A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
- Start date
- Status
That offhand mention of goth culture in the 1990s makes me think that Tim Burton's merry band of macabre misfits will influence pop culture a great deal. 
Sure, even in the IRL 2000s, the emo/pop punk scene owed a lot to him, but his ascendant will be even more obvious here, it seems.
Sure, even in the IRL 2000s, the emo/pop punk scene owed a lot to him, but his ascendant will be even more obvious here, it seems.
Hi-Ho, Silver!
Hi-Ho, Silver! Mask of the Lone Ranger turns Twenty
From Cowboy Up! Netsite, with Gideon Upp, April 17th, 2012
Saddle up, buckaroos, because today we’re talking about 1992’s Mask of the Lone Ranger, directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Lisa Henson for Amblin and Disney!
It was the first time that the Lone Ranger had been on the big screen in just over 10 years since the controversial and disastrous 1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Jack Wrather’s poorly considered lawsuit against classic Lone Ranger actor Clayton Moore. Well, just to be up front with y’all on that score, Disney done Mr. Moore right, even giving him a cameo as Captain Dan Reid, our hero’s father, but we’ll get to that.
When Disney bought up Wrather Corp in the late 1980s, they acquired the IP rights for The Lone Ranger along with Lassie and some other random stuff including the Spruce Goose, of all things. They kicked around ideas for the character, making an animated short in 1990 for The Wonderful World of Disney and making him, along with Panchito Pistoles, the mascot of Disneytown, San Antonio. And then Dances with Wolves appeared, and swept up the awards and the box office alike. Steven Spielberg showed some interest in the franchise and Lisa Henson was selected to produce a hypothetical film in partnership with Disney. When John McTiernan’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a big hit too, they greenlit it for Walt Disney Pictures.
(Image source COSI TV)
Lisa Henson, who’d by this point made a huge name for herself in producing Hooked!, worked closely with Spielberg and his co-executive producer, who happened to be her father, Jim Henson. Chris Columbus, the director of Hooked!, was hired to direct. After considering River Phoenix (who turned it down), Christian Slater, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estevez, they took a chance on a young and then-unknown Matthew McConaughey[1] as John Reid, a.k.a. the Lone Ranger. McConaughey had been discovered performing as Pecos Bill in a Disneytown San Antonio stage production. The handsome, charismatic, slightly rebellious aspiring actor offered a youthful take on the venerable character that Lisa Henson hoped would bring in young and female audiences, which it needless to say did. The great Wes Studi[2] was brought in as Tonto, and in this case served as an older mentor figure and ally-of-convenience rather than a sidekick. Somewhat controversially, they created a new love interest for the Lone Ranger in Nadua, a young Comanche woman played by Kimberly Guerrero. And, as stated before, the great Clayton Moore himself was brought in as John Reid’s father Dan.
Matthew McConaughey Yearbook Photo, looking actually wholesome-ish (Image source r/askgaybros on Reddit)
Following in the footsteps of 1989’s Batman, they decided against the Origin Story route and pushed the origin scenes into flashbacks. Like with Robin Hood, they worked to balance the legend with the actual complicated history of the setting and tried to balance the old-fashioned swashbuckling camp with the more grounded historical realism popular at the time, managing to walk the line between deconstructive Western (ala Unforgiven) and straight adaption.
The plot follows John as an established hero, saving the innocent from bandits and marauders. But when he and Tonto team up to defeat a band of ruthless raiders and rustlers, they soon find themselves outlaws when the leader of the group turns out to be in the employ of the local State Senator and former Confederate bushwhacker, Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton[3], who brought a jaded, faux-affable charisma to the role and even managed an impressively accurate East Texas accent.
Butch Cavendish, likely up to no good (Image source Mandy Duchovny on Pinterest)
Cavendish, who in this case was based heavily on Nathan Bedford Forrest, is working on a brutal plan that would raid and kill both Texan and Indian villages in an effort to spur a war, and then use this as a pretext to slaughter the natives in a massive land-grab scheme. He’s also an unabashed white supremacist with hints that he’s in the KKK (“rally’s tonight, Butch. Wear white!”) and his raiders are deliberately targeting Black and Tejano Texans in addition to any Indian, regardless of tribe (a village of peaceful Tonkawa is killed by his men in an allegory to Wounded Knee). John and his allies are suddenly the only ones able to oppose this massive conspiracy.
This plot is underlain by John’s internal conflicts, including his guilt over how his rash actions led to the death of his father (which may be a subtle apology by Disney for how Moore was treated by Wrather) and how the actions of “his” people (Americans) have been less than honorable to the Indian. This latter bit caught some negative attention for being “politically correct”, but in my opinion they handled it with nuance and subtlety, and such complaints ignore the fact “[t]hat all men are created equal/and that everyone has within himself/the power to make this a better world,” which was always a core part of the Lone Ranger’s strict Moral Code. Of course, nowadays some complain that they didn’t take this plotline far enough! Oh well, I mean, for 1992 it was pretty willing to at least address some of these things rather than pretend all was good and right and just in history.
And while all of this plot seems pretty heavy, fear not, for it’s still a fun, swashbuckling adventure. It has all of the exciting Western tropes from fantastic trick gunplay, to trick riding, to the requisite train chase. The action scenes, directed by stunt director (and Harrison Ford clone/Indy stuntman) Vic Armstrong, are as dynamic and exciting as anything directed by Spielberg and play with expectations while satisfying fan appetites. McConaughey manages to capture that mix of cocky and vulnerable that has since become a signature of the actor while also giving the character a surprising amount of pathos and maturity for the more emotional scenes despite the youth of the actor (21 at the time of filming).
