Wild America (film)
Encyclopedia
Wild America is a 1997
adventure comedy film directed by William Dear
, written by David Michael Wieger, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas
, Devon Sawa
and Scott Bairstow
.
) being chased by his two older brothers, Mark (Devon Sawa
) and Marty
(Scott Bairstow
). The two oldest brothers love using Marshall to film him in stunts, which he dislikes. Occasionally Marty and Mark will show footage of their antics in their garage to all their friends. Mark and Marty have a dream of filming dangerous animals around the country, and the dream starts when they find a rare, special camera in a shop. Agnes (their mother) loans them the money she was saving up and they begin planning their trip. Their father is against this idea.
The brothers then want to take the next step by traveling across the country, but again, the father says no. Mark and Marty finally convince their father to let them go. All set, Marty and Mark begin their trip using the family's beat up 1956 Chevrolet Suburban
and are surprised to find out Marshall couldn't leave them and comes along. The mother is worried, but lets him go. The overall goal of the trip in Marty's mind is to find a legendary cave located somewhere in the western states said to be filled with hundreds of bears. Marty learns of it when reading an article in a wildlife magazine, which took it from a trapper's journal from the 19th century.
The three brothers start camping. First, they miss a shot at catching an eagle, then go to film some alligators, and start by seeing a man who was attacked by an alligator. As they go in a swamp on a boat, Mark throws some bait but it lands in the trees, trying to retrieve it, his clothing gets stuck in a branch underwater and he starts to drown, Marshall and Marty drive the boat, but it crashes into another branch, which sends Marshall flying into the water. Marshall gets a knife from Marty and cuts Mark loose, but Marshall is now dealing with a bigger problem; he and the alligator are face to face. Marshall is able to get back on the boat in time. When they get back to the hut, the alligator man (Strango) tells them about how back when he served in the Korean War
he befriended a fellow soldier named Phil. Strango and Phil would exchange stories about their wilderness adventures. Strango would talk about hunting alligators and Phil would tell tall tales about bears. This rouses Marty's attention and he asks about it. Strango states that Phil was talking about a cave full of hundreds of bears somewhere "out West."
The brothers then stop at a beachside grill on the southern coast of Louisiana where they get a small dose of the Vietnam War
fueled counter culture of the 1960's. Mark catches the eye of two British women who are hippies. They take the brothers to a nude beach. Marty and Mark and the two hippies go swimming while Marshall guards the truck and the camera. After the swim the brothers get back on the road much to Mark's reluctance.
They drive northwest until they reach Devil's Playground in Colorado, "the last home of the wild American wolf." Devil's Playground is located on government protected land. They catch footage of a wolf creeping up on a doe. Then as the wolf is about to ambush the doe there is a series of explosions. The brothers look up and see two F-4 Phantoms flying overhead. The pilots see the brothers and turn around, firing missiles at them eventually hitting a giant boulder knocking the three down. As they get up a herd of wild horses comes thundering towards them. They get in the truck just in time to film it. When the horses pass Marshall sees an owl that looks a lot like his owl Leona. The three follow it and discover a cave. On the wall of the cave is an ancient Indian drawing of a cave filled with bear-shaped figures. Marty and Mark draw it on Marshall's chest and show it to an old Indian woman. The women tells them that it's located near Arapaho Peak in Montana.
The brothers try to attract bears, but end up attracting a baby moose that Marshall thinks is a deer. As Marshall starts to pet it, its mother comes and starts chasing him. Marshall tries to escape it, but he gets on its head and antlers as the moose runs into a river. Marshall is about to drown until Bigfoot the Mountain Man saves him. That night around the campfire Marty and Bigfoot talk about bears and the cave. Bigfoot dismisses the cave as a myth but tells them to talk to Carrie Stokes whose husband was killed by a bear. The next day the brothers drive to Stokes's cabin in Willis Peak. Stokes tells the story of how she was mauled by a bear. Her fiance, Judd then went after the bears in their cave but was killed by them two days before the two were to be married (September 3rd). When they return to the truck the brothers discover they were robbed of their food, sleeping bags, and money. This leads to a fight between Mark and Marty, which ends up with Mark having a minor fracture in his leg.
Dismayed by Mark's broken leg, the brothers begin to head home. As they drive Marshall sees a woman laying down flowers near a grave, and reminds the brothers what Carrie does on that day, and they go back and follow her to the cave. They get in and film the bears, but wake all of them up, making them angry. They get some good shots, and sing a song their dad would sing which puts the bears to sleep. Just as they are ready to leave, bats come and attack them. Marshall distracts one of the grizzlies, and tells the other two to leave, because he "has a way out".
