Four years before the Ingalls family took over Walnut Grove on Monday nights on NBC, the Tanner family went up against the nasty An Cross and his refusal to release water down into the valley, resulting in an undeclared war of violence without law present to help them. Steve Forrest and Vera Miles are Pa and Ma Tanner, and instead of three little girls, they've got two boys, the Howard brothers, Ron and Clint. Before facing the nasty Cross (Morgan Woodard), they have to deal with fixing up a delapidated farm, and it's not until they have to deal with his cows trampling in their garden before they even get to meet Woodard and his army of farmland thugs. They've been warned about him too, by the Mr. Edwards like Jack Elam whom Ma got a glimpse of in his longjohns, something no woman had ever experienced before.
Then, there's the tornado that comes through, not very realistic when it's far away, but very scary when it actually approaches and runs through the farm. This is not a Disney film at its sunniest, even though there are lots of sunny days. The moments of humor lighten up the film for the most part, but the schemes are very serious, with the selfishness of Woodard's character very smug because as he says, there's no law there to stop him from doing what he wants. But there are moments of cuteness, such as young Clint Howard's obsession with trapping animals, warned by his father that a porcupine may not make a good pet. I would say this is more adult-oriented in nature, probably good for late teenagers on up, but youngsters pre-junior high would most likely not appreciate it. It's one of several rare adult Disney films absolutely no corniness, and in many ways, that's a good thing.
Then, there's the tornado that comes through, not very realistic when it's far away, but very scary when it actually approaches and runs through the farm. This is not a Disney film at its sunniest, even though there are lots of sunny days. The moments of humor lighten up the film for the most part, but the schemes are very serious, with the selfishness of Woodard's character very smug because as he says, there's no law there to stop him from doing what he wants. But there are moments of cuteness, such as young Clint Howard's obsession with trapping animals, warned by his father that a porcupine may not make a good pet. I would say this is more adult-oriented in nature, probably good for late teenagers on up, but youngsters pre-junior high would most likely not appreciate it. It's one of several rare adult Disney films absolutely no corniness, and in many ways, that's a good thing.