| Gordy | |
|---|---|
 Canadian theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Lewis |
| Screenplay by | Leslie Stevens |
| Story by | |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Richard Michalak |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Charles Fox |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Miramax Family Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6–7 million[1] |
| Box office | $3.9 million[2] |
Gordy is a 1994 Americanfamilycomedy-drama film directed byMark Lewis, about alivestockpiglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to aslaughterhouse inOmaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of others who are part of the film's side plots, including traveling country music singers Luke McAllister and his daughter, Jinnie Sue; and lonely boy Hanky Royce whose mother, Jessica, is engaged to a sinister businessman named Gilbert Sipes. Gordy changes lives for the people he encounters due to their ability to understand him. The film was distributed byMiramax Films under theirMiramax Family Films imprint.[3]
The film features the song "Pig Power in the House" byTag Team. Amusic video was produced for the song, featuring clips from the film.[4]
A piglet named Gordy lives on Meadow Brook Farm nearHope, Arkansas. However, after the farmer goes bankrupt, he is forced to sell everything, starting with Gordy's family. Gordy tries to stop his father from leaving by following the truck taking him, but he tells Gordy to go home and look after the family. Returning to the farm, Gordy finds that his mother and siblings were taken in another truck while he pursued his father. Determined to locate his family and return to the farm, Gordy sets out to find them. He soon ends up in the care of Jinnie Sue McAllister, a youngcountry singer who lives in a camper van with her father, Luke, and their "manager", Cousin Jake.
They travel to a dinner party, where Luke performs for the governor of Arkansas. Also attending are rich businessman Henry Royce, his daughter Jessica, her scheming fiancé Gilbert Sipes, and her lonely young son Hanky. Hanky wanders off and meets Gordy and Jinnie Sue. Hanky falls into the swimming pool but cannot swim. Just as Jinnie Sue rushes off to get help, Gordy dives into the pool with an inflatable tube and saves Hanky. Due to Gordy's bravery, he is given to Hanky as a pet and becomes famous.
Henry and Gilbert have conflicting opinions on who the new mascot of the Royce Company should be: Gordy or Jessica. Gordy wins, due to a switched camera lens used on Jessica's promotion. Gilbert is determined to remove Gordy and take control of the company. He sends his henchmen, Dietz and Krugman, to kidnap Gordy, but Gordy and Hanky escape by boarding a school bus, which Dietz and Krugman pursue. Gordy and Hanky escape onto a feeding truck and unexpectedly meet up with the McAllisters, who learn from the radio that Hanky has apparently run away. Another bulletin follows, revealing Henry has died of a heart attack. The McAllisters return Hanky and Gordy to the Royce building inSt. Louis, Missouri, where an attorney reveals that Henry has left his company to Gordy and Hanky.
Cousin Jake, upon learning that Gordy's family is missing, organizes a countrywide search to locate them and also a country music concert inBranson, Missouri in Gordy's name.Jim Stafford,Moe Bandy,Boxcar Willie,Cristy Lane,Buck Trent, andMickey Gilley perform, as well as a surprise speech from PresidentBill Clinton (voiced byJim Meskimen), who unveils a new stamp of Gordy. Gilbert sends Dietz and Krugman to kidnap Gordy, but he is saved by Cousin Jake, who returns him to Hanky and Jinnie Sue. Everyone learns from someone who calls into the telethon that Gordy's family is going to be slaughtered in Nebraska. Gilbert tries to hide the fact that it is owned by the Royce family, causing a brief struggle that ends with Jessica and Luke knocking Gilbert out. Gordy and the others race to stop the slaughterhouse from killing Gordy's family, but a train slows them. Hanky rings the love-struck supervisor, and the slaughterhouse is shut down just in time. To Gordy's happiness, his family has survived, and he is reunited with his father, who was also at the slaughterhouse. The pigs are moved back to the farm, which Luke and Jessica buy; they marry, and Hanky, Jinnie Sue, and Cousin Jake move in too. Gordy and his family are finally reunited.
