This movie is something Disney seems to be forgetting how to do. The movie is fun.
Plain old fashion, clean family fun. All of the Tall Tales play very well off each other. Paul Bunyan has the best one liners.
Daniel has a great story arc about appreciating everything you have because it may be gone tomorrow. Each of the tall tales teach him an important lesson in this regard. In the beginning Daniel just wants to sell the land because he is scared. Pecos Bill teaches him to stand up for what he believes in and loves. In the end Daniel stands up to the antagonist, even when he has no chance of winning. At the beginning Daniel hates his farm and calls it a fry piece of ground and is more interested in the changing world and the technological advancement. Paul Bunyan tells him how machines took his trade and ruined the land. This is clear when Paul says they killed the sapling so new trees couldn’t go. He also adds “In my day we didn’t kill the land, we just borrowed from it.” In the end Daniel is work on his farm with a new attitude. One of gratitude. The lesson Daniel gets from John Henry I felt was a little rushed. But in the beginning of the movie Daniel doesn’t enjoy the time with his father or what his father has done for him. John tells him of how he treated his own father the same way, but before he could tell him how much he appreciated him he was sold. In the end Daniel makes sure his father knows he loves and appreciates him.
Over all this is a good movie with a very well told message of learning to appreciate the things in your life. I give it a solid 4.5/5.