Home on the Range (2004)

55% of critics liked it
(121 reviews)
42% of users liked it
(30,828 ratings)

Disney presents the animated musical Western Home on the Range, featuring an original musical score by Alan Menken. The Little Piece of Heaven family farm is about to go under and outlaw cattle rustler Alameda Slim (voice of Randy Quaid) sets his sights on it. Three dairy cows -- tough Maggie (voice… More Disney presents the animated musical Western Home on the Range, featuring an original musical score by Alan Menken. The Little Piece of Heaven family farm is about to go under and outlaw cattle rustler Alameda Slim (voice of Randy Quaid) sets his sights on it. Three dairy cows -- tough Maggie (voice of Roseanne Barr), leader Mrs. Calloway (voice of Judi Dench), and naïve Grace (voice of Jennifer Tilly) -- team up to save the farm. Along with ambitious stallion Buck (voice of Cuba Gooding Jr.), helpful rabbit Lucky Jack (voice of Charles Haid), and other helpful barnyard friends, the cows set out to capture Alameda Slim and collect the reward money. However, a vicious bounty hunter (voice of Charles Dennis) is also after Slim. The film features vocal performances by Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang, and Tim McGraw. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 16 min.
Directed By: John Sanford, John Sanford (II)
Written By: John Sanford
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Musical & Performing Arts

In Theaters: Apr 2, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Sep 14, 2004
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Assorted movie in-jokes should keep parents tolerably entertained, and Alan Menken's songs mercifully favor western swing over the expected twang pop.
Joe Leydon, Variety
Even if Disney production turns out to be, as many observers fear, one of studio's last 'traditionally animated' features, retro opus proves there's still a lot of life in them thar cels.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
... a serviceable time-killer.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Comes across less as a fully realized work of storytelling than as a commercial for a corporation whose goal of entertainment has been replaced by that of making money.
Jennifer Frey, Washington Post
An overextended cartoon, stretched to its limit despite the relatively short 76-minute running time.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
The cheerful, plucky characters have heart and loyalty, and that's enough to make this a worthy family-friendly animated fest.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Not a classic, but cute and fun for families.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
Freed from the tyranny of dimensionality and realism, the animators indulged in one of the most goofy, silly, cartoony projects made at Disney in years.
, Film4
The Disney animation horse has officially bolted.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
At last the humble cow has been recognised for more than simply gracing Gary Larsen cartoons.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
The film is garish and frenetic but absolutely lifeless.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...only very small children will be able to label it anything more than a pleasant diversion.
Mary Lasse, Christianity Today
Adults will enjoy saddling up and going for the ride -- possibly even enjoying this moo-vie more than your kids. It's udderly hilarious!
Derek Adams, Time Out
One mustn't carp too much; the film unfolds at a sprightly pace, making it fair fodder for undemanding sproglets.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The screenplay, however, smacks of desperate studio executives who are out of touch with today's audience.
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Click to read the article.
Anthony Del Valle, Las Vegas Mercury
It's all very competent, but rarely inspired.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
The problem with this movie is that it needed to be funny.
Tony Medley, tonymedley.com
If you have children, I think they would like it.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Brad W

Funny, but has no appeal at all to adults. It was cute for kids, but in the end this movie will be forgotten.
Michael E

meh its okay
Bently L

A Disney movie that is dull and forgettable.
James A

It's like a Disney movie made by hillbillies from rural Texas. That means its not good at all!
Film C

it was funny worth a watch not much you can say about i kids cartoon movies but its ok
Lafe F

Weird western musical feature-length cartoon from Disney; it all feels wrong. A cow movie.
Bradley W

Funny, but has no appeal at all to adults. It was cute for kids, but in the end this movie will be forgotten.
DOCTOR P

