Fly Away Home (Clam) [VHS] - Comment and Review

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Product Description

There are some filmmaking teams that invariably bring out the best in each other, and that's definitely the case with director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. They previously collaborated on The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, and Fly Away Home is their third family film that deserves to be called a classic. Inspired by Bill Lishman's autobiography, the movie tells the story of a 13-year-old girl (Anna Paquin) who goes to live with her estranged, eccentric father (Jeff Daniels) following the death of her mother. At first she's withdrawn and reclusive, but finds renewed happiness when she adopts an orphaned flock of baby geese and, later, teaches them to migrate using an ultralight. Sensitively directed and stunningly photographed, the movie has flying sequences that are nothing short of astonishing, and Daniels and Paquin (Oscar winner for The Piano) make a delightful father-daughter duo. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

love this movie

This is a great, heartwarming story - great for kids who are too old for most animated movie but too young for PG 13. The whole family will enjoy this movie!...more info

good flick

Somebody help me out here, at the end of the movie Sarah Maclaclan sings a song about going home again. Anybody know the title of this song. Saltymax@aol.com thanks...more info

The Birds

This drama about a father/daughter relationship showed some promise in the beginning with a couple of tense scenes, but unfortunately the movie became more and more predictable and uninteresting as it went along. The main plot is about a 13 year old girl (Anna Paquin) whose pets consist in a bunch of baby geese. Problem is, as the geese grow up they will have to find their own way and fly away, so the girl and her father (Jeff Daniels) try to help the birds and end up guiding them to a safe place. Basically a feel-good-movie, "Fly Away Home" lacks dramatic tension, surprising situations and a solid plot. As it is, this drama is just a piece of harmless fluff with some pretty images and lots of boring scenes that seem endless and repetitive. The acting is competent and Carroll Ballard`s direction is equally decent, but overall this cinematic experience is way too lifeless, patchy and predictable. Children may like it, though, still this is nothing more than a cliched and unconvincing family movie.

Well-intended but not very challenging....more info

good inspirational almoast peaceful movie

i throughly enjoyed this movie the best part is that it's a true story. I found it very peaceful too when the birds were flying it may move a little slow for some people but I found that to be part of it's charm...more info

A Rare gentleness and Beauty, inspires the heart and spirit

This film is so magnificent and beautiful, I don't know where to start. Fly Away Home is filled with love, hope, and paints a picture of utter simplicity--if you open your heart to care about all living things, It gives your life a purpose and direction--miracles happen. with love, all things are possible, and this is a true and inspiring story of the power of love and a dream. This story has really touched me, and my mom too. The Father-Daughter connection is so beautiful, I know that that honesty and freedom....is a gift.The father is so loving, and he really loves his daughter--together, they fly away home, and do the impossible: Flying with the 13 geese to a safe habitat. What I like best is that this is a true story--I think that the message of living in the passion of life, trying with all your heart, and believing in your dream, wearing your heart on your sleeve--is truly timeless. anything is possible with love, and only love can accomplish what some see as impossible. The connection between the girl and her dad, and how much she wants to see them fly home--Inspiring, uplifting, and gave me a lot of hope, to dare to dream. ...more info

Fly Away Home

I received this movie for Christmas. I've seen it several times and just love it! The DVD was in excellent condition!!!...more info

Have the tissues ready!

I am watching this movie as I write this review. From the opening credits, you get a sense that this movie will offer something more than most movies. The music by Mark Isham is haunting. My only peave is that a soundtrack album was never released for this gorgeous score. Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels give stunning performances. You will have a renewed faith in humankind and movies....more info

Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, this one I loved. The begining is sad though. Worth the $20 or $30 dollars it costs. So good. A girl tries to help 8 orphan baby geese and lead them south. Very cute. Full of laughs and fun the whole way through....more info

This DVD Will Take Your Breath Away

I absolutely love this movie! The first time I saw it was when I was a kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old, and I still love it. My favorite part is when she and her dad fly the geese to my home-state, good ol' North Carolina (YAY!!!! N.C. rarely gets fame.), and when her dad runs out in the yard in his under ware. FUNNY. Like every time I watch it, I start crying, cause its so sad. I have the VHS, and I plan on getting the DVD soon. By the way (this is off-topic, but what the heck), like I said, I do live in North Carolina, plus the pond behind my house is full of Canadian geese. Anyways, good movie!...more info

A beautiful movie

This one is to be shared by kids and grown-ups alike. One thing: if buying in VHS format, get the English-language version, not the Spanish-dubbed one. If you hear both soundtracks, the reason will become obvious....more info

A great family movie: two wings up!