The script forGordy started under the title ofWaldo and was written by veteran TV comedy writersJay Sommers andDick Chevillat withArnold the Pig fromGreen Acres in mind for Waldo, but remained unproduced for several years.[5][6][7][1] In January 1993, it was announcedSybil Robson's newly formed Robson Entertainment had acquired theWaldo script which was re-written byLeslie Stevens with the new titleGordy.[1] Pre-production took place inAtlanta on a budget of $6–7 million.[1]
The film was released on two screens inTucson, Arizona on November 4, 1994 and was released nationwide on May 12, 1995.[8][2]
The film was released on VHS on November 8, 1995 byWalt Disney Home Video.[9] It was released on DVD on June 4, 2002 byWalt Disney Home Entertainment,[10] along with a simultaneous VHS re-release on the same day.[11] It was re-released on DVD on April 12, 2011 byEcho Bridge Home Entertainment.[12] A second re-release byLionsgate was released on October 7, 2014, which includes a digital copy.[13] A third re-release byMiramax was released on February 23, 2021.[14]
Along with generally negative reviews,Gordy was eclipsed byBabe, another family film about a talking piglet who becomes famous while avoiding being slaughtered for food. Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 21% approval rating with an average rating of 4.1/10 based on 19 reviews.[15] Although the film premiered on a limited release in Tucson in November 1994 and had its nationwide release a few months beforeBabe,Gordy was far less successful critically and commercially. Meanwhile,Babe was both a critical and commercial success, won several awards (including anAcademy Award for Visual Effects) and spawned a sequel titledBabe: Pig in the City.[16]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing: "This is not the kind of film that rewards deep analysis. I rate it at two stars, but I'd recommend it for kids. I can't recommend it for people like me, but there are many other kinds of people in the world, some of them children who believe that pigs can talk, and for them,Gordy is likely to be very entertaining. You know who you are."[17]
Peter Stack of theSan Francisco Chronicle claimed that "Gordy's strongest suit is the piglet's determination to reunite with his family, and that part of the convoluted plot develops into a folksy comic effort as Jinnie Sue, her dad, Hanky and Gordy race to save the family of pigs from becoming sausages. One would think the pork industry would be livid about this film as it portrayspig slaughter as an outrageous evil. The highlight comes when Gordy jumps into a backyard swimming pool—piglets really are cutest when they put their little trotters together and dive—and saves Hanky from drowning. Generally speaking, time would be better spent withCharlotte's Web than this forgettable hogwash."[18]
Chris Hicks of theDeseret News reviewed the film saying that "This may have sounded like a cute idea on paper, but as kids pictures go this is the worst to come along in memory. Charmless, humorless and dull as drying paint,Gordy is the kind of movie parents should save for video punishment. But if they take their kids to a theater, they'll be punishing themselves."[19]
Dave Kehr of theNew York Daily News described the film as "a particularly dull and inept family film".[20]
Caryn James ofThe New York Times opined that "It is possible that some children will be tickled at the very idea of a talking pig, even one as bland as Gordy. They will probably be children who have never seen any movie, ever.Gordy is the film that asks, How you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seenSimba?"[21]
Rita Kempley of theWashington Post called the film a "peculiar, seemingly pro-vegan tale". She later went on to say that "It's fairly obvious that Gordy's performance was inspired by Arnold Ziffel's precedent-setting work on the old TV seriesGreen Acres. But then so was the movie, which was penned by series alumni Jay Sommers and Dick Chevillat. Their screenplay is as bland as an afternoon inMister Rogers' Neighborhood, though the director, Australian animal-mockumentary-maker Mark Lewis, adds a touch of menace by using extreme close-ups, bizarre angles and other stylish camera work. One thing's for sure,Gordy will put little pea-pickers off their pork."[22]
Walter V. Addiego ofThe Examiner Staff stated that "The film tosses a few mild, satirical darts atpublic relations andadvertising, but otherwise it's strictly hokum from the heartland. The director, I'm sorry to say, is Mark Lewis, the Australian responsible for the strange and funny documentaryCane Toads: An Unnatural History, which enlivened the S.F. Film Festival in 1988.Gordy will not enhance his résumé. It's surprisingly amateurish, due in no small part to clumsy scripting by Leslie Stevens."[23]
Tracy Moore ofCommon Sense Media gave the film two out of five stars, saying that "This fast-moving adventure about a talking pig's mission to find his family has a few fun elements -- some lively country music, a brush with fortune and fame, a bit of suspense, and lots of comically dodged mishaps. Kids will no doubt be entertained by the talking animals, cute pigs, and loads of adventure. Parents, however, should note the parent and child separation and the death of a grandparent as key concerns, as well as the scariness factor of the impending violence of the slaughterhouse, which is teased throughout the movie. If the audience is old enough to handle that potentially squeamish subject,Gordy is otherwise a passable 90 minutes of animal-talking antics."[24]TV Guide gave the film 1½ stars out of four.[25]
However,Louis Black ofThe Austin Chronicle wrote a favorable review of the film concluding that "A lot happens, it moves quickly, and the film is filled with minor characters who nicely round things out; my young companion watched the film from beginning to end, loving it. This is not a date movie."[26]
In its opening week in Tucson, the film grossed $19,000.[8] It went on to gross $3.9 million in the United States and Canada.[2]