Mask of the Lone Ranger did fairly well at the box office, making a good $76 million against a $22 million budget. While not anything to live up to the team’s earlier success with Hooked! or the success of Robin Hood, it was still a successful showing that refreshed the brand and helped justify the continuation of the animated series and even a short-lived TV Western on NBC. The original Oscar bait single “Truth Lives On Forever”, written and performed by Freddie Mercury, breached the top forty and became another of those 1990s movie tie-in ear worms, though a particularly memorable one as the title and the lyrics were adapted from the Lone Ranger’s moral code while the melody musically quoted the original William Tell Overture finale while using Texas Blues and Honky Tonk instrumentation[4].
It’s a song only Freddie Mercury could have pulled off and as far as ‘90s Oscar bait songs go, it’s one of the best, I guess I’m saying. And it did get a Golden Globe nomination and sold platinum, so, success there, right?
It was also a bit of a milestone in Lisa Henson’s career, as it was her last Amblin production before taking a job as the Chair of Fox Studios in early 1992. It would actually screen while she was at Fox and cause a bit of an interesting juxtaposition as she promoted competition to her own film! She’d also soon be teamed up with Chris Columbus yet again for Wicked Stepfather with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Catherine O’Hara, the first of many Fox/1492 productions.
From the TV Spin-Off
And as mentioned, the success even spawned a 1993-1998 TV series starting on NBC from Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse, reportedly adapted from an original idea[5]. It starred Bruce Campbell as John Reid, Michael Horse as Tonto, and introduced Julius Carrey as the amicable rival ranger Josiah Bass, who was based on the great Bass Reeves, reportedly one of the real-life inspirations for the Lone Ranger. Only Kim Guerrero returned from the film as the love interest Nadua, though they also brought in Kelly Rutherford as the rival love interest Dixie (the Veronica to Nadua’s Betty), Billy Bly as the evil and psychotic Butch, and soon introduced the legendary John “Gomez Addams” Astin himself as Professor Wickwire, whose crazy inventions soon pushed things into Steam Romance territory. As the show got wilder and sillier, one began to wonder if it was even The Lone Ranger anymore, or something else entirely!
But back to Mask of the Lone Ranger. The obvious question you might have for me if you haven’t seen it is, should you see the film?
Well, folks, the answer is an unqualified “yes”. I for one grew up loving this show, seeing it first run as a kid in the theaters and wearing out a VHS tape. It stands out in an era where Westerns were getting darker and grittier, so having a PG-rated, child friendly, sincere old-style Western with clear heroes and villains (despite the deconstructive elements) was actually a bit of a rare treat for the time. It was something that my parents had no hesitation taking me and my sister to see. The cinematography is epic with brilliant location shoots around the American West. The lessons are good, the action is fun and just comedic enough to not shock or disturb, it stays true to the word and spirit of the source material (unlike the TV series, which was admittedly fun in its own way), and it is honestly a lot of fun. It’s also entirely done with practical effects and stunt men, making it a pleasure to watch from a production standpoint.
Mask of the Lone Ranger was a rare product of that transition from the 1980s Action Film to the 1990s Effects Epic and shows aspects of both of these eras, and yet it holds up well on its own as a timeless film. It managed to reestablish the Lone Ranger franchise, though not to the extent hoped, as there would be no sequel films and only a stunt show at Frontierland and Disneytown, San Antonio, Disney attractions-wise. It even healed the rift with Clayton Moore shortly before his passing.
And looking at it twenty years later, it’s a fun family Western adventure that holds up well as timeless cinema.
So, with that said, I’ll see you all next time.
Hi-Ho, Silver[6], and Away!
[1] White Stetson tip to @Unknown for this suggestion. McConaughey is a student at the University of Texas, Austin, at the time, so a summer gig for an aspiring actor (he was doing commercials at this point in our timeline) at DTSA is a natural. And no, he does not say “alright, alright, alright!” at any point.
[2] Tonto in this version will be a total bad-ass, in keeping with the historical Comanche. There will be some “magical Native American” aspects (this is the early ‘90s, after all), though they will be comparatively subdued and mitigated through careful research and giving Studi some creative control of his character.
[3] Will Dalton ever escape villainous typecasting in the US? Stay tuned!
[4] Fun fact: Mercury originally envisioned the lyrics he wrote for Bohemian Rhapsody as a Western song!
[5] Became The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in our timeline. I know, I know. I’m sad too.
[6] Not to be confused with (HIO3), silver (for my late father, the biochemist and shameless punster).
From Cowboy Up! Netsite, with Gideon Upp, April 17th, 2012
Saddle up, buckaroos, because today we’re talking about 1992’s Mask of the Lone Ranger, directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Lisa Henson for Amblin and Disney!
It was the first time that the Lone Ranger had been on the big screen in just over 10 years since the controversial and disastrous 1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Jack Wrather’s poorly considered lawsuit against classic Lone Ranger actor Clayton Moore. Well, just to be up front with y’all on that score, Disney done Mr. Moore right, even giving him a cameo as Captain Dan Reid, our hero’s father, but we’ll get to that.
