''Home on the Range'' is a 2004 American animated

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by

Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

and released by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

. It was the last Disney

traditionally animated Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shi ...

film released until ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical Romance film, romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired in part by the 2002 ...

'' in 2009. The film was written and directed by

Will Finn Will Finn is an American animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and director. Career His work in animation includes characters from Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Don Bluth films such as ''The Secret of NIMH'', '' Oliver & Company'', ...

and John Sanford, and produced by Alice Dewey Goldstone, from a story by Finn, Sanford, Mark Kennedy, Michael LaBash, Sam Levine, and Robert Lence. It features original songs written by

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer and conductor. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken, numerous accolades including winning eight Academy Awards, a Tony Awards, Tony ...

and Glenn Slater, and an original musical orchestral score also composed by Menken. Named after the popular cowboy song of the same name, which also serves as the state song of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, the film stars the voices of

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...

, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, and

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...

. ''Home on the Range'' is set in the Old West, and centers on a mismatched trio of

dairy cow Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was m ...

s—brash, adventurous Maggie; prim, proper Mrs. Calloway; and ditzy, happy-go-lucky Grace. The three cows must capture an infamous rustler named Alameda Slim for his bounty in order to save their idyllic farm from foreclosure. Aiding them in their quest is Lucky Jack, a feisty, peg-legged rabbit, and a selfish horse named Buck, eagerly working in the service of Rico, a famous bounty hunter, who seeks the glory for himself. ''Home on the Range'' premiered at the

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entert ...

in Los Angeles on March 21, 2004, and was released in the United States on April 2. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure, grossing $145.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $110 million.

Plot

In 1889, amidst the Old West, wanted cattle rustler Alameda Slim steals most of Dixon Ranch's cattle. The ranch owner, Mr. Dixon, sells the remaining cow, Maggie a show cow, to Pearl, a kind, aging woman who runs a small farm called Patch of Heaven. Sam, the local Sheriff, arrives to tell Pearl that unless she pays back the bank in three days, her farm will be sold to the highest bidder. Hearing this, Maggie convinces farm cows Grace and Mrs. Calloway to go to town with her to win prize money at a fair. While the cows are in town, a bounty hunter named Rico drops off a criminal, collects their reward, and looks for a replacement horse while his rests. Idolizing him, Sam's horse, Buck, convinces Rico to take him. Upon seeing this and learning the reward for capturing Slim will cover Pearl's debt, Maggie convinces the other cows to help her collect the reward to save Patch of Heaven. That night, they hide among a large herd of steers as they are smitten by two longhorns Barry and Bob. Slim arrives on the back of his

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

Junior with his nephews, the Willies. Before Maggie can attack him, Slim starts yodeling, which puts all of the cattle except the tone-deaf Grace into a hypnotic trance, allowing Slim to lead them away. Grace brings Maggie and Mrs. Calloway back to their senses, before Slim uses a landslide to cover his escape. Narrowly missing him, Rico and his men discuss their next move, while Buck argues with the cows, with Rico mistakenly believing he is skittish around cows and has him returned him to Sam. However, Buck escapes, determined to capture Slim for himself to prove his worth. The cows continue their search in the hopes of capturing Slim before Buck, until they lose Buck's trail during a

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

and have a falling out, with Mrs. Calloway believing Maggie only wants revenge and Patch of Heaven would be better off without her. Along the way, the cows are joined by a peg-legged jackrabbit named Lucky Jack, who also lost his home, an old mine, to Slim. The cows decide to follow him, with Mrs. Calloway and Maggie making a deal that after the farm is saved, they will go their separate ways. With Lucky Jack's help, the cows discover Slim converted the mine into his hideout and stole cattle from his former patrons to render them unable to support their land. When the subsequent auctions occur, he then disguises himself as respectable businessman "Yancy O'Dell" to buy their land using the money he makes from selling off the stolen cattle. The cows and Jack capture Slim, and rush back to Patch of Heaven, with the Willies and Rico in pursuit. Learning Rico works for Slim, a devastated Buck helps the cows fight him, setting the stolen cattle free in the process. Slim escapes and dons his disguise to buy Patch of Heaven, but the cows catch up to him and join forces with Buck, Jack, and the rest of Patch of Heaven's farm animals to defeat and expose him. As Sam arrests Slim, Pearl uses the reward money to save her farm. At first, Mrs. Calloway (who had come to like Maggie) and Grace are sad that Maggie had seemingly left, but their spirits are lifted when they see that Maggie decided to stay. The three cows, along with Barry, Bob, and Junior, celebrate with a square dance as Lucky Jack and Jen finish recounting the story and we see that Mrs. Calloway, Grace and the rest of the farm animals won prizes as show livestock in the State Fair.

