Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.
And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize
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| At least it`s not Bust a Move ;) |
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| Yes, we`re living up to our names. Litterally :) |
The Spring of 2004 was a crucial time for Disney. After having a string of flops which followed the succesful Renaissance Era, Disney decided to follow the norm of most animated studios at the time and shut down their Hand Drawn department completely for good. Of course the decision was made out of sheer complencancy, due to how CGI Animation was taking over the World after their string of successes. But the decision to shut down the Hand Drawn department completely was perceived as almost contradictory by Disney fans, due to how Disney were known for starting the Hand Drawn legacy and made most animated studios follow the norm.  |
| The credits are overshadowing my performance:) But since I`m shallow, I deserve it ;) |
However, regarding the final gasps of Disney`s Hand Drawn efforts, it`s well known that their latest efforts weren`t essentially regarded highly by neither critics or Disney fans. And therefore it was another Dark Era for the House of Mouse. But at least there were two contenders who competed about closing that Era. Originally the first contender was going to be Brother Bear, but it`s well known that it was rushed to capitalize the Platinum Edition DVD Release of The Lion King in late 2003. So the last picture to close Disney`s 67th year old Pantheon happened to be none other than Home on the Range.General Information About Home of the Range
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| We will wipe out everything. At last :) |
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| Yes, we don`t have much space. But hey, at least we`re home :) |
Featuring veteran
animators as Mark Hehn, Andreas Deja, Chris Buck, Duncan Marjoribanks, Mike Surrey,
Dale Baer, Russ Edmonds, Brian Ferguson, Joe Haidar, Marc
Smith, Michael Show, Barry Temple, Doug Frankel, James Lopez, Jay
Jackson and T. Daniel Hofstedt. And veteran Disney crew members as Joe Grant, Don Hahn, Mike Gabriel, Floyd Norman, Nik Ranieri, Brian Pimental, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Ralph Zondag, Baker Bloodworth, Cristy Maltese Lynch, Marlon West, Chen-Yi Chang, Marshall Lee Tomey, Ed Gombert, Thomas Baker, Joe Moshier, Sunny Apinchapong, Marianne Tucker, Mauro Maressa, Mary Hidalgo and Ruth Lambert. However, the financial reception of Range wasn`t a good one, as it grossed
$50,030,461 Domestically and
$145,358,062 Worldwide. And just like it`s counterparts of Dinosaur, Atlantis The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet, it was rated PG. In a time when the rating was becoming profitable for animated movies (and yes, Maggie`s line
about not staring at her utter got the PG rating). The Position and Genre of Home of the Range
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| The cows are enjoying being stuck. No joke :) |
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| And yes, by hitting you by this train :) |
But in that case, it would`ve been easy to compare Range to TheEmperor`s New Groove. For the sake of being the second outright comedy of that era. While that comparison may be shallow, it`s still a legit one, for being a simple comedy that was small and simplistic. Despite how the comparison is also outrageous, as Groove`s position is simply superior than Range`s (the crew were inspired by Bugs Bunny cartoons). And just like Groove, Range manages to be both witty and edgy (despite how it never crosses the line). And while Disney were at least trying to detract themselves from the Renaissance-formula by making movies that were different (with the exception of Bear), at least Range definitively belongs to that list.
The (Noteworthy) Elements and Components of Home of the Range
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| This is what you get when cows are using SnapChat :) |
Home on the Range is essentially a remarkable picture for many reasons. First for being simply an animal picture (the second animal movie right after Brother Bear) starring female characters (after Lady and the Tramp and The Aristocats). But it`s also remarkable for being a movie starring female characters with a sparring dynamic (between Maggie and Mrs. Calloway). While it would`ve been easy to label Raya and the Last Dragon for being the first "Buddy Picture" with females, at least Range technically preceeded it (Finn even went as far to call it Charlie`s Angels with cows). At least Range is essentially unique for having three female characters going on a Journey. However, Range is certainly a rarity for being a Western (a rarity within Disney, which would made it somewhat comparible to DreamWorks` Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron. And yes, there were some comparisons). Something that Disney has never really tapped into.