When Disney bought up Wrather Corp in the late 1980s, they acquired the IP rights for The Lone Ranger along with Lassie and some other random stuff including the Spruce Goose, of all things. They kicked around ideas for the character, making an animated short in 1990 for The Wonderful World of Disney and making him, along with Panchito Pistoles, the mascot of Disneytown, San Antonio. And then Dances with Wolves appeared, and swept up the awards and the box office alike. Steven Spielberg showed some interest in the franchise and Lisa Henson was selected to produce a hypothetical film in partnership with Disney. When John McTiernan’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a big hit too, they greenlit it for Walt Disney Pictures.
(Image source COSI TV)
Lisa Henson, who’d by this point made a huge name for herself in producing Hooked!, worked closely with Spielberg and his co-executive producer, who happened to be her father, Jim Henson. Chris Columbus, the director of Hooked!, was hired to direct. After considering River Phoenix (who turned it down), Christian Slater, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estevez, they took a chance on a young and then-unknown Matthew McConaughey[1] as John Reid, a.k.a. the Lone Ranger. McConaughey had been discovered performing as Pecos Bill in a Disneytown San Antonio stage production. The handsome, charismatic, slightly rebellious aspiring actor offered a youthful take on the venerable character that Lisa Henson hoped would bring in young and female audiences, which it needless to say did. The great Wes Studi[2] was brought in as Tonto, and in this case served as an older mentor figure and ally-of-convenience rather than a sidekick. Somewhat controversially, they created a new love interest for the Lone Ranger in Nadua, a young Comanche woman played by Kimberly Guerrero. And, as stated before, the great Clayton Moore himself was brought in as John Reid’s father Dan.
Matthew McConaughey Yearbook Photo, looking actually wholesome-ish (Image source r/askgaybros on Reddit)
Following in the footsteps of 1989’s Batman, they decided against the Origin Story route and pushed the origin scenes into flashbacks. Like with Robin Hood, they worked to balance the legend with the actual complicated history of the setting and tried to balance the old-fashioned swashbuckling camp with the more grounded historical realism popular at the time, managing to walk the line between deconstructive Western (ala Unforgiven) and straight adaption.
The plot follows John as an established hero, saving the innocent from bandits and marauders. But when he and Tonto team up to defeat a band of ruthless raiders and rustlers, they soon find themselves outlaws when the leader of the group turns out to be in the employ of the local State Senator and former Confederate bushwhacker, Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton[3], who brought a jaded, faux-affable charisma to the role and even managed an impressively accurate East Texas accent.
Butch Cavendish, likely up to no good (Image source Mandy Duchovny on Pinterest)
Cavendish, who in this case was based heavily on Nathan Bedford Forrest, is working on a brutal plan that would raid and kill both Texan and Indian villages in an effort to spur a war, and then use this as a pretext to slaughter the natives in a massive land-grab scheme. He’s also an unabashed white supremacist with hints that he’s in the KKK (“rally’s tonight, Butch. Wear white!”) and his raiders are deliberately targeting Black and Tejano Texans in addition to any Indian, regardless of tribe (a village of peaceful Tonkawa is killed by his men in an allegory to Wounded Knee). John and his allies are suddenly the only ones able to oppose this massive conspiracy.
This plot is underlain by John’s internal conflicts, including his guilt over how his rash actions led to the death of his father (which may be a subtle apology by Disney for how Moore was treated by Wrather) and how the actions of “his” people (Americans) have been less than honorable to the Indian. This latter bit caught some negative attention for being “politically correct”, but in my opinion they handled it with nuance and subtlety, and such complaints ignore the fact “[t]hat all men are created equal/and that everyone has within himself/the power to make this a better world,” which was always a core part of the Lone Ranger’s strict Moral Code. Of course, nowadays some complain that they didn’t take this plotline far enough! Oh well, I mean, for 1992 it was pretty willing to at least address some of these things rather than pretend all was good and right and just in history.
And while all of this plot seems pretty heavy, fear not, for it’s still a fun, swashbuckling adventure. It has all of the exciting Western tropes from fantastic trick gunplay, to trick riding, to the requisite train chase. The action scenes, directed by stunt director (and Harrison Ford clone/Indy stuntman) Vic Armstrong, are as dynamic and exciting as anything directed by Spielberg and play with expectations while satisfying fan appetites. McConaughey manages to capture that mix of cocky and vulnerable that has since become a signature of the actor while also giving the character a surprising amount of pathos and maturity for the more emotional scenes despite the youth of the actor (21 at the time of filming).
Mask of the Lone Ranger did fairly well at the box office, making a good $76 million against a $22 million budget. While not anything to live up to the team’s earlier success with Hooked! or the success of Robin Hood, it was still a successful showing that refreshed the brand and helped justify the continuation of the animated series and even a short-lived TV Western on NBC. The original Oscar bait single “Truth Lives On Forever”, written and performed by Freddie Mercury, breached the top forty and became another of those 1990s movie tie-in ear worms, though a particularly memorable one as the title and the lyrics were adapted from the Lone Ranger’s moral code while the melody musically quoted the original William Tell Overture finale while using Texas Blues and Honky Tonk instrumentation[4].
It’s a song only Freddie Mercury could have pulled off and as far as ‘90s Oscar bait songs go, it’s one of the best, I guess I’m saying. And it did get a Golden Globe nomination and sold platinum, so, success there, right?