Cast

as Maggie, a

hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

show cow and the newest animal on Little Patch of Heaven farm.

Chris Buck Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing '' Tarzan'' (1999), '' Surf's Up'' (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), '' F ...

served as the supervising animator for Maggie. *

as Mrs. Calloway, a Holstein cow and the leader of the animals on the farm, and the only cow with a British accent. Duncan Marjoribanks served as the supervising animator for Mrs. Calloway. *

as Grace, an optimistic and innocent-minded jersey cow.

Mark Henn Mark Alan Henn (born April 6, 1958) is an American animator and film director. His work includes animated characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios films, most notably leading or titular characters and heroines. He served as the lead animator f ...

served as the supervising animator for Grace. * Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck, a Thoroughbred horse and Rico's biggest fan that dreams of being a hero. Michael Surrey served as the supervising animator for Buck. * Randy Quaid as Alameda Slim, a cattle rustler wanted by law. Dale Baer served as the supervising animator for Slim. * Charles Dennis as Rico, a famous

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated ...

and Buck's idol who secretly uses his job effectively to cover up Slim's trail. Russ Edmonds served as the supervising animator for Rico. *

Charles Haid Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''. Formative years Haid ...

as Lucky Jack, a clumsy jackrabbit with a wooden leg that he says brings good luck. Shawn Keller served as the lead animator for Lucky Jack. * Carole Cook as Pearl Gesner, a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

who is the owner of Patch of Heaven. Bruce W. Smith served as the supervising animator for Pearl. * Joe Flaherty as Jeb, a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

living in Patch of Heaven who collects a bunch of cans that he is protective of. Sandro Cleuzo served as the supervising animator of Jeb. *

as Wesley, a black market businessman and cattle dealer who negotiates with Slim. Mark Henn served as the supervising animator for Wesley. * Sam J. Levine as the Willie Brothers, Slim's three dimwitted nephews and henchmen. Russ Edmonds served as the supervising animator for the Willies. *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. A prolific performer, he has appeared in over four hundred films, television shows and other projects, making him one of the most-credited live action performers. Life and career ...

as Sam Brown, the town's

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

and Buck's owner. Sandro Cleuzo served as the supervising animator of the Sheriff. * Lance LeGault as Junior, Alameda Slim's pet buffalo who serves as Slim's mode of transportation. Dale Baer served as the supervising animator for Junior. * G.W. Bailey as Rusty, Sam's

basset hound The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of scent hound. The Basset Hound was developed in Great Britain from several now-extinct strains of France, French basset breeds. It was bred primarily for hunting rabbit and hare on foot, moving slowly en ...

and Buck's best friend.

served as the supervising animator for Rusty. * Estelle Harris as Audrey, a

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

living in Patch of Heaven. * Charlie Dell as Ollie, a pig living in Patch of Heaven. * Bobby Block, Keaton Savage, and Ross Simanteris as The Piggies, Ollie's children. *

Marshall Efron Marshall Efron (February 3, 1938 – September 30, 2019) was an American actor and humorist originally known for his work on the listener-sponsored Pacifica radio stations WBAI New York and KPFK Los Angeles, and later for the PBS television sho ...

as Larry, a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

living in Patch of Heaven. * Mark Walton as Barry and Bob, two Texas longhorns that become smitten with Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and Grace. * Governor Ann Richards as Annie, a saloon owner whose saloon the cows mistake for Sam's office. *

Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...

as Abner Dixon, Maggie's former owner. *

Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. His live action TV roles include David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the Tick (character), title character on ''The Tick (2001 TV series), The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less than Perfect'' ...

as Patrick, a horse who takes Rico to Slim's lair.

