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| Balloon Farm,Walt Disney Home Video 1999 DVD. |
Based
on the children's story book Harvey
Potter's Balloon Farm written by Jerdine Nolen, this story is fun for the
whole family. With the opening scene
including a fresh pie being made from nothing but a single pecan and a pie tin,
it is easy to be captured by the magic in this show. This story takes the
audience into a day and life of a farming community plagued by a long onset
drought. This film makes a visual representation of the struggles framers deal
with in the real world. When town
spirits and water levels are at a low, a mysterious new farmer moves in and hordes of strange things start
happening. The new farmer not only makes
pecan pies but grows a whole field of assorted colored balloons. Looking at this as some kind of miracle, the town seems to find new hope.
Though
the film emphasizes the mystical, the farming themes are very prevalent. For example,
droughts and farming seem to go hand in hand. It seems to be inevitable that eventually
farmers will be faces with the lack of water.
Without water, the crops will not grow.
When there is no end in sight the farmers seem to lose hope. Balloon Farm paints this picture as the towns'
people are spotlighted in each of their lives.
They all know there is a drought and they all deal with it differently. They all have their own secrets and
struggles. For some farmers, the solution is to sell what
they can and move on before they are left with nothing. For others, it is to rely on some unseen
power to help them make it though the drought.
Call it faith or call it magic either way it seems to come on its own
and is successful in sustaining hope. So
when balloons start growing from un-watered soil, the people of Waterston start
to believe in magic.
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| Drought of 2012 Journal news. web |
Farmers
of old as well as farmers today have sought different forms of help to bring
water down from the skies. The American
Indian farmers of the south, would offer up dances in hopes it would bring
rain. Some ancient farming cultures, believed in offering sacrifice of animals
or people would bring rain. Still today
many farmers pray to God to send rain down to quench their crops. Although these are all different examples,
and all manifested in different ways, they all have the same result, hope that
the rain will come. Balloon farm brings this
age old problem to life in a fun and silly way.
Facing the problem with a new tactic and medicine, magic. Newcomer Potter, played by actor Rip Torn
from Men In Black, seems to have come
to Waterston to bring new hope. Town youngster and trouble maker Willow
Johnson, played by Mara Wilson from Matilda,
is the first to believe in this magic. The town antagonist and grumpy old man,
Mr. Wheezle does not believe in such nonsense and would like Potter to leave
town immediately.
From
a film critics perspective this film may lack in many ways including quality
acting, special effects and even the main plot.
With many silly scenes and balloons that can understand verbal
communication, this film may be too much for some people. The movie tries to bring to life the original
storybook magical feel as well as adding relatable struggles like the drought.
Trying to keep it entertaining for all audiences would be its' greatest
challenge. With a young audience or for
those who can suspend disbelief, this is a fun show with farming parallels one
of which is the fact that droughts greatly affect real farmers all over. In Cache Valley there have been droughts that
have claimed thousands of acres of crops.
Looking past the silliness, the audience can gain a sense of what it
would be like to have a multi generational farm facing foreclosure, and have to
decide whether or not to try and keep it.
Through the lens of the camera, the audience sees a small farming
community whose livelihood is dependent on the crops from the soil. With the struggle of the drought this community
tries to work together to pull through this difficult time. Neighbors band
together to help one another keep their farms.
This
made for TV film was presented by The
wonderful world of Disney and directed by William Dear. It was aired on
March 28, 1999 with a runtime of 92 minutes.
Later released on DVD. IMBD gives
this film a rating of 5.3 out of 10.
Balloon Farm. Dir. William Dear. Perf. Rip Torn, Mara
Wilson, Laurie Metcalf. Walt Disney Home Video :, 1999. DVD.
Nolen, Jerdine, and Mark
Buehner. Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm. New York: Lothrop, Lee &
Shepard, 1994. Print.
"CACHE COUNTY MAY BE
1ST TO SEEK DROUGHT STATUS." Deseret News 23 July 1988.
Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
