Best movie of this year hands down!

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I'd put this in the same category as THE SEVEN FACES OF DR. LAO, a true family movie: there's something anyone can relate to, but with some hokey flaws that ultimately don't matter.There are so many great parts to it, that it's a shame that some of the editing and a few character blunders are handled so badly.The John Henry competition is pretty much thrown away, just because of some bad editing.The bad guy is an out-of-place cartoon, supposedly in the "real world" but seems like a fugitive from THE WILD, WILD WEST. He is pitted against the well-drawn characters of Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry and Calamity Jane, all of whom start out as cartoons, then are cleverly nuanced. I could have used more Catherine O'Hara.Speaking of which, William H. Macy is pretty much wasted too.I won't spoil the ending, but I think they knew that they DID have a great ending that could survive lots of mis-steps. So don't tune out before the end.

Disney fantasy set in Old West America at the turn of the century: young farm boy, imaginative but unhappy, dreams up Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and John Henry when the family farming home is threatened by a slimy land-developer. Derivative story goes all the way back to "The Wizard of Oz" for ideas, with Scott Glenn playing a sort of Wicked Witch, all dressed in black. Other cast members (Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, and Nick Stahl) do commendable work, but film lacks real emotion and depth. It looks good, however, and its heart is certainly in the right place. Not the popular, rousing family affair that the Disney folks probably hoped it would be, though. *1/2 from ****

Just finished watching this with my kids and they whooped it up and acted it out all over the living room floor. Yes, it may have some drawbacks, but it's for kids, who won't necessarily notice those things, unless their kill-joy parents point them out. What in the world is wrong with having a little fun? The movie was a great way to introduce my kids to the folk tales of our country in an engaging, comical way. They recognized the names, but the stories that went with them. I guess folk tales are going the way of nursery rhymes. And it kept their attention for the hour-and-a-half or so that the movie ran. And considering that we rented the movie on a lark, I do believe we got our money's worth, pardner!

I'm now 18 and this movie remains a favorite of mine. I watch it so much my parents urge me to watch other films.The film takes place in the American West in 1905. A young boy named Daniel Hacket doesn't believe his father is doing the right thing when he passes up an opportunity to sell the family farm for purely sentimental reasons. He also doesn't believe all the tall tales his father tells him of Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyun and Jonn Henry.He is later entrusted with the deed to the farm by his father who then gets critically injured.The villain of this film, Mr. Stiles, won't rest until he has every deed to Paradise Valley, the area where the Daniel lives.Daniel falls asleep in a boat and is carried off. When he awakes he is rescued by none other than Pecos Bill himself. Daniel is determined to get home to take care of his family. Pecos decides to help him. Along the way they meet Paul Bunyun and John Henry. They also must struggle to avoid Stiles and his men who are hot on their trail.On the journey, Daniel sees why the land is so important to his father and finds himself fighting for it just as hard.I find this to be a charming and heart warming film. It must have been fun for the actors to portray those great American legends. I, personally, could not see anyone else in those roles. I would have liked to see a bit more of Calamity Jane.Here's to the Code!