Production

Before coming up with ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

'' (1995), director

Mike Gabriel Mike Gabriel (born November 5, 1954) is an American animator and film director, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios and as co-director of the Disney animated films ''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990) and ''Pocahontas (1995 film ...

considered adapting Western legends such as Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill and Pecos Bill into animated films. While he pitched both projects at the Gong Show meeting, the executives were more interested in ''Pocahontas'', which went into production first. When ''Pocahontas'' was finished, Gabriel went back to his Western pitch and came up with an "idea that might combine '' Captains Courageous'' with a Western." The initial story involved a young boy from the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

whose father owns a railroad and sends his son to the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

to teach him maturity. According to Gabriel, "the train gets held up by outlaws over a train trestle, and the little boy gets knocked off the train ... He splashes in the river and ends up on a cattle drive." Gabriel developed his story into a forty-page

film treatment A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed ...

, which was well received by then-Feature Animation president Peter Schneider. Soon after, the project, then titled ''Sweating Bullets'', went into development. Inspired by the song " Ghost Riders in the Sky", the story was then revised into a supernatural western about a timid cowboy who visits a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and confronts an undead cattle rustler named Slim. In this version, he and the Willies rode their ghost herds through the clouds and constantly drove livestock off cliffs to increase their herd. It was later reconceived into a story about a little bull named Bullets, that wanted to be more like the horses that led the herd. In 1999, in an attempt to salvage the production and retain the existing characters and background art, story artist Michael LaBash suggested a different approach to the story with one that involved three cow protagonists who become bounty hunters to save the farm. Building on the idea, fellow story artists Sam Levine, Mark Kennedy, Robert Lence, and Shirley Pierce developed a new storyline. However, by October 2000, Gabriel and co-director Mike Giaimo were removed from the project because of persistent story problems.

, who had returned to Disney Feature Animation after co-directing ''

The Road to El Dorado ''The Road to El Dorado'' is a 2000 American animated musical adventure comedy film directed by Eric "Bibo" Bergeron and Don Paul, from a screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, as well as additional sequences directed by Will Finn and ...

'' (2000) at

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

, and John Sanford were hired as the new directors. By this point, there were twelve storyboard artists and four screenwriters, including David Reynolds, working on the film. Finn and Sanford decided to downsize the writing team, with Reynolds later being recruited to write the ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

'' screenplay. At one point, the story incorporated elements from the Pied Piper story. Following a suggestion by

, Alameda Slim was reconceived into a cattle rustler who used his yodeling talents to hypnotize and abscond with the herd. The character Pearl Gesner, who was to be voiced by

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, was rewritten into an elderly woman. Relatively late into production, the character Maggie was also rewritten to make her an outsider to the other farm animals in order to differentiate the group dynamic.

Music

In February 1998,

had signed a long-term agreement with the Walt Disney Studios to compose songs and/or scores for animated and live-action films. Following this, according to Menken, he was attached to provide music for ''Sweating Bullets'' "maybe a year and a half after ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

''". Shortly after winning the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, lyricist Glenn Slater was brought to the attention of Menken, who invited Slater to work with him on ''Sweating Bullets''. Together, they wrote the first of the film's six original songs back in 1999; the first of which was "Little Patch of Heaven" recorded by k.d. lang before Finn and Sanford were brought on board as directors. The villain song "Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo," which incorporates the "

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he w ...

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state song of the U.S. ...

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus number, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many criti ...

, and the "

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense against the ...

" into the yodel dance, was added following several story changes throughout production. Although Randy Quaid did his own singing for "Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo", including the consonants heard during the yodels, the vowel sounds in the yodeling were overdubbed from ghost singers Randy Erwin and Kerry Christianson, two world champion yodelers. Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, Menken composed the song "Will the Sun Ever Shine Again" in reaction, which was performed by

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

. The soundtrack album of the film was released on March 30, 2004 by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

. It contains vocal songs performed by k.d. lang, Randy Quaid, Bonnie Raitt,

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

, and The Beu Sisters along with the film's score composed by Alan Menken.