Thirteen-year-old Amy (Anna Paquin) is reunited with her father Tom (Jeff Daniels) in Canada after her mother's death. One day she discovers a nest of abandoned gooose eggs and starts to raise the birds when they hatch. The hatchlings need to migrate south for the winter, but have no adult birds to guide them. Luckily Tom is mechanically skilled and loves to tinker with things like gliders. Father and daughter train the birds to follow them in ultralights, and lead their winter migration, breaking more aviation rules and regulations than I could count.

This is a great family movie (except for a bit of language) for those who like nature, animals, or girl power. It's one of the few films with a direct reference to the Bernoulli principle. The flying scenes really make you feel like you're along for the ride. Two wings up. ...more info

Ya gotta love it. Instant classic

There's not a bad character in this movie, except for the animal control official who persists in locking up the geese. And Anna Paquin just keeps getting better and better and better. She's definitely a child actress who will NOT fade away as she matures.
Story (inspired by an autobiography) is based on a girl who, recently left motherless, is shopped to live with the eccentric dad (Jeff Daniels) she hasn't seen in years. And then she becomes surrogate mother to a flock of motherless goslings who insist on growing up into a flock of geese. Comes time for them to migrate south, and they won't go. The rest of the movie is the harebrained scheme of how the geese are taught to follow `Mom' in an ultralight. Beautifully and astonishingly photographed, this movie is an all around delight, a coming-of-age, a father-daughter bonding, a feel good story that is way more than the sum of its parts.
Ya gotta see it....more info

Stunning film, perfect for the entire family!

The first time I saw this film in school, I was amazed by its simple beauty, unfortunately, that time I saw it I hadn't had the chance to see it throughly, I basically missed both the opening and the ending. I was lucky enough once to catch it on TV, however I still didn't get to watch the opening that time. I once ran into it at my local video store, for just about five dollars so I decided to buy it.

I was very pleased with this film, I finally got the chance to watch it throughly and I am very glad I did, I'm also glad I own it so I can watch it any time. I've seen the film many times since I bought it, each time I watch it, I like it more and more. The story is about a 13-year-old girl who's just lost her mother, now living with her father she struggles to adjust to a new life in Canada. However, that changes the day she finds a group of orphaned goose eggs and becomes their loving mother.
Later, the geese are born, everything is fine. However, the geese need to fly south for the winter and that is not going to be an easy task for them as they have no real goose mother to lead them the way. Some neighboors try to help by taking the ability to fly away from the geese, but Amy (Our little Mother Goose) does not approve of that. Her father has a much better idea, build a sort of flying machine for him and for Amy, which they will use to fly the geese south, a plan they whole-heartedly hope will work.

The movie is beautifully filmed, the settings and backgrounds are breathtaking, very pretty. The film is caressed by lovely melodies, some upbeat and happy, some sad and slow. A gorgeous song, "Ten Thousand Miles" opens the film in a kind of slow, heartly way. The actors and actrices do a wonderful job of portraying their characters, all of them are very believable. There are several elements of humor and fun scattered through the film, not so to make the film a comedy in any way, but to add a bit of comic relief.

I would recommend this film to anyone who would enjoy a nice family film, it's really worth getting, I can almost guarrantee you'll want to watch it again and again....more info

This movie makes my dad cry

And it's not just him. This movie came up amongst my friends in college and every female in the room said that their father KEPT watching this movie and they ALWAYS cried. Sort of brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "empty nest."

This movie is about Anna, who, after her mother's death in a car crash (Anna was also in the car), is sent to live with her slightly eccentric inventor father in Canada. He means well, but he just makes absolutely no sense to Anna. It is an exagerated case of "my dad is so weird" that any teenager can identify with. Meanwhile, the idea of a teenage girl is so foreign to her dad that the more he tries to bond, the more she stomps away.

Into the story comes a band of orphaned Canadian geese that Anna nurtures. They imprint her as their mother, so she more or less trains them. The only problem is that they must fly south for the winter, and Anna is their only role model. Luckily, she has a dad who builds space shuttles for fun. Suddenly, he has a way to connect with her and she has a reason to trust him.

Though it sounds sort of hokey, this movie that never delves into complete pathos. Instead, it is frequently quite funny and always touching. If you are looking for a father's day present, this is ideal. Just make sure to keep some tissues handy....more info

an instant classic

Everyone deals with loss in their own way. 13 year old Amy Alden (Anna Paquin) deals with her loss by becoming what she has lost.
After losing her mother in a car crash, she goes to live with her father (Jeff Daniels) in Ontario, Canada. When developers orphan a nest of goose eggs, she takes them in and hatches them.
All geese will identify the first living thing they see as their mother, in this case, Amy. They follow her everywhere she goes, and imitate her. When a wildlife protection ranger tells her that she must clip their wings because they cannot fly south without their parents to guide them, she decides to take on the monumental task of raising them and teaching them to migrate south.
But that's only half the story. It is also about Amy's growth as a person after overcoming huge loss, and how the bonds of love can heal all things.