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| Look at this, Johnny Cash :) |
But Range is certainly unique for a Menken-movie: For being a musical where most of the characters (with the exception of Alameida Slim) doesn`t sing. And it was also one of the few Post-Renaissance movies to feature a traditional villain with a song. Despite how the villain is mostly comical. Sure that Slim isn`t perceived to belonging to the Pantheon of great Disney villains. But at least he`s not a villain who`s completely excluded from that list. Cause for all what`s worth, Slim has his small fanbase (and his big number is reminiscent of the Pink Elephant on Parade in Dumbo, as Slater wanted it to be as other nonsense word songs). And Slim`s yodeling ability was suggested by Menken, actually. Quaid sang most of the song, despite getting
help from yodelers. To name him Slim was for the sake of irony. And originally
wanted to become president and a Gold miner. And his motivation was not going to be to have the cows for food. It was Michael Eisner who suggested that he was using money
to sell elite cows to buy up farms and ranches.The Staple of Home of the Range in the Disney Canon
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| Don`t get used to it, I`ll shake ya off soon :) |
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| I thought that your tail was a toy :) |
.webp)
But the big question is why exactly people hated Home on the Range? Well, there were many reasons for that: Some people thought that it was just flat, half-assed and unappealing. Others disliked the story and the characters (especially Roseanne`s voice work, who was suggested by both directors. And yes, she did her own burping). Many disliked the comedy and the art style. Others found it stupid, silly and boring. And rushed and contrived. And that it was Saturday Cartoon Morning-esque and too kid-oriented. And how it recycled it`s jokes. But many simply thought that it wasn`t good enough to close Disney`s long and ongoing legacy. While it may seem like a shallow reason to dislike it, it`s still a valid reason to do so.My Own Personal Opinion About Home of the Range
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| Even cows like to show themselves to the camera :) |
As for myself, I`m going to be personal and confess this: I`m one of the minorities who actually liked Home on the Range (yes, get the hate ready, haters). No, I didn`t consider it to be the greatest animated offering ever made. But I still enjoyed it for what it was and didn`t thought it deserved the massive hate that it got. When I first saw it theatrically, I thought it was a fun and breezy picture. And that`s the same impression I have to this day. Sure, it`s not unflawed: The animation is a little ragged (no offense) and some of the comedy is a little juvenile (especially with the Willies). And other jokes are too crude. But I still honestly think the movie was good enough as it was.The Story and Buck`s Arc
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| I should`ve been Hercules` horse :) |
Regarding the story of Home on the Range,
it`s essentially a slight and conventional story about a
rescuing mission. It`s also a story about an outsider who comes into a group
that`s already established. But also becomes a part of rescuing that group. And all in all, it would be also fair to call Range a
road-trip movie (which was a trope that the Revival era was frequently
criticized for, but that the Post-Renaissance also frequently used). However, regarding the arcs of the characters: If there`s one character that has the most
satisfying arc, it`s Buck. The cocky and loud horse. While Buck may
not be the main antagonist of the Picture, he still opposes our three
heroines through the first acts of the movie. But when he learns the
truth about his hero, Rico, Buck eventually takes his turnaround. Buck
was originally going to be a bounty hunters horse who was competing
with the cows. But he was made more vulnerable with his wants by having him wanting to be a hero. And he was a favorite
character from the audience. Behind the Scenes Information
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| Since we`re sweating, we`re in the shadows :) |
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| These are my school pictures :) |
But Disney refused to have a ghost villain. And Eisner wanted the movie to be about cattles. So it was turned into a story about a little bull named Bullet. Who wanted to be like the horses who led the herd. However, the crew found it very familiar. And really wanted a comedy (as Finn found most animated movies pretentious) and not something so earnest and sweet. In 1999, story artist Michael LaBash made a different approach that involved three
