Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995)

62% User Rating

1h 38min

"A journey into a world where legends come to life. Dreams come true. And every boy is a hero."

A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.

Jeremiah S. ChechikDirector

Cast

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Patrick Swayze

Pecos Bill

Oliver Platt

Paul Bunyan

Roger Aaron Brown

John Henry

Nick Stahl

Daniel Hackett

Scott Glenn

J.P. Stiles

Stephen Lang

Jonas Hackett

Jared Harris

Head Thug Pug

Catherine O'Hara

Calamity Jane

Burgess Meredith

Old Man (uncredited)

Scott Wilson

Zeb

William H. Macy

Railroad Magnate

Moira Sinise

Mary Hackett

Reviews (1)

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r96sk

Rating 70%

October 4, 2020

A tad messy in its execution, but a cool film nevertheless. I'll be honest, it oddly took me a while to catch on to what was happening; I found all the dots, so to speak, but didn't connect them quick enough for some reason. Nonetheless, throughout, I was very much enjoying the film. The cast are terrific, they certainly elevate the film up in my thoughts. Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt and Roger Aaron Brown are entertaining in the respective roles as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and John Henry. A young Nick Stahl isn't amazing, but his performance is satisfactory. Scott Glenn, meanwhile, is a solid villain. Away from them, you have the likes of Jared Harris, Stephen Lang, Scott Wilson and Catherine O'Hara appear - I would've loved to have seen more of O'Hara as Calamity Jane, there was great potential there for a big team up with Swayze's character; sadly we only get them together for a short time. The premise is a strange one but one I liked. It could've came out better no doubt, though it is still done to a suitable level. <em>'Tall Tale'</em> is a fun flick from Disney.