So few films these days are memorable for anything other than their FX, but this heartwarming film is memorable for its story and its powerful delivery.
Anna Paquin plays Amy Alden with such force and emotion that it is sometimes hard to believe that one is watching a movie, and Jeff Daniels compliments her performance perfectly.
Beautifully orchestrated and filmed, it is sure to appeal to anyone who sees it, from the very young to the very old, from the emotional and sensitive to the most cold-hearted and insensitive.

I saw this film when it first came out, and have seen it at least 20 times since, and it still gives me shivers up and down my spine every time I see it. It is truly worth the price of the DVD-- this is one movie you'll want in your collection for years to come....more info

Maybe the best family film in a generation.

This is very possibly the best "family film" in decades, by which I mean this is a film that parents and kids will enjoy watching together. It has an appeal that adults can relate to, and kids simply love it. My family has watched this movie together many times.

The story is about a young girl (Amy, played excellently by Anna Panquin) whose parents have split up; her father (Jeff Daniels) lives in Canada and her mother with whom she lives is in New Zealand. When mom is killed in an auto accident, Amy goes to Canada to live with her downright eccentric dad. She is unhappy and out of place until she adopts a flock of baby geese, and this is where the story really starts. The geese have lost their parents, and do not know how to migrate. Amy and her dad and their friends decide to teach them how. What a great story, and the cinematography of the flight scenes is breathtaking and astounding! This is a funny, touching, and entertaining movie that deserves every one of the five stars that most reviewers have awarded it. The story is out there on the outer edge of plausibility and this gives it a magical quality that sends the message that all things are possible with perserverence, intelligence, and luck. I cannot imagine any family not enjoying this superb film.

Fine performances by Miss Panquin, Jeff Daniels and the supporting cast. This is one of those films where everything came together very well, to make what has become a true classic. The storyline moves along smartly, the acting is consistently good, and the ending is truly touching. By the way, the scene where the baby geese are born in my opinion is one of the finest and most touching scenes ever to grace either DVD or the silver screen. Don't miss it....more info

Family freindly movie

I knew about this movie for a long time. We had a copy on VHS when our sons were small. Now that we have granddaughters, I wanted a replacement.
Jeff Daniels is known for comedy, but he takes on a serious role and does an excellent job! Dana Delaney and Anna Paquin are also very good. This movie shows what can be done if you really want to. Anna finds some eggs in a construction site, takes them home and hatches a flock of geese and trouble.
A very touching story for everyone!
Rod Larimore...more info

A Stupid Movie!

This is such a .... and sad movie. One time our class was meant to go on a St. Pat's Walk but we couldn't because it was raining outside. So our teacher rented this from Blockbuster. I felt like running out of the classroom. This is a sad movie with sad songs and I'm NEVER going to watch this movie AGAIN! I would've liked to rate this movie no stars but I had to rate this movie so I rated it 1 star....more info

Jeff Daniels does it again

A great family film. And a true story. This is one of those films that's a joy to watch, and leaves you feeling good afterwards.
Jeff Daniels is great as usual....more info

Young girl and dad help young geese fly south for the winter

If there is a flaw in "Fly Away Home" it is that the relationship between daughter and father takes a back seat to the story of the geese, so that the pathos that exists there is almost lost in the flapping of wings (but there is a nice moment and a good line when the father tells his daughter why he know what she can do it). They two have been estranged by distance (he returned to Canada while his wife and daughter lived in New Zealand), and living together is not improving things. He is an eccentric artist and inventor who cannot figure out how to connect with a living human being until the geese that come between them bring them together.

Fortunately, dad is spared the role of being the villain, because there are land developers at both ends of the flight and a wild life officer who knows what the rulebook says about domesticated geese. But those are just minor hurdles to the idea of flying 600-miles in four days in an ultra-light plane for Amy to lead her geese to their promised (wet) land. Yes, the idea that the clock is ticking and that bulldozers are ready to roll in North Carolina is all a bit much, but then there are moments, like when the ultra-lights and geese fly through the skyscrapers of Baltimore than just about take your breath away.

