Flash | |
---|---|
Written by | Monte Merrick |
Directed by | Simon Wincer |
Starring | Lucas Black Brian Kerwin Shawn Toovey Wilbur Fitzgerald |
Music by | Bruce Rowland |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Roger Birnbaum |
Producers | Riley Kathryn Ellis Monte Merrick Christopher Seitz |
Cinematography | David Burr |
Editor | Corky Ehlers |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Production company | Walt Disney Television |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | December 21, 1997 |
Flash is a 1997 American made-for-television drama film directed by Simon Wincer. It was originally shown on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC on December 21, 1997.
The story takes place in Breckenridge, Georgia, where 14-year-old Connor Strong (Lucas Black) becomes deeply attached to a young chestnut colt named Flash, which is up for sale by one of Connor's neighbors. Determined to own the horse, he talks it over with his family, which is composed of his widower father David (Brian Kerwin) and his Grandmother Laura (Ellen Burstyn). As the family is struggling financially, Connor is disappointed to learn they don't have the $500 needed to purchase the horse. Connor takes a job at the local grocery store in an attempt to raise the money to buy Flash.
Meanwhile, their continuing pattern of falling behind on their mortgage payments troubles David to the point that he considers taking a job in the merchant marines, a job he'd held several years earlier which yields a $25,000 payout, which includes a $5,000 signing bonus. When discussing this with Laura, he's elated at the prospect of getting ahead in terms of finances, but is dismayed by the thought of being away at sea for five months, remembering a promise he'd made to his late wife that he'd never leave Connor. Despite all this, David takes the job, and with a portion of the signing bonus, buys Flash for Connor.
While Flash and Connor bond instantly, things quickly begin to unravel after David leaves. The signing bonus David had intended to provide for Connor and Laura during his absence is seized by the bank for past due bills, forcing Laura to take a job at the local textile mill. The mill is owned by Alfred Rutherford, Breckenridge's wealthiest resident. While working for the grocery store, Connor delivers groceries to the Rutherford's home, where he meets their son Tad, who is the same age as Connor, and the two quickly become friends. However, the conditions at the mill prove to be detrimental to Laura's health and she suffers a heart attack while on shift, and dies not long afterward. Left on his own, Connor takes on making the arrangements for Laura's funeral, and in his determination to honor the woman who'd raised him since his mother died, he sells Flash to the Rutherfords to give to Tad in order to pay the expenses.
In order to stay near Flash, Connor volunteers to work in the stables for free, and after his house is boarded up by the bank, the Rutherford's groundskeeper gives him a room in the stables. Meanwhile, things for Flash do not go smoothly either. While Tad adores the horse, his father treats Flash very harshly while trying to train him as a racehorse, while at the same time berating Tad for not pushing him hard enough. Upset by this and longing for his father's approval, Tad whips Flash many times, and after calming down he goes to see Flash to apologize. However, Flash responds in a defensive way, injuring Tad. Outraged, Alfred threatens to put Flash down, causing Connor to take Flash and run away.
Labeled as a horse thief and with the sheriff looking for him, Connor's only option is to reach his father, who is scheduled to return in New York in only a few days. Regardless of the time limit, Connor and Flash begin to head north. After four days he makes it to North Carolina, and after winning a horse race at a county fair, he uses the winnings to pay for train tickets for him and Flash, except the money is only enough to get them as far as Trenton, New Jersey. Despite injuring his leg during the train trip, Flash pushes through to get Connor to New York in time, where he catches David immediately after leaving the ship and receiving the rest of his pay.
With the story of Connor and Flash's journey making headlines, they are greeted with a heroes' welcome upon their return to Breckenridge, along with an infuriated Alfred Rutherford, who threatens to have Connor arrested and have Flash put down. Tad, however, stands up to his father, reminding him the horse actually belongs to him, as well as admitting Flash hurting him was his own fault and that Connor was justified in his actions. After calming his father's nerves, Tad gives Flash back to Connor, and alongside his father, Connor takes Flash home.
Lucas Black was nominated for Best Leading Performance in a TV Movie at the 1998 Young Artists Awards.
Though the film was originally shown on The Wonderful World of Disney, repeated reruns of the film have occurred on The Disney Channel.
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film studio Paramount Pictures from 1976 to 1984, and had brief stints at the major television networks NBC, CBS, and ABC.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is an American animated adventure comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Created by Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove, it featured established Disney characters Chip 'n' Dale in a new setting. After the episode "Catteries Not Included" aired on August 27, 1988 as a preview, the series premiered on The Disney Channel on March 4, 1989. The series continued in syndication in September 1989 with a two-hour special, Rescue Rangers: To the Rescue, later divided into five parts to air as part of the weekday run. On September 18, 1989, the series entered national syndication. It often aired on afternoons along with DuckTales, and beginning on September 10, 1990, as a part of the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon. The final episode aired on November 19, 1990.
The Return of Jafar is a 1994 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Television. It is the first sequel to Disney's 1992 animated feature film, Aladdin, made by combining the planned first five episodes of the Aladdin animated television series into a feature-length film.
