History Film / FlyAwayHome

* BigShutUp: Susan does a memorable example of this trope in reaction to the noise from the bulldozers and the guy on the megaphone. She's as shocked as anyone when it actually works.

* BigShutUp: Susan does a memorable example of this trope to get the bulldozers to stop.

* DisappearedDad: Why Amy doesn't really get along with Thomas at first. While technically it was Amy and her mom who left him (presumably because he was more focused on his art projects than them), he didn't make much of an effort to stay in Amy's life after the divorce -- Amy indicates that he almost never visited, and there's little indication that he kept in touch in other ways either.

** Amy watching Thomas fall to earth after his plane breaks down, unable to do anything to help him -- and keep in mind that not only is he her only living parent, but the death of her mother is still relatively recent. Fortunately, he gets out of it with relatively minor injuries.

* DisappearedDad: Why Amy doesn't really get along with Thomas at first.
** Although it is implied by the dialogue that Amy and her mom left him (presumably because he was more focused on his art projects than them)

** Amy watching Thomas fall to earth after his plane breaks down, unable to do anything to help him. Fortunately, he gets out of it with relatively minor injuries.

* AsHimself: ''Sort'' of this trope: as Jeff Daniels couldn't be insured to fly the ultralight, the scenes of Tom flying actually featured the RealLife Bill Lishman - the "Father Goose" naturalist and pilot on whom Tom Alden is based - in the cockpit.

Though more than a few reviewers commented on the timing of the film ([[TooSoon it was delayed after Jessica Dubroff, a seven year old girl, was killed when she was at the controls of a small plane during a transcontinental flight, along with her father and flying instructor]]), the film was generally well-received and is considered one of the better and more underrated family films of the time.

%%* DeadpanSnarker: Amy has her moments.

* IdiotBall: Thomas forgot batteries to the navigational system. As a result, they weren't some miles west of Baltimore, they were ''in'' Baltimore. Cue dodging buildings.

After her mother dies in a car accident, Amy Alden (Paquin), a 13 year old girl, moves from UsefulNotes/NewZealand to UsefulNotes/{{Ontario}} to live with her father, Thomas Alden (Daniels), an eccentric inventor whom she barely remembers (her parents split up when she was 3). Amy doesn't like the lonely surroundings, she doesn't know what to make of her father, and she misses home and her mother. Then one day, after a bulldozer has knocked down a tree on some property near their house (which Thomas is upset about), Amy discovers a nest of abandoned eggs on the ground. She takes the eggs to Thomas' barn, and they hatch into baby geese. Because of the process of "imprinting", the geese think Amy is their mother, [[PetBabyWildAnimal and she takes care of them as a mother would]]. However, soon it will be time to migrate south, so Thomas, an amateur pilot, builds ultralight aircraft for himself and Amy so they can get the geese to fly and then be able to fly south for the winter. Along with the problems of flying, and getting the geese to fly, Thomas and Amy also have to deal with Glenn (Jeremy Ratchford), a park ranger who initially tries to pinion the geese to render them flightless ([[{{Understatement}} Amy doesn't respond well to this]]), and then wants to confiscate them when they start flying. Not only that, but Amy and Thomas' intended destination for the geese (a bird sanctuary in South Carolina) becomes a battleground between environmentalists and developers.

-->''C'mon, Geese!''

After her mother dies in a car accident, Amy Alden (Paquin), a 13 year old girl, moves from New Zealand to Ontario to live with her father, Thomas Alden (Daniels), an eccentric inventor whom she barely remembers (her parents split up when she was 3). Amy doesn't like the lonely surroundings, she doesn't know what to make of her father, and she misses home and her mother. Then one day, after a bulldozer has knocked down a tree on some property near their house (which Thomas is upset about), Amy discovers a nest of abandoned eggs on the ground. She takes the eggs to Thomas' barn, and they hatch into baby geese. Because of the process of "imprinting", the geese think Amy is their mother, [[PetBabyWildAnimal and she takes care of them as a mother would]]. However, soon it will be time to migrate south, so Thomas, an amateur pilot, builds ultralight aircraft for himself and Amy so they can get the geese to fly and then be able to fly south for the winter. Along with the problems of flying, and getting the geese to fly, Thomas and Amy also have to deal with Glenn (Jeremy Ratchford), a park ranger who initially tries to pinion the geese to render them flightless ([[{{Understatement}} Amy doesn't respond well to this]]), and then wants to confiscate them when they start flying. Not only that, but Amy and Thomas' intended destination for the geese (a bird sanctuary in South Carolina) becomes a battleground between environmentalists and developers.

