| Actors:
| George Henare, Rawiri Paratene, Joe Folau, Alvin Fitisemanu, Kayte Ferguson | | Director:
| Steven Ramirez | | Format:
| Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish, French | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| MGM (Video & DVD) | | Run Time:
| 91 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| May 11, 2004 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 28 reviews |
|
Average Customer Review:
 ( 28 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 found the following review helpful:
 Charming, well-meaningMay 19, 2004
By Paul Campbell
Brought to the screen by some of the people who gave us Schindler's List, Hook, Jurassic Park, and Rain Man, this moral fable is a well executed film that teaches without preaching. The Legend of Johnny Lingo moves at a leisurely place as an outcast boy finds his place in the world with a little help from some new friends. It starts out somewhat predictable (but what Disney movie isn't?), then we learn what the Legend actually is in a surprise half-way through. And the boy-goes-back-for-the-girl ending is very well done with a little twist of its own to keep it interesting. Not enough movement to keep smaller kids interested and probably too uncool for older kids, it is a perfect fit for families with children in the 6-14 age group. The scenery is breathtaking. And the soundtrack, which consists of traditional and contemporary Polynesian themes, is fabulous; the music is well selected. Family movies run the risk of being pretty low quality knowing that there are so few movies out they'll have some minimum audience no matter what. This is not one of those movies. While shot on an indy budget (I would guess), the production values and editing really bring out the story in an entertaining way. It is charming little movie.
19 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Good except the noniJun 15, 2004
By R. Winget
"laie_techie"
I was raised on the 1969 short film "Johnny Lingo" produced at BYU. I enjoyed this retelling with one exception. The Tahitian Noni company (one of the sponsors) shamelessly plugged the noni fruit and its juice. I admit that noni, despite their taste, have wonderful healing powers, but this propoganda belongs in a commercial, not a movie. The most shameless example of self-promotion was when Tama was threatened with death because spilling noni juice displeased the gods. None of the gold or silver with Johnny would appease the gods' anger over the spilt nectar. I recognized a lot of the cast from "The Other Side of Heaven", and their acting did not disappoint. The lush valleys of New Zealand were also impressive. If you are a "Utah Mormon" you may want to buy the LdS Collection 2-disc edition from Deseret Book. This edition includes the BYU classic, the feature film, and some bonus material. Again, the LdS edition is labeled "NOT FOR SALE OVER THE INTERNET", so you have to go to Deseret Book.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Great family entertainmentMay 21, 2008
By Jochen Klaschka
The "Legend of Johnny Lingo" is actually based on a real south seas legend and was already the topic for another film about this legend some years ago.
This is a more modern interpretation of the legend, and it boasts with a number of famous Pacific Islands & New Zealand Maori actors like Rawiri Paratene (Whale Rider), which are of course mostly unknown to the US and European audience. The film was shot at various locations, mainly in NZ and Rarotonga and Aitutaki (the two latter both belong to the Cook Islands) and the beauty of the locations is breathtaking.
The story is quite simple: orphant boy leaves his home island but vows to return one day to marry the daughter of his foster father, boy meets the famous and benevolent trader Johnny Lingo who later makes the boy to take his name, and finally returns as the (new) Johnny Lingo to get his bride who has been patiently waiting for him all these years. However, this seemingly plain story is witty with some very nice twists and contains lots of humour. The film music is by the famous group "Te Vaka" from Tuvalu and supports and enhances the story, adding to the typical South Seas touch.
As I have lived in the Cooks Islands for some years I have particularly enjoyed recognizing some of the places I know. But even without this personal interest of mine this film is great family entertainment and will be enjoyed both by young and old (5+ years).
The film was sponsored by the Mormons (Latter Day Saints) and a Tahitian company that exports Noni juice. Whilst I could not detect any mormon-specific preaching or message in the film (in fact, there are no biblical or church themes in the film at all), the Noni juice is quite prominently mentioned throughout the film, probably due to this sponsorship.
The one thing worth criticising is the German synchronisation which is substandard at the very best (but this really only affects those who don't want to listen to the English master soundtrack).
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 8 Cow Wife???Oct 20, 2010
By Richard W. T. Bate
"bater"
Saw the original of this and believe this is the better of the two with a more in depth look into the story. My thanks for all concerned in the project. Great family viewing.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Excellent movieMar 09, 2006
By bsmsl
"conservative mom"
This is an excellent coming of age movie. Themes include forgiveness, trust, true love, promise keeping, uselessness of vanity and good work ethics. The movie will be enjoyed by the entire family (6 or so and up). We have recommended this movie to several friends.
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