Wild America (1997)

Director:

William Dear

Writer (WGA):

David Michael Wieger (written by)

Release Date:

2 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

take a ride on the wild side.

Plot:

Three brothers - Marshall, Marty and Mark dream of becoming naturalists and portraying animal life of America...

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Filmmaking | Brothers | Based On True Story

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jonathan Taylor Thomas	...	Marshall Stouffer
Devon Sawa	...	Mark Stouffer
Scott Bairstow	...	Marty Stouffer Jr.
Frances Fisher	...	Agnes 'Mom' Stouffer
Jamey Sheridan	...	Marty 'Dad' Stouffer, Sr.
Tracey Walter	...	Leon, the Stouffer's Farmhand & Neighbor
Don Stroud	...	Stango the Aligator Man
Zack Ward	...	D.C.
Claudia Stedelin	...	Carrie Stokes
Anastasia Spivey	...	Donna Jo
Leighanne Littrell	...	Tanna Stewert (as Leighanne Wallace)
Amy Lee Douglas	...	Julie Anne
Sonny Shroyer	...	Bud
Rachel Fowler	...	Sarah
Jennifer Crumbley	...	Beby

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some adventure peril.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:S | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:7 | UK:PG (video premiere) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

Francis Fisher plays Jonathan Taylor Thomas's character's mother in this film. In 1991 she was cast as his character's mother in the show "Home Improvement", but was replaced due to poor early audience reaction to her.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the cave, one of the snakes is clearly a fake one on a stick.

Quotes:

Leon: [fantisizing with the clouds] I'm thinking dinosaur.
Marshall Stouffer: Rabbit lying down.
Leon: Could be a hog head. Big old skunk. Or a turtle. Chevy bumper.
Marshall Stouffer: [narrating] Leon had been in the Air Force with my dad. They used to patch up fighter planes, then dad would take them up and test them. After the war, he followed my dad home, and lived with us ever since.
Leon: [still trying to make out what a cloud looks like] Bushel Basket. Gold spud. Nope, definitely a rabbit lying down.

Movie Connections:

References "Wild America" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Green Tambourine

Really, it's not that bad!

Despite the three young actors being "teen idols," they pulled off really good chemistry throughout the film. My primary faults with the film are not with the acting at all, but with the screenplay. Because of the writer's desire to put everything possible into one movie, he sabotaged its overall effectiveness. Is this a classic teen idol flick? Is it a nature film? Is it comedy/drama/action? It's really hard to say, as it doesn't succeed as any of the above! There are too many side-plots -- does the owl really need to be there? Or Leon? Or the man in the mountain? There are too many relationships given just a hint of substance, such as that with Mom, the town bully, the local girls, the college girls... In addition, Mark's character has little opportunity to develop, and the other boys leave a great deal to the imagination. And I ask you, is it necessary for Marshall to have three different nicknames? This is, unfortunately, one more movie that could have been really great. As it is, it is a fun film without enough substance.

On a side note, is there any particular reason that only one of the Stouffer brothers was involved in producing the show? I find that a little odd, myself.