The Legend of Gator Face
Encyclopedia
The Legend of Gator Face is a 1996
Canadian
comedy horror
feature film
written by David Covell, Alan Mruvka
, and Sahara Riley, and directed by Vic Sarin
. The film first aired as a Showtime Original Pictures for Kids on May 1996. In 1997 it was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. The Legend of Gator Face had a theatrical and television release and is now available on DVD
.
), and Phil (Dan Warry-Smith) live in a Mississippi
town near a swamp
. There is a local legend of a swamp-dwelling creature called "Gator Face". They construct a Gator Face costume by modifying a wetsuit
. After scaring most of the townsfolk, the pranks make national news, drawing the attention of the National Guard. Danny soon discovers that Gator Face is real and friendly. After Danny, along with his friends Phil and Angel (Charlotte Sullivan
), saves Gator Face from a trap, they realize that Gator Face is protecting the swamps. Danny learns that the National Guard will kill Gator Face if he is caught so the three friends resolve to save the monster. Danny's older brother Chip (Gordon Michael Woolvett
) shoots at Danny (while Danny is dressed as Gator Face) with a flare gun and misses when Danny flees into a nearby building. The townsfolk think Danny is the real Gator Face and burns the building with Danny in it, the real Gator Face jumps in and saves Danny but is himself shot. Yet the swamp won't let its defender die, so the fog heals Gator Face and the day is saved.
, but was "a surprisingly effective children's movie nevertheless." They wrote that the story had the usual cliche lessons for children toward teaching tolerance, but that it was not "too preachy or heavy-handed" and that "the emphasis is on lighthearted adventure from a child's point-of-view". They noted that the film was a bit lengthy, but that "the direction is competent and the cast is likable". John J. O'Connor of New York Times noted that Showtime "strengthened its first-rate record" of providing "innovative, commercial-free family product at dependable times" by its release of The Legend of Gator Face.
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedy horror
Comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
written by David Covell, Alan Mruvka
Alan Mruvka
Alan Mruvka is an American entertainment and media entrepreneur, film producer and screenwriter. He created and co-founded Movietime Channel, which later became E! Entertainment television....
, and Sahara Riley, and directed by Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes Partition, Margaret's Museum, Whale Music, Nowhere to Hide, Norman's Awesome Experience, and Riel. He also directed such projects as Partition, Left Behind, and Wind at My...
. The film first aired as a Showtime Original Pictures for Kids on May 1996. In 1997 it was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. The Legend of Gator Face had a theatrical and television release and is now available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Plot
Two friends, Danny (John WhiteJohn White (actor)
John Michael White is a Canadian film, television and commercial actor. He began acting during the mid-1990s, appearing on the television series' Goosebumps where he acted on the second goosebumps episode The haunted mask 2 He potrayed the character, Steve. and The Adventures of Shirley Holmes,...
), and Phil (Dan Warry-Smith) live in a Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
town near a swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
. There is a local legend of a swamp-dwelling creature called "Gator Face". They construct a Gator Face costume by modifying a wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...
. After scaring most of the townsfolk, the pranks make national news, drawing the attention of the National Guard. Danny soon discovers that Gator Face is real and friendly. After Danny, along with his friends Phil and Angel (Charlotte Sullivan
Charlotte Sullivan
Charlotte Sullivan is a Canadian actress. Her first on-screen role was an extra in a Liza Minelli music video. She has had a starring role in The New Ghostwriter Mysteries and Harriet the Spy as well as smaller parts in How to Deal and Fever Pitch...
), saves Gator Face from a trap, they realize that Gator Face is protecting the swamps. Danny learns that the National Guard will kill Gator Face if he is caught so the three friends resolve to save the monster. Danny's older brother Chip (Gordon Michael Woolvett
Gordon Michael Woolvett
Gordon Michael Woolvett is a Canadian-born actor from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, best known for his work as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series Andromeda . Previous to Andromeda he starred in another science fiction TV show, Deepwater Black...
) shoots at Danny (while Danny is dressed as Gator Face) with a flare gun and misses when Danny flees into a nearby building. The townsfolk think Danny is the real Gator Face and burns the building with Danny in it, the real Gator Face jumps in and saves Danny but is himself shot. Yet the swamp won't let its defender die, so the fog heals Gator Face and the day is saved.
