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      A Far Off Place

      PG Released Mar 12, 1993 1 hr. 45 min. Kids & Family Adventure List
      42% 12 Reviews Tomatometer 69% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score With a bushman's help, two teens (Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Randall) cross an African desert to elude poachers who killed their parents. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (163) audience reviews
      Steve D The weird mix of tones don't work. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Jacob B I'd love to have witnessed the audience reactions back in the early '90s when a fun Roger Rabbit cartoon played then the movie actually started and one of the first things we see are POACHERS RIDDLING ELEPHANTS WITH BULLETS ONSCREEN! They get their just desserts shortly after but surely, this must have been quite the jarring experience for parents and children. Keep in mind that this wasn't released under the Touchstone Pictures banner. Disney was okay associating this with their family-friendly image. Although, it should be noted that the castle doesn't appear, they just have static text saying "Walt Disney Pictures", which they used back in the '90s to indicate that their film in question has more of an action-packed edge to it as evidenced by its presence in The Rocketeer, The Three Musketeers and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. This was also produced by Steven Spielberg's company Amblin Entertainment which didn't mind having their family-friendly films be edgy which honestly might explain a LOT, although Spielberg himself didn't seem to have any actual involvement in the movie. Now that we've addressed that, I think A Far Off Place is an underrated adventure film. It's well-shot, Reese Witherspoon delivers a really good performance pre-dating her higher-profile adult roles, it's exciting and I do like how the New Yawk boy goes from being an obnoxious jerk to a nicer guy. I do think they could've handled the tonal shifts better and at one point, a deus ex machina saves the day whilst some of the suspense is lessened somewhat by their bushman guide knowing certain spiritual things to get themselves out of certain pickles but overall, I liked A Far Off Place. Just be certain that your children can handle it if you're a parent if this ever makes its way to Disney+ one day. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review r 9 Starts off a little rocky, but once it gets going 'A Far Off Place' is very good. It's exactly what you'd want from an adventure drama. The adventure is a grand one, while the drama is certainly in there from beginning to end. The stuff in the Kalahari Desert looks neat, with it being filmed across Namibia and Zimbabwe. James Horner's score, meanwhile, fits. The main reason for the iffy start is the acting. Reese Witherspoon (Nonnie) and Ethan Embry (Harry) aren't great in the opening 15-25 minutes, especially Embry. However, thankfully, once they are left to go on into the 100 minute run time they become decent to watch. Sarel Bok (Xhabbo) and Maximilian Schell (Theron) are good too. The villains are forgettable and plain, but that doesn't hamper proceedings in my opinion. It shows off the nastiness of ivory hunting well, especially with one scene nearer the start. The conclusion isn't anything astonishing, but I feel it works suitably enough. Overall, I can say I had an enjoyable experience watching this. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member good family movie of determination and perseverance Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member The Kalahari adventure! If you are a Disney live-action film fan, you won't disappoint with it. It comes between the regular Disney films and Disney nature films. It sets in somewhere in the Namibia and takes us with to a great adventure which is more like a documentary film than a film with a story. Actually, there was a small story, mostly on the opening and the end part and the rest of the film was a foot journey like 'The Way Back'. Based on the book of the same name about a girl and a boy who team up with a bushman to cross the Kalahari desert after their family was attacked by the poachers. I did not know anything about it, so I expected nothing. But I thought of 'The Gods Must be Crazy', since it is not a comedy, I prepared for something new. I really liked the film, but not that much. Spectacular African landscapes, and awesome performances by everyone. I would have loved it if a few more wild animals participated in it, after all African flavour means that's what we all anticipate, especially the children. So from that perspective, it is slightly a disappointment, but not much. Other than that it is a fine family film from a trusted production house. 6.5/10 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Haven't seen this in forever, and wouldn't mind revisiting a flick like A Far Off Place again! It was a box office bomb in the early 90's, but it couldn't have been that horrible, eh? Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (12) Critics Reviews
      Peter Stack San Francisco Chronicle [A] handsomely photographed but troubling new Disney film. Rated: 2/4 Jan 11, 2023 Full Review James Berardinelli ReelViews Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Hollis Chacona Austin Chronicle Rated: 1/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant Salomon has clearly learned much from working with directors such as James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. Jun 6, 2018 Full Review Carrie R. Wheadon Common Sense Media African survival tale not for sensitive animal lovers. Rated: 3/5 Feb 8, 2012 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 14, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis With a bushman's help, two teens (Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Randall) cross an African desert to elude poachers who killed their parents.
      Director
      Mikael Salomon
      Executive Producer
      Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Gerald R. Molen
      Screenwriter
      Laurens Van der Post, Robert Caswell, Jonathan Hensleigh, Sally Robinson
      Distributor
      Buena Vista Pictures, C.B. Films
      Production Co
      Walt Disney Pictures, Amblin Entertainment
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Kids & Family, Adventure
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Mar 12, 1993, Wide
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 1, 2004
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $12.9M
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Digital, Surround, Stereo