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Poster for Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

Seen it?

1995 | 98 min | Adventure, Family, Western

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With middling reviews (48% on Rotten Tomatoes), it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for adventure fans and families. If you loved The Treasure of the Sierra Madre or Dances with Wolves, start here. Audiences love it more than critics do: a crowd-pleaser first.
The mood
Feel-good.
The pace
Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 38 min.
What might put you off
  • Rated PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
  • Critics were cooler on it than audiences.

A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsBelow par

    48% on Rotten Tomatoes

  • AudiencesSolid

    7.5 out of 10 from opening-week audiences

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerSolid

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactSolid

    About 63K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik

  • Patrick SwayzePecos Bill
  • Oliver PlattPaul Bunyan
  • Roger Aaron BrownJohn Henry
  • Nick StahlDaniel Hackett
  • Scott GlennJ.P. Stiles
  • Stephen LangJonas Hackett
  • Jared HarrisHead Thug Pug
  • Catherine O'HaraCalamity Jane
  • Burgess MeredithOld Man (uncredited)
  • Scott WilsonZeb