Songs

Original songs performed in the film include:

Release

''Home on the Range'' was initially scheduled for a 2003 release, while ''

Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and produced by Chuck Williams, f ...

'' was originally slated for a spring 2004 release. However, Disney switched the release dates. Contrary to speculation, news writer Jim Hill stated the release date switch was not because ''Home on the Range'' was suffering from story rewrites, but to promote ''Brother Bear'' on the Platinum Edition release of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''.

Marketing

The teaser trailer was released in May 2003. It was first attached to the theatrical release of ''

''. The teaser was later attached to the theatrical screenings of '' Rugrats Go Wild'', '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', and '' Freaky Friday''. And was later attached to other Disney home video releases. The next trailer for the film was released in November 2003 and was attached to the theatrical screenings of ''

'', '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' and the limited release of '' Clifford's Really Big Movie''.

Home media

''Home on the Range'' was released on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on September 14, 2004. The DVD came with an animated short, ', a series of 18 little shorts called the Joke Corral, and animated intros to the DVD menu. All three featuring the voice cast from the film. The film was released on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on July 3, 2012.

Reception

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 50 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

, reviewing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', praised the film describing it as "a sweet, raucously funny, comic Western that corrects a glaring historical injustice by finally surveying the Old West through the eyes of cows rather than cowboys."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film stars out of 4, saying that "A movie like this is fun for kids: bright, quick-paced, with broad, outrageous characters. But ''Home on the Range'' doesn't have the crossover quality of the great Disney films like ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' and ''

''. And it doesn't have the freshness and originality of a more traditional movie like '' Lilo & Stitch''. Its real future, I suspect, lies in home video. It's only 76 minutes long, but although kids will like it, their parents will be sneaking looks at their watches." Claudia Puig of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' wrote favorably in her review that "''Home on the Range'' is a throwback to old Disney cartoons: fun, rather than message-laden, with broad humor and entertaining action. The cheerful, plucky characters have heart and loyalty, and that's enough to make this a worthy family-friendly animated fest." Nell Minow of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film four out of five stars, saying that "I love it when Disney doesn't take itself too seriously. No one tried to reach for the stars or make this into a classic. ''Home on the Range'' is just a cute little story about some not-so-contented cows who save the day. It modestly aspires to be nothing more than a lot of fun, and it does that job very well. Elvis Mitchell of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' criticized the weak comedy writing that "Unrestrained energy is hardly a bad thing for animation — the best cartoons are built on the contradictory pursuit of meticulously arranged anarchy—but they never seem needy, or desperate for laughs, as ''Home on the Range'' does. The film seems hungrier for a pat on the head than a chuckle." Similarly, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' film critic Kenneth Turan claimed "''Home on the Range'' may be acceptable on reflection, but its formulaic desire to mix wisecracks for adults with pratfalls for kids is feeling thin, and its overall air of frantic hysteria does not wear well either." Michael Wilmington of ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'' noted "Satirizing the movie Western can make for a great cartoon, as it does in Jiri Trnka's brilliant 1949 Czech short ''Song of the Prairie,'' a puppet version of ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

.'' But ''Home'' isn't good satire or good slapstick. It does have those lyrical, catchy Menken tunes, and the film perks up whenever Raitt or lang sing one of them. But much of this movie is deadly. ''Home'' keeps milking the same gags and throwing the same bull, and after a while you feel cowed watching it."

Box office

On its opening box office weekend, ''Home on the Range'' grossed about $14 million in box office estimates, opening fourth behind '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', '' Walking Tall'', and '' Hellboy''. Following the disappointing box office weekend, financial analysts predicted that Disney would be forced to write-down the production costs, which totaled more than $100 million. Following the latter release of '' The Alamo'' (2004), which also met poor box office returns, it was reported that Disney would have to write-down about $70 million. The film ended its box office run with $50 million in domestic earnings and $145.3 million worldwide.

Accolades

Video game

A video game for

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

, titled ''Disney presents Home on the Range'' or ''Disney's Home on the Range'' depending on territory, was released in 2004.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links