The two brothers get out safely, but Marshall has a problem trying to escape the bear as he crawls through a small tunnel in the cave. He gets out, and gets the camera back. The three brothers are home, but Marshall (who was supposed to fly a plane with his dad one day) is driving, and imagines himself flying a plane. He crashes into a few mailboxes, and their dad has to pick them up.
They get back home, and their mom tells them she rented the school gym for them to show what they filmed.
While driving, their father crashes his truck and ends up in the hospital. Marshall teaches himself how to fly a plane, and flies over the hospital so his dad can see. This doesn't please his mom, as he talks to his dad about how he should let his boys have freedom and let Mark and Marty do what they want to do.
They display their film, and everyone claps, but when their enemy DC makes a rude comment, their dad begins to applaud, having the crowd cheer and clap.
Marshall and his Dad smile at each other at the end.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
adventure comedy film directed by William Dear
William Dear
William Dear is a film director, producer and screenwriter known for directing Harry and the Hendersons, If Looks Could Kill, Angels in the Outfield, Wild America and Santa Who?....
, written by David Michael Wieger, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
, Devon Sawa
Devon Sawa
Devon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Although he appears in independent films, he is best known for portraying the part of Alex Browning in the 1999 movie Final Destination...
and Scott Bairstow
Scott Bairstow
Scott Hamilton Bairstow is a Canadian-born American actor known for his roles as "Newt Call" on the Lonesome Dove series in Canada and as "Ned Grayson" on the American television drama series, Party of Five...
.
Plot
The film opens in the summer of 1967 with Marshall Stouffer (Jonathan Taylor ThomasJonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
) being chased by his two older brothers, Mark (Devon Sawa
Devon Sawa
Devon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Although he appears in independent films, he is best known for portraying the part of Alex Browning in the 1999 movie Final Destination...
) and Marty
Marty Stouffer
Martin Luther Stouffer Jr. , is the narrator and producer of the animal documentary show Wild America. He was raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas.-Life:...
(Scott Bairstow
Scott Bairstow
Scott Hamilton Bairstow is a Canadian-born American actor known for his roles as "Newt Call" on the Lonesome Dove series in Canada and as "Ned Grayson" on the American television drama series, Party of Five...
). The two oldest brothers love using Marshall to film him in stunts, which he dislikes. Occasionally Marty and Mark will show footage of their antics in their garage to all their friends. Mark and Marty have a dream of filming dangerous animals around the country, and the dream starts when they find a rare, special camera in a shop. Agnes (their mother) loans them the money she was saving up and they begin planning their trip. Their father is against this idea.
The brothers then want to take the next step by traveling across the country, but again, the father says no. Mark and Marty finally convince their father to let them go. All set, Marty and Mark begin their trip using the family's beat up 1956 Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet offered a station wagon body, built on the 1/2 ton truck frame. This model was specifically built for National Guard units and Civilian Conservation Corps units. Much of the body was constructed from wood, and could seat up to eight occupants....
and are surprised to find out Marshall couldn't leave them and comes along. The mother is worried, but lets him go. The overall goal of the trip in Marty's mind is to find a legendary cave located somewhere in the western states said to be filled with hundreds of bears. Marty learns of it when reading an article in a wildlife magazine, which took it from a trapper's journal from the 19th century.
The three brothers start camping. First, they miss a shot at catching an eagle, then go to film some alligators, and start by seeing a man who was attacked by an alligator. As they go in a swamp on a boat, Mark throws some bait but it lands in the trees, trying to retrieve it, his clothing gets stuck in a branch underwater and he starts to drown, Marshall and Marty drive the boat, but it crashes into another branch, which sends Marshall flying into the water. Marshall gets a knife from Marty and cuts Mark loose, but Marshall is now dealing with a bigger problem; he and the alligator are face to face. Marshall is able to get back on the boat in time. When they get back to the hut, the alligator man (Strango) tells them about how back when he served in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
he befriended a fellow soldier named Phil. Strango and Phil would exchange stories about their wilderness adventures. Strango would talk about hunting alligators and Phil would tell tall tales about bears. This rouses Marty's attention and he asks about it. Strango states that Phil was talking about a cave full of hundreds of bears somewhere "out West."
The brothers then stop at a beachside grill on the southern coast of Louisiana where they get a small dose of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
fueled counter culture of the 1960's. Mark catches the eye of two British women who are hippies. They take the brothers to a nude beach. Marty and Mark and the two hippies go swimming while Marshall guards the truck and the camera. After the swim the brothers get back on the road much to Mark's reluctance.