Cast
- John WhiteJohn White (actor)John Michael White is a Canadian film, television and commercial actor. He began acting during the mid-1990s, appearing on the television series' Goosebumps where he acted on the second goosebumps episode The haunted mask 2 He potrayed the character, Steve. and The Adventures of Shirley Holmes,...
as Danny - Dan Warry-Smith as Phil
- Charlotte SullivanCharlotte SullivanCharlotte Sullivan is a Canadian actress. Her first on-screen role was an extra in a Liza Minelli music video. She has had a starring role in The New Ghostwriter Mysteries and Harriet the Spy as well as smaller parts in How to Deal and Fever Pitch...
as Angel - Gordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael Woolvett is a Canadian-born actor from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, best known for his work as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series Andromeda . Previous to Andromeda he starred in another science fiction TV show, Deepwater Black...
as Chip - C. David JohnsonC. David JohnsonC. David Johnson is a Canadian actor.Born Christopher David Johnson in Montreal, Quebec, Canada he attended Stanstead College, the University of New Brunswick , and the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School and currently lives in Toronto.Johnson began his career with Theatre New Brunswick, and he has...
as Sheriff - Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
as Bob - Pam HyattPam HyattPam Hyatt is a voice actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. More recently, she has starred in the English version of InuYasha as Kaede, guest-starred in USA Network's The Dead Zone and voices Campe and Atropos in Class of the Titans.Hyatt is the...
as Mayor's Wife - Jack NewmanJack NewmanSir Jack Newman KBE was a New Zealand sportsman and business executive. As a cricketer, he earned three Test caps in 1932 and 1933 as a left-arm medium-pace bowler, being the first New Zealander to reach Test cricket direct from country cricket, in his case Nelson on South Island...
as Porkbelly - Gerry QuigleyGerry QuigleyGerry Quigley was a trade unionist and political activist in Northern Ireland.Quigley grew up in the Donegall Pass area of Belfast. He studied at St Joseph's Training College before working as a primary school teacher.Quigley was appointed Northern Secretary of the Irish National Teachers'...
as Deputy Dan - Scott WickwareScott WickwareScott Wickware is an actor. He is mostly known for his performances in the TV Series Goosebumps, as the Haunted Mask. Over his career, he has acted in many television series and movies, most of them Canadian...
as Reese - Roger Dunn as Mayor
- Dan Warry-Smith as Phil
- Kathleen LaskeyKathleen LaskeyKathleen Laskey, sometimes credited as Kathy Laskey, is a Canadian actress, primarily associated with television roles. Her credits include roles in Check it Out!, Being Erica, Street Legal, George Shrinks, Blue Murder, Yin Yang Yo!, Wayside, Weird Years, At the Hotel and The Eleventh...
as Danny's Mom - Sam Malkin as Lydster
- Richard McMillan as Skeeter
- Matt John Evans as Gator Face
Reception
TV Guide wrote that the film was a "blatant rip-off" of E.T.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, but was "a surprisingly effective children's movie nevertheless." They wrote that the story had the usual cliche lessons for children toward teaching tolerance, but that it was not "too preachy or heavy-handed" and that "the emphasis is on lighthearted adventure from a child's point-of-view". They noted that the film was a bit lengthy, but that "the direction is competent and the cast is likable". John J. O'Connor of New York Times noted that Showtime "strengthened its first-rate record" of providing "innovative, commercial-free family product at dependable times" by its release of The Legend of Gator Face.
Recognition
In 1997 The Legend of Gator Face was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Paul Winfield for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special.Release
- Alec to the Rescue, Wild Horses, The Legend of Gatorface, Russkies (4 Disc set) (Jun 7, 2005 Platinum Disc)
- Legend of Gatorface, Russkies (2 Disc set)(Jun 7, 2005 Platinum Disc)
- Legend of Gatorface (Feb 8, 2005 Platinum Disc)
External links
- The Legend of Gator Face at All Movie GuideAll Movie GuideAllrovi is a commercial database launched by the Rovi Corporation in 2011. It compiles information about music and movies from the former services Allmovie and Allmusic.-Content:...