Goose on the Loose

This film has a very 'made for TV feel'. I would expect it to be on a public access channel rather than on the big screen. The story is tired and unoriginal. The film has been cursed with troubles with financing and casting (it's been 4 years since completion and still has not been released) and it shows in the quality of script, sound, and production. I could barely sit through this horrible movie. I generally enjoy children's films, but I know a formula when I see it. I expect children will experience a sense of 'deja vu' while viewing it. This film as no respect for its audience or for film as an art. Trust me when I tell you to save your money and see something original and worthwhile.

I just had the chance to see this heart-warming film and I really liked it. The story really grew on me and the baby goslings in the movie are hilarious and adorable! (There will be lots of laughter in the theater from the baby gosling's flatulence.) Max Morrow's performance as a boy struggling to find happiness after losing his Mom, really tugged at my heartstrings. Chevy Chase as a bumbling chef/principal is in classic form. The movie will keep you interested with lots of humorous talking goose scenes, and the story moves along pretty quick. I wish all movies were 85 minutes long. This as a perfect family film. It's safe for even the littlest ones. Enjoy!

Emily Donnelly writes about her little brother Will who turned mute after losing their mother. He befriends talking goose Randall but only he can hear it. Randall is being fatten up by his principal Congreve Maddox (Chevy Chase) for a Christmas recipe. Donna Archer (Kari Matchett) is his caring teacher. Kenneth (James Purefoy) is his heart-broken father. Maddox is waiting for his mother Beatrice Fairfield (Joan Plowright) to arrive but the kids kidnap her for a prisoner exchange.

Chevy Chase is struggling and forced to wear weird teeth in a weird kid's movie as the weird villain. His best days are in the past. His revival in Community is still a few years away. The production level is definitely lower. It looks more like an 80s movie. I like Chase trying silly villainy but he needs to get rid of the teeth. The goose has potential but the CG mouth has to go. The kid are non-descript but essentially harmless. The movie is itself essentially harmless. The kidnapping idea could have cast fun harm but the movie bails out of that rather quickly.

"Goose on the Loose" is a sensitive and touching children's fantasy story of a young boy, Will played by Max Morrow, coping with a loss of his Mother. Through the magic of a real Goose, an animatronic goose and a gaggle of unruly gosling puppets, Will befriends Randall who is about to be fattened up and cooked by the local school principal (Chevy Chase) as his recipe of choice in a gastronomic competition. Will realizes that Randall is doomed unless…… a master plan is set in motion to rescue Randall. Wonderful cast of children and adults including Joan Plowright, James Purefoy, Kari Matchett and Isobel Fink as Wills older sister. A funny, inspiring comedy for all the family to watch.

This film has me from the start by exploring feelings I had as a child concerning the eating of animals. The boy in the film feels an attachment to the goose his high-school principal intends to eat for Thanksgiving. So there is a valid moral issue at the heart of this charming, effective comedy. Nothing wrong with that. While casting is uneven, Chevy Chase is surprisingly funny, Joan Plowright is, as usual, superb, and the young actress Cheyenne Hill is a real discovery. I also loved the idea that the story is told by a hilarious Mother Goose to her young ones – the whole story, in a sense, is told from the point of view of geese who are horrified with bizarre, goose-eating human behavior. I watched the new version of this film with my young daughter, who grew up on a diet of made-for-children cinema, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. I've read some harping concerning re-shoots of this film, as if the pleasure one takes in seeing it were somehow diminished by the hard work that must have gone on behind the scenes. Who cares? Goose on the Loose works hard for your attention and should get it, because it is well- crafted, touching, and at times genuinely zany. Canada needs to make more films that aspire, like Goose, to a big audience.