It was also a bit of a milestone in Lisa Henson’s career, as it was her last Amblin production before taking a job as the Chair of Fox Studios in early 1992. It would actually screen while she was at Fox and cause a bit of an interesting juxtaposition as she promoted competition to her own film! She’d also soon be teamed up with Chris Columbus yet again for Wicked Stepfather with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Catherine O’Hara, the first of many Fox/1492 productions.
From the TV Spin-Off
And as mentioned, the success even spawned a 1993-1998 TV series starting on NBC from Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse, reportedly adapted from an original idea[5]. It starred Bruce Campbell as John Reid, Michael Horse as Tonto, and introduced Julius Carrey as the amicable rival ranger Josiah Bass, who was based on the great Bass Reeves, reportedly one of the real-life inspirations for the Lone Ranger. Only Kim Guerrero returned from the film as the love interest Nadua, though they also brought in Kelly Rutherford as the rival love interest Dixie (the Veronica to Nadua’s Betty), Billy Bly as the evil and psychotic Butch, and soon introduced the legendary John “Gomez Addams” Astin himself as Professor Wickwire, whose crazy inventions soon pushed things into Steam Romance territory. As the show got wilder and sillier, one began to wonder if it was even The Lone Ranger anymore, or something else entirely!
But back to Mask of the Lone Ranger. The obvious question you might have for me if you haven’t seen it is, should you see the film?
Well, folks, the answer is an unqualified “yes”. I for one grew up loving this show, seeing it first run as a kid in the theaters and wearing out a VHS tape. It stands out in an era where Westerns were getting darker and grittier, so having a PG-rated, child friendly, sincere old-style Western with clear heroes and villains (despite the deconstructive elements) was actually a bit of a rare treat for the time. It was something that my parents had no hesitation taking me and my sister to see. The cinematography is epic with brilliant location shoots around the American West. The lessons are good, the action is fun and just comedic enough to not shock or disturb, it stays true to the word and spirit of the source material (unlike the TV series, which was admittedly fun in its own way), and it is honestly a lot of fun. It’s also entirely done with practical effects and stunt men, making it a pleasure to watch from a production standpoint.
Mask of the Lone Ranger was a rare product of that transition from the 1980s Action Film to the 1990s Effects Epic and shows aspects of both of these eras, and yet it holds up well on its own as a timeless film. It managed to reestablish the Lone Ranger franchise, though not to the extent hoped, as there would be no sequel films and only a stunt show at Frontierland and Disneytown, San Antonio, Disney attractions-wise. It even healed the rift with Clayton Moore shortly before his passing.
And looking at it twenty years later, it’s a fun family Western adventure that holds up well as timeless cinema.
So, with that said, I’ll see you all next time.
Hi-Ho, Silver[6], and Away!
[1] White Stetson tip to @Unknown for this suggestion. McConaughey is a student at the University of Texas, Austin, at the time, so a summer gig for an aspiring actor (he was doing commercials at this point in our timeline) at DTSA is a natural. And no, he does not say “alright, alright, alright!” at any point.
[2] Tonto in this version will be a total bad-ass, in keeping with the historical Comanche. There will be some “magical Native American” aspects (this is the early ‘90s, after all), though they will be comparatively subdued and mitigated through careful research and giving Studi some creative control of his character.
[3] Will Dalton ever escape villainous typecasting in the US? Stay tuned!
[4] Fun fact: Mercury originally envisioned the lyrics he wrote for Bohemian Rhapsody as a Western song!
[5] Became The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in our timeline. I know, I know. I’m sad too.
[6] Not to be confused with (HIO3), silver (for my late father, the biochemist and shameless punster).
Mask of the Lone Ranger, directed by Chris Columbus - this should be fun. Does it have conspiracies in it?
”Disney done Mr. Moore right” - good!
“McConaughey had been discovered performing as Pecos Bill in a Disneytown San Antonio” - see kids you can find success anywhere!
”John McTiernan’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” - interesting change there.
Nice there is decent Indigenous American representation. Hopefully they are treated well in and out of character.
“Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton” - who does play such a good bad guy. See Hot Fuzz!
Sounds like they covered the native/white man conflict quite well here.
“making a good $76 million against a $22 million budget.” - that is decent bank. Sequels?
“original Oscar bait single “Truth Lives On Forever”, written and performed by Freddie Mercury,” - surprised it’s not a full Queen hit, it sounds like one of their numbers.
“taking a job as the Chair of Fox Studios” - congratulations to Lisa Henson here.
The Lone Ranger TV show going all steampunk before steampunk was a thing? Neat. Drop in a Wild, Wild West crossover and it’s sorted.
This sounds like a fun movie that ITTL me would probably have watched.
Nice work there @Geekhis Khan
”Disney done Mr. Moore right” - good!
“McConaughey had been discovered performing as Pecos Bill in a Disneytown San Antonio” - see kids you can find success anywhere!
”John McTiernan’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” - interesting change there.
Nice there is decent Indigenous American representation. Hopefully they are treated well in and out of character.
“Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton” - who does play such a good bad guy. See Hot Fuzz!
Sounds like they covered the native/white man conflict quite well here.
“making a good $76 million against a $22 million budget.” - that is decent bank. Sequels?
“original Oscar bait single “Truth Lives On Forever”, written and performed by Freddie Mercury,” - surprised it’s not a full Queen hit, it sounds like one of their numbers.