They drive northwest until they reach Devil's Playground in Colorado, "the last home of the wild American wolf." Devil's Playground is located on government protected land. They catch footage of a wolf creeping up on a doe. Then as the wolf is about to ambush the doe there is a series of explosions. The brothers look up and see two F-4 Phantoms flying overhead. The pilots see the brothers and turn around, firing missiles at them eventually hitting a giant boulder knocking the three down. As they get up a herd of wild horses comes thundering towards them. They get in the truck just in time to film it. When the horses pass Marshall sees an owl that looks a lot like his owl Leona. The three follow it and discover a cave. On the wall of the cave is an ancient Indian drawing of a cave filled with bear-shaped figures. Marty and Mark draw it on Marshall's chest and show it to an old Indian woman. The women tells them that it's located near Arapaho Peak in Montana.
The brothers try to attract bears, but end up attracting a baby moose that Marshall thinks is a deer. As Marshall starts to pet it, its mother comes and starts chasing him. Marshall tries to escape it, but he gets on its head and antlers as the moose runs into a river. Marshall is about to drown until Bigfoot the Mountain Man saves him. That night around the campfire Marty and Bigfoot talk about bears and the cave. Bigfoot dismisses the cave as a myth but tells them to talk to Carrie Stokes whose husband was killed by a bear. The next day the brothers drive to Stokes's cabin in Willis Peak. Stokes tells the story of how she was mauled by a bear. Her fiance, Judd then went after the bears in their cave but was killed by them two days before the two were to be married (September 3rd). When they return to the truck the brothers discover they were robbed of their food, sleeping bags, and money. This leads to a fight between Mark and Marty, which ends up with Mark having a minor fracture in his leg.
Dismayed by Mark's broken leg, the brothers begin to head home. As they drive Marshall sees a woman laying down flowers near a grave, and reminds the brothers what Carrie does on that day, and they go back and follow her to the cave. They get in and film the bears, but wake all of them up, making them angry. They get some good shots, and sing a song their dad would sing which puts the bears to sleep. Just as they are ready to leave, bats come and attack them. Marshall distracts one of the grizzlies, and tells the other two to leave, because he "has a way out".
The two brothers get out safely, but Marshall has a problem trying to escape the bear as he crawls through a small tunnel in the cave. He gets out, and gets the camera back. The three brothers are home, but Marshall (who was supposed to fly a plane with his dad one day) is driving, and imagines himself flying a plane. He crashes into a few mailboxes, and their dad has to pick them up.
They get back home, and their mom tells them she rented the school gym for them to show what they filmed.
While driving, their father crashes his truck and ends up in the hospital. Marshall teaches himself how to fly a plane, and flies over the hospital so his dad can see. This doesn't please his mom, as he talks to his dad about how he should let his boys have freedom and let Mark and Marty do what they want to do.
They display their film, and everyone claps, but when their enemy DC makes a rude comment, their dad begins to applaud, having the crowd cheer and clap.
Marshall and his Dad smile at each other at the end.
Cast
- Jonathan Taylor ThomasJonathan Taylor ThomasJonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
as Marshall Stouffer - Devon SawaDevon SawaDevon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Although he appears in independent films, he is best known for portraying the part of Alex Browning in the 1999 movie Final Destination...
as Mark Stouffer - Scott BairstowScott BairstowScott Hamilton Bairstow is a Canadian-born American actor known for his roles as "Newt Call" on the Lonesome Dove series in Canada and as "Ned Grayson" on the American television drama series, Party of Five...
as Marty Stouffer Jr.Marty StoufferMartin Luther Stouffer Jr. , is the narrator and producer of the animal documentary show Wild America. He was raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas.-Life:... - Frances FisherFrances FisherFrances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
as Mrs. Agnes Stouffer - Jamey SheridanJamey SheridanJames Patrick "Jamey" Sheridan is an American actor. He was born in Pasadena, California.He has had a prolific acting career in theater, television, and feature film productions. Born to a family of actors, he made it to Broadway and earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for his performance in the...
as Mr. Marty Stouffer, Sr. - Tracey WalterTracey WalterTracey Walter is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.-Life and career:Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver....
as Leon, the Stouffer's farmhand and neighbor - Zack WardZack WardZack Ward is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:Ward was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of actress Pam Hyatt and the brother of Carson Foster....
as D.C. - Marshall Stouffer (uncredited) as Ruffian #1
- Mark Stouffer (uncredited) as Ruffian #2
- Marty StoufferMarty StoufferMartin Luther Stouffer Jr. , is the narrator and producer of the animal documentary show Wild America. He was raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas.-Life:...
(uncredited) as Ruffian #3 - Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
(uncredited) as Bigfoot the Mountain Man