North
North is a 1994 American comedy-drama adventure film directed by Rob Reiner. The story is based on the 1984 novel, North: The Tale of a 9-Year-Old Boy Who Becomes a Free Agent and Travels the World in Search of the Perfect Parents by Alan Zweibel, who wrote the screenplay and has a minor role in the film. The cast includes Elijah Wood in the title role, with Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Faith Ford, Graham Greene, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reba McEntire, John Ritter, and Abe Vigoda. Bruce Willis narrates and plays several different roles throughout the film, and a 9-year-old Scarlett Johansson appears briefly in her film debut. The film was shot in Hawaii, Alaska, California, South Dakota, New Jersey, and New York. It was a box office bomb, grossing just $7 million against its $40 million budget, and received largely negative reviews from critics, with some calling it one of the worst films ever made.
Plot
North is a child prodigy, skilled in academics, sports, and drama, admired by many for his good work and obedient attitude, but unappreciated, he feels, by his own parents. One day, while finding solace in a living room display at a mall, he complains to the Easter Bunny—a man in a pink bunny suit—that his parents, alone among all the adults in his neighborhood, seem unable to see his talents. The Easter Bunny recommends that North simply tell his parents how he feels; but North says if they can't appreciate him, they don't deserve him.
Cast
- Abe Vigoda
- Alan Arkin
- Alan Rachins
- Alan Zweibel
- Alana Austin
- Alexander Godunov
- Ben Stein
- Bruce Willis
- Dan Aykroyd
- Dan Grimaldi
- Elijah Wood
- Faith Ford
- George Cheung
- Graham Greene
- Helen Hanft
- Jason Alexander
- John Ritter
- Jon Lovitz
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Jussie Smollett
- Kathy Bates
- Kelly McGillis
- Lauren Tom
- Marc Shaiman
- Reba McEntire
- Richard Belzer
- Robert Costanzo
- Rosalind Chao
- Scarlett Johansson
- Taylor Fry
More details
| author | Alan Zweibel Andrew Scheinman |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | New York City Paris Texas |
| director | Rob Reiner |
| editor | Robert Leighton |
| genre | adventure comedy-drama fantasy |
| keywords | alaska ambulance chasing amish around the world beg bonanza bullet hole child prodigy china coma comedian divorce easter bunny emancipation of minors fedex follow force inuit lawyer living room metal detector musical number new parents on the beach on the run out to sea on an ice floe return home school paper senicide sharpshoot than the zaire |
| musicBy | Marc Shaiman |
| producer | Alan Zweibel |
| productionCompany | Castle Rock Entertainment New Line Cinema |
| publisher | Columbia Pictures |
| recordedAt | California Hawaii New Jersey |
| theme | children's adventure fantasy-comedy |