Tad Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, All My Children. Tad was played by three actors, according to the age of the character: Matthew Anton, John E. Dunn, and Michael E. Knight. Knight has portrayed the role on and off from 1983 until the series finale in 2011. Tad represents the good on the show, often butting heads with "villains" like Adam Chandler. He is perhaps the best male friend to Erica Kane. His relationship with Dixie Cooney made them a favorite of fans, reaching supercouple status. Under secrecy, Knight returned for the first-season finale of Prospect Park's version of All My Children on September 2, 2013.
Brooke Allison English is a fictional character on the television soap opera All My Children. Originated by Elissa Leeds on March 10, 1976, she was portrayed by Julia Barr from June 1976 to June 1981 and from November 1982 to December 20, 2006. Harriet Hall played the role from June 1981 through March 1982. Barr made a special appearance as Brooke on January 5, 2010, as part of the series' 40th anniversary, and returned on February 23, 2010, for a two-month stint until April 23, 2010. She later returned for the show's final week on ABC on September 16, 2011. She returned as Brooke on the Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children.
Newsies is a 1992 American historical musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega from a screenplay written by the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, it is loosely based on the New York City newsboys' strike of 1899. Featuring twelve original songs by Alan Menken with lyrics by Jack Feldman and an underscore by J. A. C. Redford, it stars Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Ann-Margret, and Robert Duvall.
Hercules: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the 1997 film of the same name and the Greek myth. The series followed Hercules as a teenager, in training to be a hero, prior to the events of the film.
Brink! is a 1998 American sports drama film that depicts the sport of aggressive inline skating. Written by Jeff Schechter and directed by Greg Beeman, the film stars Erik von Detten as Andy "Brink" Brinker, a high school inline skater who joins a group of skaters to help his financially troubled family. The plot adapts and updates the 1865 novel Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge. The film was released as the third Disney Channel Original Movie.
The Weather Man is a 2005 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Steve Conrad, and starring Nicolas Cage as a Chicago-area weatherman who is in a midst of a mid-life crisis even as his career is potentially about to take off with a new job on a national television morning show. The film also stars Michael Caine and Hope Davis in supporting roles.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a 2006 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck. It is the third installment in The Santa Clause franchise, following The Santa Clause (1994) and The Santa Clause 2 (2002). The film features Tim Allen returning as Scott Calvin, who must find a way to reverse a spell cast by Jack Frost that caused him to lose his title of Santa Claus. Allen and Short had previously worked together in the 1997 Disney comedy film, Jungle 2 Jungle. Most of the supporting actors from the first two films reprise their roles, with the exception of David Krumholtz. As a result of his absence, Curtis, who was previously the Assistant Head Elf, has now been promoted to Bernard's former position. This was Peter Boyle's final film to be released during his lifetime. Its production was completed in February 2006.
Jumping Ship is a 2001 American adventure comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie, Horse Sense. It stars brothers Joseph, Matthew, and Andrew Lawrence. The film was directed by Michael Lange, and was shot in Australia.
Tad Reeves is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Jonathon Dutton. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 November 1998. After deciding not to renew his contract, Dutton made his last appearance as Tad on 18 June 2002. He reprised his role in an unannounced cameo appearance in the serial's final episode on 28 July 2022.
Amanda Dillon is a fictional character from the American daytime television soap opera All My Children. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from Another Planet"; however, Amanda was thought to be the child of her aunt Natalie Marlowe, who later adopted her. Alexis Manta portrayed the character as a child from 1996–2000, and Chrishell Stause has portrayed the character as an adult from 2005 till the end of the series in 2011. Stause's version of Amanda started out a scheming, seductive troublemaker, but later matured into a warmer, kinder person due to her relationship with Jake Martin.
Snow White: The Fairest of Them All is a 2001 fantasy adventure television film co-written and directed by Caroline Thompson and produced by Hallmark Entertainment. The film was first released theatrically in Europe, and subsequently aired in the United States on ABC as part of their series on The Wonderful World of Disney on March 17, 2002.
The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American live-action/animated anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 27, 1941. Essentially a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California, the film stars Algonquin Round Table member, film actor, writer and comedian Robert Benchley and many Disney staffers such as Ward Kimball, Fred Moore, Norman Ferguson, Clarence Nash, and Walt Disney, all as themselves.
The second wave of Walt Disney Treasures was released December 3, 2002. This was the final wave with the tin's individual number embossed on the tin.
Wilfred Emmons Jackson was an American animator, musical arranger and director best known for his work with Walt Disney Productions.
Batman vs. Robin is a 2015 American animated superhero film which is the 23rd film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the fifth film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. The film is partially based on the "Batman: The Court of Owls" saga written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion, combined with aspects of Batman & Robin: Born to Kill by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason and Detective Comics: Faces of Death arcs by Tony S. Daniel, and serves as a sequel to 2014's Son of Batman. The film was shown during WonderCon on April 3, 2015, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD formats on April 14.
The Water Man is a 2020 American drama film directed by David Oyelowo, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Emma Needell. The film stars Oyelowo, Rosario Dawson, Lonnie Chavis, Amiah Miller, Alfred Molina and Maria Bello. Oprah Winfrey serves as an executive producer via her revived Harpo Films banner.