"Go play your banjo, goober!"
A 1995 movie in which a piglet goes on a search for his family and along the way, he meets a country-singing girl with no mother and a rich boy with no father (Hey, it's a Disney-distributed movie!). Eventually, Gordy becomes famous.
The film was a failed attempt at providing an acting vehicle for Country Music singer Doug Stone, who also sang many of the songs in its soundtrack (including "More Love", which was a hit single for him). Stone's singing career flatlined not long afterward, but this movie was not a factor.
This film contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Film Production: Midway through the film, a camera has its ordinary lens secretly replaced with a wide-angle lens, which causes the commercial it's filming to be distorted.note The cameraman apparently notices while he's looking through the camera, but all he does is rub his eyes. When the director for the commercial shoot suggests Sipes review the footage taken of Jessica, he insists that it be rushed through all the test markets for sprinting instead.
- Award-Bait Song: The end credits song "I Made a Promise
", sung by Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle. - Beware the Nice Ones: When Mr. Sipes' true colors are finally seen, it is Luke of all people who repays him with a knockout punch; Jessica also gets a hit in courtesy of her attorney's briefcase.
- Big Damn Heroes: Gordy, who singlehandedly saves Hanky from drowning. This also extends to the entire Royce family who race against the clock to save Gordy's family fromslaughter.
- Caligula's Horse: Gordy is the head of a major company after the owner gives it to him.
- The Cameo: Louis Rukeyser.
- Character Title
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Hanky's granddad leaves his entire corporate enterprise to Gordy in his will.
- Cool Old Guy: Cousin Jake is definitely this.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: In-universe example; Mr. Sipes constantly schemes to inherit his fiancee's company and isn't about to let its new mascot interfere in that.
- Dirty Coward: Pretty much the only reason the otherwise harmless and well-meaning Brinks continues to obey Mr. Sipes.
- Failed a Spot Check: Nobody on the filming crew stopped the use of a wide-angle lens on Jessica's test shoots, resulting in her humiliation when put up against Gordy during public screenings.
- Family Theme Naming: Gordy's siblings are named Curly, Muddy, Stripy, Daisy, and Snorty.
- Flyover Country: the geographic span of settings in this film ranges from Arkansas to Omaha, Nebraska.
- Hero of Another Story: The crazy cross-dressing robber with the pantyhose on his head.
- Just in Time: Gordy and his new friends arrive to the slaughterhouse after calling the supervisor and having him shut it down just in time to stop Gordy's family from being killed.
- Light Is Not Good: In a really awkward transition scene the main villain looks as if he's being surrounded by a heavenly glow, as a result of the effects guys doing a poor job of matting out the wall behind him.
- Marrying the Mark: Henry Royce is a wealthy industrialist, and his daughter Jessica is engaged to his public relations director, Gilbert Sipes. At first it appears that Sipes is sincere in his attempts to help boost Jessica's career as being "the face" of Royce Industries, but we later learn his real intentions is taking over the business after they're married, because he stood a chance at inheriting it all.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Dietz and Krugman, who prove highly incapable of keeping an eye on Hanky and Gordy who proceed to get lost in rural Missouri when it was their duty to swipe the pig when Hanky wasn't looking.
- There's also Mr. Brinks, who clearly isn't all that comfortable with Mr. Sipes' constant scheming, and mostly just seems to obey him because he lacks the guts to tell him off. He ultimately assists the family in rescuing Gordy's family.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Sipes' attempt to ruin Gordy's test shoot only succeeds in securing his fame when Gordy and Hanky get wise to his scheme and Hanky switches out the wide-angle lens for the regular lens. No one stops filming once the cameraman starts to use the wide-angle lens on Hanky's mother, Jessica. Sipes orders that the test footage of both Gordy and Jessica be rushed to all the test markets and ignores the director's suggestion that Sipes review it first, and Sipes' planned takeover of her father's company is set back when she's reduced to a laughingstock.
- Also counts as a case of Nice Job Breaking It, Hero as Gordy and Hanky inadvertently set her up for the fall when they switched the lenses note , and are completely oblivious to the part they played in it. To be fair though, this had more to do with oversight on the part of the camera crew than any malicious intent on their part.
- '90s Hair: Mr. Sipes sports an impressive head of it.
- Non-Actor Vehicle: For Doug Stone.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: It's unclear how much time is elapsed from beginning to end, but Gordy and his five siblings don't ever appear any older, despite the fact that 25 piglets were used to play the part of Gordy, because pigs grow up so fast.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: During the commercial shoots between Gordy and Jessica, Sipes insists Gordy be filmed with a wide-angle lens as a means to sabotage Gordy. When Hanky switches them back to normal, Jessica instead gets filmed through these lenses; The damage is done when everyone in the boardroom sees the results only after the footage was already seen by test audiences.
- Parental Abandonment:
- Disappeared Dad: Hanky's dad is mentioned to have left his family some time ago; having the choice between Hanky or money, he took the latter.
- With Jennie Sue, it's a case of Missing Mom, as her mother has long passed on. Guess what happens once the two families meet.
- Parental Obliviousness: Luke doesn't notice it's a pig kissing him on the cheek when he's tucking Jennie Sue in, let alone the fact that she sneaked Gordy into bed.
- Mr. Royce seems disturbingly nonchalant about how thoroughly humiliated his daughter is after viewing the test shoots, instead announcing Gordy as their new mascot even as she is barely pulling herself back together.
- Pet Heir
- Product Placement: A particularly strange one that involves Federal Express.
- Random Events Plot: The movie begins with Gordy being separated from his family and somehow ends up making him head of a major corporation.
- Repeat What You Just Said: When they have some time alone together in Henry Royce's office, Hanky has Gordy repeat himself so he can learn to understand what he's saying.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Gordy and his five siblings.
- Shown Their Work: The movie was written by Jay Sommers & Dick Chevilat, and Sommers was creator and producer of classic 60s sitcom Green Acres, which also included an intelligent pig as one of the show's supporting characters; in fact, Tom Lester appears in both, playing Eb on Green Acres and Cousin Jake in this movie.
- Sissy Villain: Mr. Sipes.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: According to this film, anyone can understand animals if they take the time to listen, but particularly those who are pure-hearted.
- Stupid Evil: Not just Mr. Sipes for not simply thinking to kill Gordy earlier, but also his two henchmen Dietz and Krugman for making up the story that they were forced to snatch both Gordy and Hanky when the two manage to elude them before either can do anything. They could've simply said they had not caught Gordy yet, but instead suggested that they were forced to harm Hanky, which would've landed everybody in hot water.
- Unfortunate Name: Upon adopting Gordy, Jennie Sue decides to name him Pinky; needless to say, Gordy is relieved to be rid of it later.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Dietz and Krugman utterly fail to notice the bright red and white RV driving beneath the bridge from which they intend to drop Gordy. For this foolish oversight, Gordy is ultimately saved by Cousin Jake. That's to say nothing of how bizarre it was that Jake was the only individual to see Gordy being kidnapped on the stage before the aforementioned scene.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The farmer of Meadowbrook Farm is absolutely nowhere to be seen onscreen; At the end, even his mailbox is seen to have become overflooded with uncollected mail. No wonder the farm was going under.
- One wonders what became of Brinks at the end of the movie, having helped Gordy to rescue his family at the slaughterhouse but does not accompany the Royces back to the farm.
- For that matter, if the two families have married, what became of Luke's band and Royce Industries after they all moved to the farm?
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: For some reason, the villains never consider just killing Gordy.