“taking a job as the Chair of Fox Studios” - congratulations to Lisa Henson here.
The Lone Ranger TV show going all steampunk before steampunk was a thing? Neat. Drop in a Wild, Wild West crossover and it’s sorted.
This sounds like a fun movie that ITTL me would probably have watched.
Nice work there @Geekhis Khan
Thank You for avoiding using the over-used-under-understood term [shudder] 'Steam Punk'. It drives me up the wall to see actual historical items described as 'steam punk' just because they're more complex/modern than expected.
This includes history podcasters, to my horror.
'Steam Romance' is a good alternate term, evoking a fantastical whimsy like 'Gaslight Romance' does for the previous era.
I like this Tonto. I can imagine a short, humorous scene where a couple of baddies are sitting round the campfire, trying to figure out the physics of how Tonto could out-quickdraw a man with a gun using a tomahawk.
Too bad we never got that Lone Ranger/Lassie/Spruce Goose crossover!
Prince of Thieves is a hit too? When did that happen?
Lucky coincidence!
We will watch his career with great interest.
Sounds like a great mix of both modern sensitivities and campy fun. I would watch it.
Mr. Dalton looks surprisingly good in a cowboy hat for an English man too!Confederate bushwhacker, Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton[3], who brought a jaded, faux-affable charisma to the role and even managed an impressively accurate East Texas accent.
Butch Cavendish, likely up to no good (Image source Mandy Duchovny on Pinterest
And I suppose that not playing Bond gives you much more time for other projects.
I wonder how this movie is perceived in Native American circles?
The bad adaptation in OTL was still well received enough that Johnny Depp got an honorable Tribe membership.
Freddie really is on a roll this year, I especially like the mixture of classical epic music and country inspired instrumentation.
Please tell me that Freddie is wearing a cowboy outfit while performing!
Lisa is reaching ever increasing heights in her career. I can only imagine what she will achieve at Fox, if they let her.
Wicked Stepfather sounds interesting and it's really ironic that Joe Pesci will presumably play the titular stepfather to Culkin's not Kevin stepson. Does this replace the ill fated Good Son?
And while we're at it will Lisa intervene in the downfall of Macaulay Culkin, maybe chew out his dad or get the boy some professional help?
Maybe call her brother John?
This series sounds like great fun and Bruce Campbell is still widening his portfolio of weird and campy reboots of classical pulp literature😆
But even I have to say that the series lost the plot there really fast. I do wonder if this Steam Romance genre with a western touch is here to stay. With that early 2000s goth culture on the rise I can see it happening.
Well not everything can become a mega hit.
The Stunt is probably a hit, especially with cast members hoping to be discovered by Disney.
Also great that they mended the animosity with Moore.
Honestly he reminds me of Christoph Waltz OTL with his charming but threatening villains.
I need this in my life. Maybe Freddie makes a country album.About Freddie...
Great chapter
different stage name here?
dressed like a village people cowboy? lol
(Said in character as a reply on this netsite, if possible) So I just recently seen the film myself and will be giving my personal opinions as this post progresses.
(With all that being said in character I don't expect any retcons to the update, continuity errors like that are always made in any adaptation and adds to TL as a whole).
That's not right, Dan was the Rangers brother not his father. I hope the rest of the film makes up for this faux pas. (I'm not saying that Clayton Moore can't play the Ranger's father I'm just saying they could've used a different name like maybe Clayton or just Clay Reid).
(With all that being said in character I don't expect any retcons to the update, continuity errors like that are always made in any adaptation and adds to TL as a whole).
(Saying as me) No Rodney A. Grant but considering the direction the film took with Tonto I more than respect the choice of Wes Studi.
I'm not completely happy with what they did with Tonto but so the film's okay so far. (I just saying it possible to have someone be both a mentor and of comparable age).
I've gotta agree, this was a smart move. An origin story, especially the Lone Ranger's and/or Tonto's would have used up to much of the film in my opinion.
It's Julius Carry not Carrey.
Even though I only saw this on TV recently I agree, the rest of the film more than makes up for one minor continuity error. Maybe I should check out a VCD copy from the local library, see what I'm missing on the TV version.
Did you mean to say film?
There was a short lived show called Legend staring Richard Dean Anderson and John de Lancie that could either used instead of Wild, Wild West or reworked into a Wild, Wild West reboot.
Since we're three years on since that film with no mention of any changes I imagine it still does.
I imagine earlier in1992.
The rock-opera scandanavia Little Mermaid does sound much better than the OTL version, partly for the music obviously but the characters also sound more interesting and rounded as well.
Bit surprised by the success of the Lone Ranger, the Western pretty much died in the mid-70s with only Clint Eastwood keeping it alive. And even that was as much Clint pulling in audiences just by being himself as anything else. That said this Lone Ranger will probably be argued by some as not really being a western, oh sure it's got cowboys and horses and all that, but mere setting does not make a western. Certainly that is the argument I've heard Rich Hall make and he convinced me at least.
Bit surprised by the success of the Lone Ranger, the Western pretty much died in the mid-70s with only Clint Eastwood keeping it alive. And even that was as much Clint pulling in audiences just by being himself as anything else. That said this Lone Ranger will probably be argued by some as not really being a western, oh sure it's got cowboys and horses and all that, but mere setting does not make a western. Certainly that is the argument I've heard Rich Hall make and he convinced me at least.