I was not aware until after I watched the film that director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel had previously collaborated on "The Black Stallion," but that certainly makes sense because both films are perfectly willing to let pictures exist without dialogue. The other commonality is that "Fly Away Home" is another film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kiddies....more info

good flick

Somebody help me out here, at the end of the movie Sarah Maclaclan sings a song about going home again. Anybody know the title of this song. Saltymax@aol.com thanks...more info

Young girl and dad help geese fly south for the winter

The story of "Fly Away Home" is fairly predictable, in that we know full well that young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin) is going to persuade her father, Thomas (Jeff Daniels), to come up with a way of teaching a flock of adopted goslings how to fly and get them to a winter refuge in North Carolina. But predictability is not always a deterrent to a film being enjoyable or even inspirational, and you have to pity someone who cannot enjoy watching a bunch of baby geese running after Anna Paquin, convinced that she is there mother and therefore responsible for imprinting on them what they need to learn to survive. Besides, for what is ostensibly a children's film this one opens with a rather shocking scene, where we see a fatal car accident during the open credits while listening to a gentle melody. If there is anything that indicates this is more than your usual predictable children's film, this would be it.

If there is a flaw in "Fly Away Home" it is that the relationship between daughter and father takes a back seat to the story of the geese, so that the pathos that exists there is almost lost in the flapping of wings (but there is a nice moment and a good line when the father tells his daughter why he know what she can do it). They two have been estranged by distance (he returned to Canada while his wife and daughter lived in New Zealand), and living together is not improving things. He is an eccentric artist and inventor who cannot figure out how to connect with a living human being until the geese that come between them bring them together.

Fortunately, dad is spared the role of being the villain, because there are land developers at both ends of the flight and a wild life officer who knows what the rulebook says about domesticated geese. But those are just minor hurdles to the idea of flying 600-miles in four days in an ultra-light plane for Amy to lead her geese to their promised (wet) land. Yes, the idea that the clock is ticking and that bulldozers are ready to roll in North Carolina is all a bit much, but then there are moments, like when the ultra-lights and geese fly through the skyscrapers of Baltimore than just about take your breath away.

I was not aware until after I watched the film that director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel had previously collaborated on "The Black Stallion," but that certainly makes sense because both films are perfectly willing to let pictures exist without dialogue. The other commonality is that "Fly Away Home" is another film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kiddies.

...more info

Flying Family Jewel

Anyone that enjoys adventure movies with animals like "Alaska" or "The Amazing Panda Adventure" should love this movie. I would just like to thank all those responsible for making the movie. It is a true joy to watch family movies like this at this time when families seem to be struggling to get along let alone work at a common goal. If Walt Disney were still alive he would have loved this movie. Walt produced a number of animal movies in the Sixties that are fun to watch even today. Inspired by a man that actually helped geese migrate you will not be disappointed in this story.

Jeff Daniels as the Father and Anna Paquin as the daughter use Ultralight planes to escort geese on the right migration path. I can see that this movie will be a classic like the other great animal movies. If you enjoy family movies with a good story and aimed at helping animals, you will love this movie. The picture and sound quality are great. The price is extremely reasonable on the Special Edition version (twelve dollars and twenty-six cents), and it is a movie that should get a good deal of replayability for many years. I checked and you can not find it this reasonable anywhere else. I have seen it selling for twenty-two to thirty dollars everywhere else online or in stores.

This is not to mention when you buy it you help support Operation Migration (operationmigration.org). Although the true story of how this all started is a little different, it is still a great one. The Special Edition includes a featurette and documentary that tells not only how they started this migration effort with geese but how they have now helped reintroduce Whooping Cranes to the East coast of the US. Buy it to entertain your family and help support a wonderful non-profit group that values wildlife. Be sure the box says Special Edition. I noticed they put my review at both versions and only one is selling for the price I mentioned above....more info

Young girl and dad help geese fly south for the winter

touching and powerful, yet some big weaknesses

a really touching and powerful film, and it brought me to tears several time, and i couldn't help but admire the spunk of the girl, and also of her father, and from his desire to connect with her, against the odds, against the laws...

things i didn't like: i hated that they sexualized the 13 year old girl. not to say she wasn't sexual just by nature of her age, but they purposefully made her into more of a sex object than they had to, especially with the shower scene - entirely unnecessary, gratuitous and teasing. i also hate that they made her have a subtle mini-pseudo-romance with her father's 20-something male friend. i think this sends the wrong message to kids, and they know kids are hungry for this kind of info and fantasy, and as such that it sells movies - shame on the movie-makers. put it this way, if that character was a 13 year old boy, they would never dare or even consider doing the things they did with the girl character. also, i didn't like how they "subtly" played up the sexual tension between the father and the daughter, such as having him run around in his jockey underwear - entirely unnecessary.

last gripe: much of the acting, especially in the first third of the film,... so fake! the father's girlfriend was poor, and girl often came across as utterly unreal, and much of the dialogue was badly written. the father, jeff daniels, however, carried the show, and was strong from beginning to end....more info