After her mother dies in a car accident, Amy Alden (Paquin), a 13 year old girl, moves from New Zealand to Ontario to live with her father, Thomas Alden (Daniels), an eccentric inventor whom she barely remembers (her parents split up when she was young). Amy doesn't like the lonely surroundings, she doesn't know what to make of her father, and she misses home and her mother. Then one day, after a bulldozer has knocked down a tree on some property near their house (which Thomas is upset about), Amy discovers a nest of abandoned eggs on the ground. She takes the eggs to Thomas' barn, and they hatch into baby geese. Because of the process of "imprinting", the geese think Amy is their mother, [[PetBabyWildAnimal and she takes care of them as a mother would]]. However, soon it will be time to migrate south, so Thomas, an amateur pilot, builds ultralight aircraft for himself and Amy so they can get the geese to fly and then be able to fly south for the winter. Along with the problems of flying, and getting the geese to fly, Thomas and Amy also have to deal with Glenn (Jeremy Ratchford), a park ranger who initially tries to pinion the geese to render them flightless ([[{{Understatement}} Amy doesn't respond well to this]]), and then wants to confiscate them when they start flying. Not only that, but Amy and Thomas' intended destination for the geese (a bird sanctuary in South Carolina) becomes a battleground between environmentalists and developers.

%%* ABoyAndHisX: A Girl And Her Geese. %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%

* DeadpanSnarker: Amy has her moments

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Glenn, the park ranger who tries to pinion the geese

* ABoyAndHisX: A Girl And Her Geese.

* CanadaEh: Averted; though there are a couple of broad Canadian accents, the movie generally avoids the stereotypes associated with this trope.
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Amy.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Dana Delany as Susan.

* PrettyBoy: Barry.

* MamaBear: More like Mama Goose [[IncrediblyLamePun (hee hee!)]] Amy, of course; especially after Igor gets his wing clipped.

-->'''Amy:''' We promise we'll never do it again.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Air Force base commander. He's rightfully pissed off at Amy and Thomas landing illegally at the base (and nearly getting themselves shot), but accepts their apology.
-->'''Commander:''' "Well if you're 'very' sorry."

* [[ABoyAndHisX A Girl And Her Geese]]

After her mother dies in a car accident, Amy Alden (Paquin), a 13 year old girl, moves from New Zealand to Ontario to live with her father, Thomas Alden (Daniels), an eccentric inventor whom she barely remembers (her parents split up when she was young). Amy doesn't like the lonely surroundings, she doesn't know what to make of her father, and she misses home and her mother. Then one day, after a bulldozer has knocked down a tree on some property near their house (which Thomas is upset about), Amy discovers a nest of abandoned eggs on the ground. She takes the eggs to Thomas' barn, and they hatch into baby geese. Because of the process of "imprinting", the geese think Amy is their mother, [[PetBabyWildAnimal and she takes care of them as a mother would]]. However, soon it will be time to migrate south, so Thomas, an amateur pilot, builds small planes for himself and Amy so they can get the geese to fly and then be able to fly south for the winter. Along with the problems of flying, and getting the geese to fly, Thomas and Amy also have to deal with Glenn (Jeremy Ratchford), a park ranger who initially tries to pinion the geese to render them flightless ([[{{Understatement}} Amy doesn't respond well to this]]), and then wants to confiscate them when they start flying. Not only that, but Amy and Thomas' intended destination for the geese (a bird sanctuary in South Carolina) becomes a battleground between environmentalists and developers.

* [[MamaBear Mama Goose:]] [[IncrediblyLamePun (hee hee!)]] Amy, of course; especially after Igor gets his wing clipped.

* [[SavingTheOrphanage Saving The Bird Sanctuary]]: A bird sanctuary is threatened with demolition unless there are birds in it by November 1st.
* '''SceneryPorn''': Good grief, there are several stunning shots that make the audience want to pack up and head to Canada.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Mostly averted; even the short scenes taking place in New Zealand and the (U.S.) Niagara Falls military base were shot on location. North Carolina is used to double for South Carolina, however.

''Fly Away Home'' is a 1996 family film VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, directed by Carroll Ballard (''Film/TheBlackStallion'') and starring Creator/AnnaPaquin, Creator/JeffDaniels and Dana Delany.

''Fly Away Home'' is a 1996 family film VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, directed by Carroll Ballard (''Film/TheBlackStallion'') and starring Creator/AnnaPaquin, Jeff Daniels and Dana Delany.

* ImprobableWeapon: A popcorn bowl, funnily enough.