Western is one of those ill defined genres that is more or less implied based on current popularity of the genre itself rather than a real concrete definition.
Like how a song can be counted as rock or country depending on what's popular at the time.
I'm glad that The Little Mermaid has stayed relatively intact despite Ashman's passing. In fact, the inclusion of Freddie Mercury into the production might make the movie just as fun and high quality as it was OTL, so I can safely say that this film will become a huge success much like Aladdin and The Bamboo Princess.
Still, there's some interesting differences such as the heavier Scandinavian leaning with the story/setting and the "Rock Wagner" style of music that's being played instead of the Calypso, which will change how Disney markets the film, perhaps playing up the drama and romance to match the new score.
Plus I would think they would add TLM as a reference somewhere in the Nordic Village Resort in Valencia. An Ariel fountain, anyone?
I guess it was finally time that Disney did something with The Lone Ranger franchise after acquiring it from the Wrather Corp, but they exceeded my expectations and made a very commendable film for a franchise that was long thought to be dead after the whole fiasco.
As for the series, I appreciated that they did a remake that balanced the child-friendly tone and excitement of the whole adventure while addressing the issues/rights of Native Americans and African Americans that lived in the Wild West. They didn't need to do that but I have a feeling that this is what contributes to its longevity even in a more PC America ITTL.
The TV series sounds just as fun and exciting as the film, even if it becomes a bit weird by the end of it with all of the steampunk. The fact that Bruce Campbell stars in the show probably contributed a little to the increasingly wacky nature of the whole show. Hopefully we can get some more insight on his time at the series in his many autobiographical posts.
As always, great post Geekhis!
Even if Queen doesn't do a reunion tour in a long while, I think he will have a very fulfilling career in Broadway/West End and in Disney.
Speaking of Freddie, I'll go out on a limb and say that he should either perform during the 25th anniversary of WDW or when gay pride gets fully recognized by Disney. What do you think?
Still, there's some interesting differences such as the heavier Scandinavian leaning with the story/setting and the "Rock Wagner" style of music that's being played instead of the Calypso, which will change how Disney markets the film, perhaps playing up the drama and romance to match the new score.
Plus I would think they would add TLM as a reference somewhere in the Nordic Village Resort in Valencia. An Ariel fountain, anyone?
A WDSS animated film with Tim Burton would be a real treat. If there's a story that could be adapted into a more scary Disney film, it'd probably be Hansel and Gretel.
Yeah, I can see the emo/goth subculture be far more influential ITTL thanks to the success of Tim Burton in Disney. However, I think it will also cause a rise in the popularity of the Satanic Panic spread by conservatives during this time, which would be really funny to see in comedy such as Nuclear Family or even ITTL South Park (perhaps having emo kids and boomers duke it out during an episode).That offhand mention of goth culture in the 1990s makes me think that Tim Burton's merry band of macabre misfits will influence pop culture a great deal.
I guess it was finally time that Disney did something with The Lone Ranger franchise after acquiring it from the Wrather Corp, but they exceeded my expectations and made a very commendable film for a franchise that was long thought to be dead after the whole fiasco.
As for the series, I appreciated that they did a remake that balanced the child-friendly tone and excitement of the whole adventure while addressing the issues/rights of Native Americans and African Americans that lived in the Wild West. They didn't need to do that but I have a feeling that this is what contributes to its longevity even in a more PC America ITTL.
The TV series sounds just as fun and exciting as the film, even if it becomes a bit weird by the end of it with all of the steampunk. The fact that Bruce Campbell stars in the show probably contributed a little to the increasingly wacky nature of the whole show. Hopefully we can get some more insight on his time at the series in his many autobiographical posts.
As always, great post Geekhis!
Probably very well, given how it's one of the very few Westerns that tackles their issues with some nuance. Not to mention Tonto is a much more independent character in the remake.
Yeah, seeing Freddie Mercury thrive and be successful after he dodged the bullet with the AIDS diagnosis does make me a bit happy.
Even if Queen doesn't do a reunion tour in a long while, I think he will have a very fulfilling career in Broadway/West End and in Disney.
Old Freddie would definitely be a sassy and camp gay icon ITTL. Not to mention a Disney Legend with his contributions to TLM (and quite possibly more on the way)!
Speaking of Freddie, I'll go out on a limb and say that he should either perform during the 25th anniversary of WDW or when gay pride gets fully recognized by Disney. What do you think?
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While I was never a Lone Ranger guy, this is pretty cool.
I'm guessing ITTL Matthew has a different memetic catchphrase?
I'm all for Freddy Mercury, Tim Burton-influenced 90's goths, and The Little Mermaid.
RIP Brisco. At least it won't be eaten by X-Files (if its even around ITTL).
And good luck to Lisa with Fox!
I'm guessing ITTL Matthew has a different memetic catchphrase?
I'm all for Freddy Mercury, Tim Burton-influenced 90's goths, and The Little Mermaid.
RIP Brisco. At least it won't be eaten by X-Files (if its even around ITTL).
And good luck to Lisa with Fox!
Oh, what could this be?
