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	Home On The Range
	Will Finn and John Sanford Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, Steve Buscemi, Charles Dennis, David Burnham, Ja'net DuBois 2004		Bottom line aside, the Western-themed "Home on the Range," a mostly 2-D (as in conventionally drawn) feature-length cartoon with a smattering of computer animation, is cheerfully silly and lively. It registers as a better film from Disney than the company's previous theatrical releases, the unfortunate "Brother Bear" and "Treasure Planet." But there's really not a lot to "Home on the Range," which is about three cows — prize-winner Maggie, proper Mrs. Calloway and naïve Grace — trying to save the farm where they live from no-good, cattle-rustling, land-grabbing Alameda Slim. They set out to capture Slim before the bank can foreclose on their land and the outlaw can buy it for a song (one written by tunesmith Alan Menken, who contributes a couple of droll ditties to the soundtrack). The voice talent here is an unlikely yet appropriate mix, with strident comedian Roseanne Barr as loudmouth Maggie, classically-trained Judi Dench as dignified Mrs. Calloway, and breathy, spacey Jennifer Tilly as new-agey Grace. Hyped-up Cuba Gooding Jr. is Buck, an overly enthusiastic horse, and burly Randy Quaid is bulky, sneaky Slim. More like an extended, gag-heavy Warner Bros. 'toon of the '40s than a Disney feature relying on character development and plot, "Home on the Range" may be the post-Pixar death rattle of old-style animation.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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