7th of the Competition Era When compared to previous studio outings, "Home on the Range" really lacks in terms of animation. The character designs are not the worst, but they have a flat look to them that only gets worse because the cg around them makes them look even… More
7th of the Competition Era When compared to previous studio outings, "Home on the Range" really lacks in terms of animation. The character designs are not the worst, but they have a flat look to them that only gets worse because the cg around them makes them look even more flat. The film's cg does not mesh well and with the amount used it's fairly noticeable that Disney already wanted to leave traditional animation behind. The film does provide some nice coloring, and the movement isn't to bad but it's minor successes are badly over shadowed. This film provides animation that could best be described as quite possibly the best Disney straight to video animation, only it was theatrical. This film provides a score that isn't too bad, and will make one feel like they're watching a Western for kids. The songs are decent as well and won't annoy anyone, but it isn't anything special and won't stay in mind long. Roseanne Barr plays a cow named Maggie, she has some fun moments that are humorous and works well enough as a protagonist for the audience to care for her. Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly voice the two cows (Mrs. Calloway and Grace respectively) that come along with Maggie on her quest to save their farm, they work pretty well and never annoy or agitate the audience. Racing against the heroines to capture the bad guy is Buck, a stallion voiced by Cuba Gooding Jr. who is pretty funny, but comes off as a talkative version of other silent horses in animated films that were meant to be humorous. Randy Quaid performs well as the film's antagonist Alameda Slim, who acts like a stereotypical evil cowboy, which was of course the intention. The rest of the cast does a pretty good job and will not tire the older audience out. It's plot is not the most original but it doesn't matter much considering this is meant to be a parody on Western films. The heroines must save their farm because the owner is about to lose it, so they go after an outlaw to get the money and the protagonist Maggie wants revenge because of a previous encounter with him. On the whole it has a lot of laughs... if you're a fan of Westerns, if not one might feel bored throughout it. It's not perfect even for Western fans though considering that some of it's jokes are really more for the young then for the adults, and those are pretty annoying. "Home on the Range" is a strange film, while enjoyable for the fans of Westerns it can get tedious for them at times, but it is serviceable enough to pass the time with a child without being too annoying or tiresome. Up Next: The sky is falling, it's crushed Hand Drawn animation, this era, and worse yet decency.
Matthew Y

Worst Disney animated feature film? Hard to argue with that. It's not that Home on the Range sucks terrible or is just unwatchable, its that it is probably Disney's least ambitious work that goes for the lowest common denominator forms of jokes, songs and entertainment.… More
Worst Disney animated feature film? Hard to argue with that. It's not that Home on the Range sucks terrible or is just unwatchable, its that it is probably Disney's least ambitious work that goes for the lowest common denominator forms of jokes, songs and entertainment. The animation is severely weak especially considering you can find better looking animation from the 40's and the whole project just feels lazy. Roseanne Barr plays a cow...haha...get it...because, if she were an animal she'd so be a cow...haha? That's pretty much the level of sophistication you're gonna get from this thing.
Jason V

Even after adjusting expectations accordingly based on word of mouth and the sheer fact I haven't gotten around to seeing Home on the Range, this Disney effort is...middling isn't the right word. Uninspired. Dull. Lifeless. Trying WAY too hard. You can see various… More
Even after adjusting expectations accordingly based on word of mouth and the sheer fact I haven't gotten around to seeing Home on the Range, this Disney effort is...middling isn't the right word. Uninspired. Dull. Lifeless. Trying WAY too hard. You can see various pieces which might have worked in a better script, but nothing gels the way it should. The expected adventures for the cows never transpire while the characters are actually character types instead of "people" we care about. No one on the screen is at all memorable, the songs without punch and the running time barely hits 70 minutes when the end credits are removed. Home on the Range needs to go back to the design stage to flesh out the plot, add more dynamics with the characters and to retool. As it is, there's nothing to recommend. At least The Black Cauldron was a noble failure.
Jackson W

While Home on the Range is a delightful family film, the film suffers from many fatal flaws from second-rate animation, poor voice contributions, and an overall cheeseball story ark.
Nicolas K

It is OK to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon with toddlers.
Andrew F

It is terrible that Disney made their last traditionally-animated movie this bad. The characters are okay, I guess.
Curt C

Disney stated this would be that last traditionally animated movie they will create; if so, lord how the mighty have fallen for a company that could one produce legit 4-5 star animated features that appealed to all ages. Fails on about every possible level; the jokes are dumb, the… More
Disney stated this would be that last traditionally animated movie they will create; if so, lord how the mighty have fallen for a company that could one produce legit 4-5 star animated features that appealed to all ages. Fails on about every possible level; the jokes are dumb, the songs are bad, the story is bizarre, and anyone above 8 will find nothing redeeming. Plus, Rosanne Barr as the star vocal lead? WTF?
Marion R

The "voice acting" is done by actors who have the most irritating voices I have ever heard in a children's film. Roseanne Barr, Jennifer Tilly, and Judy Dench are our lead cows, so naturally my ears were bleeding within the first ten minutes. Just not good what so ever.
Dimitris S

I'm not sure why I bothered my curiosity. It probably bothered my sanity. Under-age propaganda involving...over-weightiness...and...animal farms?
George K

This didn't get much fanfare when it was released in 2004. Though this doesn't rise to the level of a Walt Disney Classic, "Home On The Range" is a good family film that children and adults will enjoy. No doubt...you will recognize Roseanne Barr's and Jennifer… More
This didn't get much fanfare when it was released in 2004. Though this doesn't rise to the level of a Walt Disney Classic, "Home On The Range" is a good family film that children and adults will enjoy. No doubt...you will recognize Roseanne Barr's and Jennifer Tilly's voice right away. It's not a long movie...just 76 minutes...but a perfect film to show the kids before putting them to bed.
Lee K

Enjoyable, and often funny movie that the whole family will love, we did!!!
Sarah P

Disney movies just aren't what they used to be...