A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)
OK, unrelated to this entry but I feel like I need to get this out: so I've been binge-reading the Lee-Kirby Thor comics of the 60s, and I figured that if Disney wants to capitalize on Spider-Man's success, why not do a film based on The Mighty Thor? While I haven't worked out all the details...
www.alternatehistory.com
How about as a spiritual sequel to this film we rework OTLs 1994 The Shadow into a Green Hornet film with Alex Baldwin as Britt Reid/Green Hornet and in an earlier Western debut Jackie Chan as Kato.Hi-Ho, Silver! Mask of the Lone Ranger turns Twenty
From Cowboy Up! Netsite, with Gideon Upp, April 17th, 2012
Saddle up, buckaroos, because today we’re talking about 1992’s Mask of the Lone Ranger, directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Lisa Henson for Amblin and Disney!
It was the first time that the Lone Ranger had been on the big screen in just over 10 years since the controversial and disastrous 1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Jack Wrather’s poorly considered lawsuit against classic Lone Ranger actor Clayton Moore. Well, just to be up front with y’all on that score, Disney done Mr. Moore right, even giving him a cameo as Captain Dan Reid, our hero’s father, but we’ll get to that.
When Disney bought up Wrather Corp in the late 1980s, they acquired the IP rights for The Lone Ranger along with Lassie and some other random stuff including the Spruce Goose, of all things. They kicked around ideas for the character, making an animated short in 1990 for The Wonderful World of Disney and making him, along with Panchito Pistoles, the mascot of Disneytown, San Antonio. And then Dances with Wolves appeared, and swept up the awards and the box office alike. Steven Spielberg showed some interest in the franchise and Lisa Henson was selected to produce a hypothetical film in partnership with Disney. When John McTiernan’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a big hit too, they greenlit it for Walt Disney Pictures.
(Image source COSI TV)
Lisa Henson, who’d by this point made a huge name for herself in producing Hooked!, worked closely with Spielberg and his co-executive producer, who happened to be her father, Jim Henson. Chris Columbus, the director of Hooked!, was hired to direct. After considering River Phoenix (who turned it down), Christian Slater, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estevez, they took a chance on a young and then-unknown Matthew McConaughey[1] as John Reid, a.k.a. the Lone Ranger. McConaughey had been discovered performing as Pecos Bill in a Disneytown San Antonio stage production. The handsome, charismatic, slightly rebellious aspiring actor offered a youthful take on the venerable character that Lisa Henson hoped would bring in young and female audiences, which it needless to say did. The great Wes Studi[2] was brought in as Tonto, and in this case served as an older mentor figure and ally-of-convenience rather than a sidekick. Somewhat controversially, they created a new love interest for the Lone Ranger in Nadua, a young Comanche woman played by Kimberly Guerrero. And, as stated before, the great Clayton Moore himself was brought in as John Reid’s father Dan.
Matthew McConaughey Yearbook Photo, looking actually wholesome-ish (Image source r/askgaybros on Reddit)
Following in the footsteps of 1989’s Batman, they decided against the Origin Story route and pushed the origin scenes into flashbacks. Like with Robin Hood, they worked to balance the legend with the actual complicated history of the setting and tried to balance the old-fashioned swashbuckling camp with the more grounded historical realism popular at the time, managing to walk the line between deconstructive Western (ala Unforgiven) and straight adaption.
The plot follows John as an established hero, saving the innocent from bandits and marauders. But when he and Tonto team up to defeat a band of ruthless raiders and rustlers, they soon find themselves outlaws when the leader of the group turns out to be in the employ of the local State Senator and former Confederate bushwhacker, Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish, played by Timothy Dalton[3], who brought a jaded, faux-affable charisma to the role and even managed an impressively accurate East Texas accent.
Butch Cavendish, likely up to no good (Image source Mandy Duchovny on Pinterest)
Cavendish, who in this case was based heavily on Nathan Bedford Forrest, is working on a brutal plan that would raid and kill both Texan and Indian villages in an effort to spur a war, and then use this as a pretext to slaughter the natives in a massive land-grab scheme. He’s also an unabashed white supremacist with hints that he’s in the KKK (“rally’s tonight, Butch. Wear white!”) and his raiders are deliberately targeting Black and Tejano Texans in addition to any Indian, regardless of tribe (a village of peaceful Tonkawa is killed by his men in an allegory to Wounded Knee). John and his allies are suddenly the only ones able to oppose this massive conspiracy.
This plot is underlain by John’s internal conflicts, including his guilt over how his rash actions led to the death of his father (which may be a subtle apology by Disney for how Moore was treated by Wrather) and how the actions of “his” people (Americans) have been less than honorable to the Indian. This latter bit caught some negative attention for being “politically correct”, but in my opinion they handled it with nuance and subtlety, and such complaints ignore the fact “[t]hat all men are created equal/and that everyone has within himself/the power to make this a better world,” which was always a core part of the Lone Ranger’s strict Moral Code. Of course, nowadays some complain that they didn’t take this plotline far enough! Oh well, I mean, for 1992 it was pretty willing to at least address some of these things rather than pretend all was good and right and just in history.
And while all of this plot seems pretty heavy, fear not, for it’s still a fun, swashbuckling adventure. It has all of the exciting Western tropes from fantastic trick gunplay, to trick riding, to the requisite train chase. The action scenes, directed by stunt director (and Harrison Ford clone/Indy stuntman) Vic Armstrong, are as dynamic and exciting as anything directed by Spielberg and play with expectations while satisfying fan appetites. McConaughey manages to capture that mix of cocky and vulnerable that has since become a signature of the actor while also giving the character a surprising amount of pathos and maturity for the more emotional scenes despite the youth of the actor (21 at the time of filming).
