan and Babe, the blue ox, get wrapped up in a brand new adventure and together with the help of their new friends, Travis and Whitney, they save the town. They learn firsthand that you don't have to be big to accomplish big things.


Cast

*
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...
as Paul Bunyan *
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...
as
Babe the Blue Ox Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major ...
*
Johnny Orlando John Vincent Orlando (born January 24, 2003) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, vlogger, and actor. Orlando first received attention on social media by posting covers of pop songs by artists such as Austin Mahone, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Bie ...
as Travis * Kelsey Grammer as Norm Blandsford and The Amazing Blackstone Barclay *Lola Wayne Villa as Whitney *
Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
as Grandpa *Dorien Davies as Iris Ingram *Kay Cole as Grandma / Mom / Tourist Mom *Peter Chew as Sheriff Chambers *Jeremy Guskin as Gustav * Dawnn Lewis as Maybelle Mundy *Tom Lowell as County Fair MC *John D. Eraklis as Newscaster / Tourist Dad *Sandy Stone as Gas Station Attendant *Robin Howard as Tourist Kid #1 *Sophia Eraklis as Tourist Kid #2


Production

Announced over ten years before its release, the film was planned to be a live-action/CG animation hybrid, with
Jim Rygiel Jim Rygiel (born February 17, 1955) is an American visual effects supervisor. He has worked on major feature films since 1984, including ''The Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy (for which he won three consecutive Academy Awards for Best Visual ...
set to direct it. In May 2008, it was reported that
Tony Bancroft Tony Bancroft (born July 31, 1967) is an American animator and film director who frequently collaborates with Disney. He is the founder and owner of the faith-driven animation company Toonacious Family Entertainment. Tony currently serves as th ...
would co-direct the film with Rygiel. Bancroft then worked some time on pre-production and, by 2014, he was attached as the only director, but he later left the project.
Sparx Animation Studios Sparx* is a French-Vietnamese 3D art, VFX and animation studio, with around 400 artists, animators and technical experts. The French offices closed in 2008, while the American and Vietnamese offices closed in 2010. Since 2011, Sparx* has been a ...
, following its previous collaboration with Exodus Film Group on the 2008 animated film, ''
Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...
'', was hired to provide writing and special effects such as modeling, rigging, animation and texture. The character design would be handled in the United States, due to Exodus' preference of an American look. The animation at Sparx was set to begin in July 2008. As of November 2008, when Sparx closed its animation studio in Paris due to the U.S. financial crisis, the studio was no longer involved in the film. On November 3, 2010,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
filed for
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
, and ''Bunyan and Babe'' would be another of MGM's last pre-Spyglass films to be released soon. In December 2010, MGM emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In May 2014,
Cinedigm Cinedigm Corp. is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cinedigm's businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution. History Early years Cinedigm Corp was founded ...
picked up North American rights to the film.


Reception

Common Sense Media rated the film a 3 out of 5 stars, stating "''Bunyan and Babe'' is an animated feature film that finds a modern-day young brother and sister connecting with the American folkloric lumberjack Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox. The two partnerships team up to help save a Minnesota town that is being taken over by an evil land developer (a comic but stereotyped businessman villain). The kids and the ox face assorted perils (chases, careening cars, falls, captures, a tranquilizing dart gun, fire), but there are no injuries or deaths. A few insults are delivered ("nincompoop," "nerdface," "ass") and expect some mild potty language ("poop," "puke"). It's OK for kids who are comfortable with real vs. pretend violence."


References


External links

* * * *
Bunyan and Babe
' 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 Wang ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunyan And Babe 2017 films 2010s American animated films American computer-animated films American films with live action and animation 2017 computer-animated films Paul Bunyan 2010s historical films 2010s English-language films