Zachary Ansley Movies
Disney's The Journey of Natty Gann stars Meredith Salenger in the title role. During the Depression, Natty's father (Ray Wise) takes a job in a Northwestern lumber camp, leaving his daughter behind in Chicago with the promise that he'll send for her when he's put together enough money. Unwilling to wait that long, Natty runs away from her guardian (Lainie Kazan) and hops a freight bound for her dad's camp. In addition to the human friends she accrues along the way, including vagabond John Cusack and tough-but-nice juvenile delinquent Barry Miller, Natty is protected on her journey by a friendly wolf (actually a dog, but you try training a wolf). Journey of Natty Gann stretches its "PG" rating as far as possible, but it's still safe and sane entertainment for the younger crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, (more)
- 1987
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The Duke boys (John Schneider, Tom Wopat) return to play different characters: arguing brothers who are forced to take a shipment of toys to a remote Alaskan town. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Schneider, Tom Wopat, (more)
Josh Morgan (Ron White) is a veteran rodeo cowboy who must care for his young son Shane (Zachary Ansley) after the death of his wife Lucy (Rebecca Jenkins) in this family drama. The two move to the ranch left to them by Shane's grandfather, but Josh can't hold a job, and Shane is in the throes of adolescent angst. Neighbor Lindsay Sutherland (Janet-Laine Green) is the veterinarian who tends to Shane's injured horse and brings father and son closer together. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron White, Zachary Ansley, (more)
- 1990
- PG13
This drama telling the exploits of seriously ill teens who are spending the summer at a camp for cancer victims makes an effort to bring a light touch to this otherwise gloomy subject. In the story, Ryan (Zachary Ansley), who has a brain tumor, is pretty certain he'll die before long. Before he does, he wants to have sex with a woman. Robert (Nicholas Shields), who has leukemia, isn't afraid to perform any stunt or get into any kind of adventure. Holly (Stacie Mistysyn) has lost a leg due to bone cancer, but is interested in helping Ryan fulfill his wish. One of the highlights of the movie is a theatrical in which the campers lampoon their doctors, parents, and one another. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zachary Ansley, Stacie Mistysyn, (more)
- 1992
Based on the 1989 earthquake that rocked San Francisco, this is the true story of the rescue workers who at their own peril tried to free the people trapped under a collapsed highway. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
A single mother and her difficult son find family life isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be in this drama adapted from writer and professor Tobias Wolff's 1989 memoir of the same name. Nomadic, flaky Caroline (Ellen Barkin) just wants to settle down in one place, find a decent guy, and provide a better home for her handful of a son, Toby (Leonardo DiCaprio). When she moves to Seattle and meets the respectful, respectable Dwight Hansen (Robert DeNiro), she thinks she's got it made. Toby, however, feels differently after spending a few months with Dwight and his children and away from Caroline. The boy's stepfather-to-be seems to want to mold Toby into a better person, but to do so he emotionally, verbally, and physically abuses the kid. The marriage proceeds, and soon Caroline, too, recognizes Dwight's need to dominate everyone around him. She sticks with it, though, convinced it's the best thing for her son, and several years of dysfunction ensue. During this time, Tobias befriends another misfit, the possibly homosexual young Jonah (Arthur Gayle), while continuing to chafe under the yoke of his repressive stepfather. This Boy's Life provided the first lead role for future superstar DiCaprio. The film was written by Robert Getchell, who also penned such mother/son fare as Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and The Client. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 1993
Season four of Road to Avonlea (aka Tales From Avonlea) serves to introduce the Pettibone family, specifically widower Clive Pettibone (David Fox), the new schoolteacher hired to replace the semi-retired Hetty King (Jackie Burroughs); Clive's son, Arthur (Zachary Ansley), a talented veterinarian; and Clive's brilliant but oversensitive daughter, Isolde (Heather Brown), better known as "Izzy." The season opener finds an uncharacteristically nervous Hetty lending a helping hand when her pregnant sister, Olivia (Mag Ruffman), who the previous year had wed eccentric would-be inventor Jasper Dale (R.H. Thompson), goes into premature labor. In a subsequent episode, Hetty forms an unexpected bond with her successor, Clive Pettibone, when they discover that they are both writing children's books under assumed names. Later, Meg Tilly guest stars as Evelyn, the wife of an old school chum of Hetty's brother Alec (Cedric Smith), who, when she suddenly becomes a widow during a visit to Avonlea, turns to the married Alec for comfort -- and sets gossipy tongues a-wagging in the process. Also contributing a guest appearance is Treat Williams as traveling showman Zak Morgan, on whom Hetty's city-bred niece, Sara (Sarah Polley), develops a disturbingly serious crush. And the episode "The Disappearance" boasts two guest stars, Robby Benson and Diana Rigg, in the story of a young antiques collector who may or may not be heir to a vast fortune. In other plotlines, earthy but naïve Gus Pike (Michael Mahonen) continues to court the haughty but likable Felicity King (Gema Zamprogna) -- only to find himself in competition with newcomer Arthur Pettibone; Felicity's enterprising brother, Felix (Zachary Bennett), unexpectedly becomes a hero when he takes a job at the local White Sands Hotel; and Hetty and Jasper team up to make a home movie (this in 1906 or thereabouts) to prevent a covetous industrialist from taking over Avonlea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Jackie Burroughs, (more)
- 2000
While on a vacation in the Pacific Northwest, widower Nick Conway (Kyle McLachlan) and his son Dennis (Joseph Cross) are involved in a car accident. Dennis is rushed to the hospital in a strange, remote village called Springdale, where all the residents seem unusually youthful and attractive. As he slowly falls in love with the nurse caring for Dennis, Nick comes to the realization that the town harbors a secret fountain of youth--and that there is ultimately a terrible price to pay for being eternally young. Based on a novel by Clifford Irving, The Spring aired January 16, 2000 on NBC, reportedly as the pilot for a never-produced weekly series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Cross, Kyle MacLachlan, (more)
The funny side of sports fandom provides the common element for two stories in this made-for-cable anthology feature. In the first segment, based on a short story by Don Marquis, a golfer (Bob Newhart) looks like he's about to break 100 for the first time, but his partner (Kelsey Grammer) keeps insisting upon following every rule in the book, much to his friend's annoyance. The second story is based on 1968's real-life "Heidi Bowl" incident, in which NBC-TV's broadcast of a hard-fought game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, which seemed likely to determine the AFL championship, was cut off --with 65 seconds left to play and the score at 32-29 -- in order to begin a scheduled showing of a made-for-TV movie based on the classic children's story Heidi. Eugene Levy plays a network control room supervisor, Ellie Harvie appears as a NBC switchboard operator trying to handle the sudden influx of angry calls, Gary Basaraba plays her husband, who is watching the game at home with friends, and John Kapelos is a bookie with a lot of money riding on the game. Fox-TV sports commentator James Brown hosts the two-part film, which was produced for the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Newhart, Kelsey Grammer, (more)