Mask of the Lone Ranger did fairly well at the box office, making a good $76 million against a $22 million budget. While not anything to live up to the team’s earlier success with Hooked! or the success of Robin Hood, it was still a successful showing that refreshed the brand and helped justify the continuation of the animated series and even a short-lived TV Western on NBC. The original Oscar bait single “Truth Lives On Forever”, written and performed by Freddie Mercury, breached the top forty and became another of those 1990s movie tie-in ear worms, though a particularly memorable one as the title and the lyrics were adapted from the Lone Ranger’s moral code while the melody musically quoted the original William Tell Overture finale while using Texas Blues and Honky Tonk instrumentation[4].
It’s a song only Freddie Mercury could have pulled off and as far as ‘90s Oscar bait songs go, it’s one of the best, I guess I’m saying. And it did get a Golden Globe nomination and sold platinum, so, success there, right?
It was also a bit of a milestone in Lisa Henson’s career, as it was her last Amblin production before taking a job as the Chair of Fox Studios in early 1992. It would actually screen while she was at Fox and cause a bit of an interesting juxtaposition as she promoted competition to her own film! She’d also soon be teamed up with Chris Columbus yet again for Wicked Stepfather with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Catherine O’Hara, the first of many Fox/1492 productions.
From the TV Spin-Off
And as mentioned, the success even spawned a 1993-1998 TV series starting on NBC from Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse, reportedly adapted from an original idea[5]. It starred Bruce Campbell as John Reid, Michael Horse as Tonto, and introduced Julius Carrey as the amicable rival ranger Josiah Bass, who was based on the great Bass Reeves, reportedly one of the real-life inspirations for the Lone Ranger. Only Kim Guerrero returned from the film as the love interest Nadua, though they also brought in Kelly Rutherford as the rival love interest Dixie (the Veronica to Nadua’s Betty), Billy Bly as the evil and psychotic Butch, and soon introduced the legendary John “Gomez Addams” Astin himself as Professor Wickwire, whose crazy inventions soon pushed things into Steam Romance territory. As the show got wilder and sillier, one began to wonder if it was even The Lone Ranger anymore, or something else entirely!
But back to Mask of the Lone Ranger. The obvious question you might have for me if you haven’t seen it is, should you see the film?
Well, folks, the answer is an unqualified “yes”. I for one grew up loving this show, seeing it first run as a kid in the theaters and wearing out a VHS tape. It stands out in an era where Westerns were getting darker and grittier, so having a PG-rated, child friendly, sincere old-style Western with clear heroes and villains (despite the deconstructive elements) was actually a bit of a rare treat for the time. It was something that my parents had no hesitation taking me and my sister to see. The cinematography is epic with brilliant location shoots around the American West. The lessons are good, the action is fun and just comedic enough to not shock or disturb, it stays true to the word and spirit of the source material (unlike the TV series, which was admittedly fun in its own way), and it is honestly a lot of fun. It’s also entirely done with practical effects and stunt men, making it a pleasure to watch from a production standpoint.
Mask of the Lone Ranger was a rare product of that transition from the 1980s Action Film to the 1990s Effects Epic and shows aspects of both of these eras, and yet it holds up well on its own as a timeless film. It managed to reestablish the Lone Ranger franchise, though not to the extent hoped, as there would be no sequel films and only a stunt show at Frontierland and Disneytown, San Antonio, Disney attractions-wise. It even healed the rift with Clayton Moore shortly before his passing.
And looking at it twenty years later, it’s a fun family Western adventure that holds up well as timeless cinema.
So, with that said, I’ll see you all next time.
Hi-Ho, Silver[6], and Away!
[1] White Stetson tip to @Unknown for this suggestion. McConaughey is a student at the University of Texas, Austin, at the time, so a summer gig for an aspiring actor (he was doing commercials at this point in our timeline) at DTSA is a natural. And no, he does not say “alright, alright, alright!” at any point.
[2] Tonto in this version will be a total bad-ass, in keeping with the historical Comanche. There will be some “magical Native American” aspects (this is the early ‘90s, after all), though they will be comparatively subdued and mitigated through careful research and giving Studi some creative control of his character.
[3] Will Dalton ever escape villainous typecasting in the US? Stay tuned!
[4] Fun fact: Mercury originally envisioned the lyrics he wrote for Bohemian Rhapsody as a Western song!
[5] Became The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in our timeline. I know, I know. I’m sad too.
[6] Not to be confused with (HIO3), silver (for my late father, the biochemist and shameless punster).
On the topic of "steam romance", perhaps a miniseries/TV series based on The Tales of Alvin Maker? Considering Orson Scott Card's infamous homophobia and casual racism (seriously, Alvin Maker plays the "magical Native American" - calling them Reds to boot - and "Mighty Whitey" tropes so damn straight they hurt) though, perhaps not.
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I was hoping for it to be a period film set in the 1930s/40s and a spiritual prequel to the 1960s TV series. As such having Kato (not Kanto) being full Asian would work better. And in fairness this would only be a year earlier than Jackie's OTL debut.
Edit: Now I could possibly see Brandon Lee cast as Green Hornet.
Nah, I doubt his story would be able to be adapted, especially during the 2000s/2010s due to the tropes and personal flaws highlighted above. There's probably other properties that can scratch the Steampunk/Discoveryland itch while not being super controversial.
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