A colourful cast of animated animals adds to the fun and excitement
of Disney’s new wild and woolly tale, Home on the Range.

  Disney’s Home on the Range is an entertaining animated musical western with positive moral values.
   The movie opens with a desert rabbit talking about the wide-open spaces as he gets caught in a wagon wheel and then thrown into a herd of cattle. Evidently, one of the characters is a cattle rustler named Alameda Slim, who steals cows in the blink of an eye.
   One night, the cattle rancher’s herd is stolen. The rancher only has his prize show cow left, Maggie, voiced by Roseanne Barr. He takes her to a neighbouring spread, the Patch of Heaven Ranch, which is owned by a kind lady named Pearl. The lead cow at Patch of Heaven, Mrs. Caloway, voiced by Judi Dench, does not like Maggie with her show-off ways. The slightly goofy cow, Grace, voiced by Jennifer Tilly, likes everyone.
   Soon, the sheriff appears on his karate chopping horse, Buck, voiced by Cuba Gooding, Jr. The sheriff tells Pearl that they’re foreclosing her ranch unless she can produce $750. Desperate to help Pearl save the ranch, Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Caloway hoof it to town, intending to win some prize money at the county fair. On the way to the fair, they see a poster offering a $750 reward for the capture of Alameda Slim, the cattle rustler. Impulsively they decide to catch the desperado and collect the reward money. Buck also decides to go after Alameda Slim, as does a bounty hunter named Rico.
   All sorts of shenanigans and Wild West adventures occur as the cows race to capture Slim, get the reward, and save Patch of Heaven Ranch.
   Home on the Range is a warm-hearted movie with six upbeat new songs. Musical performances are by k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw, and The Beau Sisters.
   One of the movie’s tracks even sounds like a prayer, with the line “Lord, if you’re listening ...”
   While the plot is a bit predictable, and the jokes seem telegraphed, children will get a kick out of it. There are a few light sexual comments between the bulls and the cows, but these will pass over the heads of most young viewers.

Reviewed by Dr. Ted Baehr

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Quality: Acceptability: +2 Rating: PG Starring the Voices of: : Roseanne Barr, Cuba Gooding Jr., Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Randy Quaid, G.W. Bailey, and Lance Legault Directors: Will Finn and John Sanford

Acceptability Rating +4 to -4          This refers to the moral quality of the production. +4 Exemplary: No questionable elements what so ever +3 Moral: Some minor questionable elements +2 Good: Moderately questionable elements +1 Wholesome: Recommended but decernment required for       younger children -1 Caution: Discussion advised for older children -2 Extreme Caution: Discretion advised for adults -3 Bad: Excessive sex, violence, and/or immorality -4 Evil: Intentional blasphemy, evil and/or gross immorality Recent wholesome films your whole family can enjoy: Quality Acceptability       The Passion of the Christ +4       Agent Codey Banks 2: Destination London +1           Luther +1        Peter Pan +1        Miracle +1               Secondhand Lions +1

The featured review is a selected sample of informative reviews from MOVIEGUIDE: A Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment, a syndicated feature at Good News Communications, Inc. For a copy of MOVIEGUIDE with a complete set of reviews of the latest movies as well as informative articles, please write or call MOVIEGUIDE, P.O. Box 190010, Atlanta, CA 31119. (404) 825-0084, or visit our website at http://movieguide.crosswalk.com

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