cows who became bounty hunters to save the farm. However, a year later, Gabriel and co-director Mike Giaimo were removed because of persistent story problems (as Gabriel didn`t found it compelling). Finn (who was going to supervise Maggie) and Sanford downsized the writing team. But Finn says it was his most fun work at Disney...jpg) |
| This is my Hollywood Walk of Fame :) Since I`m a cow, it needed to be large :) |
Finn and Sandford were given freedom to do what they wanted, but were urged to be in production from the start. They liked the project because it sounded original. But since cows are passive characters, the crew didn`t know how to sell
the movie. A lot of the story was hashed out directly on the storyboards, due to the schedule and since most of the budget on Bullets had been spent. But Finn wanted to turn the Western concept on it`s head by making the cows the heroes and the cowboys villains. And since Westerns are about the loners, it was turned around to be about a group. But Finn liked the silliness of the idea. The crew didn`t want the cows to look realistic, for being a
whimsical, wacky take on a western. |
| No, I`m not bigger than the backgrounds. It was drawn that way :) |
The crew were worried about the title, so it was changed (also for translation). The overall production took six years. Pearl, who was voiced by Sarah Jessica Parker, was rewritten into an elderly woman (who was originally going to be a male). But Parker was only about six months. Parker was also going to voice Grace, but didn`t understood the character. Maggie was going
to be a leader of the farm and a consensus builder and a motherly character. But when Roseanne was cast, it was Finn`s
idea to remove her from the farm. Mostly due to Roseanne`s edge (cause Maggie`s was too good and needed to be edgy). And also to make Pearl and the farm more sympathetic by welcoming her.  |
| We`ve been at a rainbow :) |
Little Patch of Heaven
was the first scene put into production, as early as in 1999 and the
scene with Maggie was even animated. But it was easy to throw her out. Grace being tonedeaf was deliberately made by Sandford to have her awake during the Yodeling. Sam J. Levine voiced all of the Willies, as he did
the best voice. They got their names from the expression. Will The Sun Ever Rise Again was inspired by Allison Krauss and by 9/11. Buschemi`s part was written for him and as thought the character was a caricature of him, he agreed to do the part. The crew wanted the color palette to be bright, for the misconception of the West being usually brown. Influenced from Mary Blair from the 1950`s. Lynch asked her background team to
approach their paintings like a crafts project. Epilogue
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| Yes, I will need the Pixie Dust from the Goodfairies :) |
At the end, it`s truly hard to conclude something like Home on the Range. A movie that not only has many haters, but is mostly perceived of being lackluster as a whole. And while the purpose of this entry is not to redeem it by any means, the truth it`s still a pity that it`s stuck with such a bad staple. And it would be mostly fair to state that it will most likely never rise from it`s dud-staple and become a true Disney classic, regadless of the few fans that it has. But while that being said, it`s still a pity, cause Home on the Range is a genuinely enjoyable film. Sure, it`s a trifle, but it doesn`t need to be something more than a trifle. Sure, it`s no Dumbo, let alone The Lion King. But it`s still a fun, middle-of-the-road film.  |
| No, my ear isn`t that long. It`s just a rope that looks like it :) |
Yet watching the ending Range,
it`s impossible to not feel a sense of bittersweetness. Because it was
the last Hand Drawn Feature of an era and Disney was ushering in a new
era of Computer Animation (with the even more disastrous Chicken Little). And it`s a pity. Whether Hand Drawn Animation will ever come back at Disney, is another case. But while that being said, since this entry was to synergize it`s belated 20th Anniversary (yes, it`s hard to believe that for someone who was a late teenager back then, that the movie has turned 20 years), there`s nothing else to wish Home on the Range Happy Belated 20th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more. |
| Yes, I`m (Mrs. Calloway) feels left out, cause unlike these other weirdo`s, I`m not enjoying this :) |
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References:
Home on the Range DVDhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAbqyfGtxkM (The Untold Story of Disney`s Box Office Bomb Home on the Range)
