Home on the Range
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: April 2, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
19
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A sweet, raucously funny, comic Western that corrects a glaring historical injustice by finally surveying the Old West through the eyes of cows rather than cowboys. Read full review
80
Film ThreatKevin Carr
Has a wacky charm and a feeling like no other Disney film in recent years. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Old-style animation slows down after a snappy start, but it's lively enough to keep kids from fidgeting too much. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Belongs to its trio of "bovine" voice talent -- Roseanne Barr, Dame Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly -- who play with such tongue-in-cheek delight upon their public personas that it's hard to separate cow character from the celebrities. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
A good bet for family viewing. It's got a charming, simple plot, a smart Alan Menken score, and enough subversive humor to wring a chuckle or two out of Mom and Dad. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's only 76 minutes long, but although kids will like it, their parents will be sneaking looks at their watches. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Whatever the narrative shortcomings, these characters have the warmth of antique painted storybooks, unlike the eerie plastic simulation of Pixar characters. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The visual effects are lovely to behold, and the songs by Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and k.d. lang are fairly catchy. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Any shortfalls in Home on the Range a conventional but perfectly pleasant entertainment, have more to do with the ABC's of storytelling than with the D's of animation.
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
An engagingly rambunctious toon Western that likely will attract herds of family auds, if not multitudes of teens and tweeners, to megaplex corrals. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly Richards
Highly likeable, pleasantly unpretentious and plenty amusing. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The conservatively cheery artistic style suggests that the animation team has been reading Sundance merchandise catalogs. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
The film skews young, to be sure, and it isn't as memorable as the new Disney classics of the early 1990s, but there's still plenty here to hold the interest of viewers of all ages: delightful performances (particularly by Dench, plowing Angela Lansbury terrain), zinging comic dialogue and a soundtrack that's a wealth of sonorous riches. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Isn't good satire or good slapstick. It does have those lyrical, catchy Menken tunes, and the film perks up whenever Raitt or lang sing one of them. But much of this movie is deadly. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
What it really is is an unapologetic cartoon, a harum-scarum endeavor that's so comically frantic it wears you out as much as it entertains. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
This amiable, Western-themed animated effort from the Walt Disney Co. is a clear attempt to return to the more lighthearted cartoon style that was so prevalent before its onslaught of stately musical epics. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
An intended throwback to the halcyon days of colorful studio cartoons, more in the Chuck Jones style than Disney, and the animation of its characters and Western motif is fine. But the writing of co-directors Will Finn and John Sanford and their characterizations are embarrassingly bad. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Although superficially an odd couple, the outspoken Barr and the restrained Dench work together surprisingly well and a steady stream of jokes aimed at both adults and kids keeps this genial entertainment galloping along at a brisk pace. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
So udderly mediocre. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
This 76-minute Western tall tale isn't out-and-out bad, but strictly formulaic and an underachievement from the studio that made the dazzling "Snow White." Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Assorted movie in-jokes should keep parents tolerably entertained, and Alan Menken's songs mercifully favor western swing over the expected twang pop. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldChristine Dolan
Good for some giggles. Especially if you're under the age of, oh, 8 or so. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianKaren Karbo
Will best be enjoyed on DVD. You can pop it in for the kids and spend the next 90 minutes or so doing something else. Read full review
50
Washington PostJennifer Frey
Charming as it can be, though, Home on the Range is still an overextended cartoon. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Even older kids will understand that Pixar does it so much better, not because of their computers but because of an intelligent attention to script and character and craft. If the people running Disney don't understand that much anymore, maybe they should turn out the lights and go home. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Despite lovely songs from k.d. lang and Bonnie Raitt (written by Beauty and the Beast composer Alan Menken), this range is about as serene as a hen party. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The best cartoons are built on the contradictory pursuit of meticulously arranged anarchy. But they never seem needy, or desperate for laughs, as Home on the Range does. The film seems hungrier for a pat on the head than a chuckle. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
Should make about $750, which is how much they need to save the farm, but a little less than Disney CEO Michael Eisner needs to save his job. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
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. Read full review
12
PremiereSara Brady
Suffocatingly boring. Read full review
More From This Movie

50 Critic Reviews

5.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL