The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

source: The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

OK we have a WW II era B-29 bomber piloted by Elliot Gould contains a few farm animals, a missionary and a couple of real bothersome stowaway kids. Oh Gould's character hates kids and animals and he's not too fond of the missionary. You have elements of Castaway, The Flight of the Phoenix, and Father Goose. Gould is playing the MASH Gould with the wisecracks and disgust for everything he comes upon, his interplay with the missionary Genevieve Bujold is much like Father Goose's Cary Grant with Leslie Caron. This Noah's Ark never tells us where it was supposed to go it does however run out of fuel crashlanding o a small Pacific island. Of course no one is on the island other than the required Japanese soldiers from WW II who have never been told the war is over. The collection of people, animals on the islands provides all the elements of the story. The film drags on is amazingly predictable with miscast Gould. You can think of 100 other actors who would have been more believable.

I remember it being very good. Christians won't be offended. A missionary brings a man to Christ, and they do not make Christians appear to be idiots. A good adventure movie, with a tinge of action and adventure, though not violent.

'The Last Flight of Noah's Ark' is average. One of the reasons for that is the lacklustre plot, which is one we've practically already seen before from Disney in years prior - like 1960's 'Swiss Family Robinson' and 1966's 'Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.'. This isn't incredibly similar to those two, but they are certainly in the same ballpark. The premise doesn't have much about it in terms of action or heart, the ending threatens to finish with a highly meaningful moment but instead bottles it in favour of a more happier conclusion. Elsewhere, you have a forgettable cast. Elliott Gould (Dugan) and Geneviève Bujold (Bernadette) are alright, though they lack the necessary chemistry together. Close to being a good'un, but just misses out in my books.

This is a very typical Disney family film (the way they used to do it those days) with very few surprises. The film also can't make up its mind if it wants to be a comedy or drama, and wants to appeal to a young or mature demographic. It would work best for a young demographic, as they are not so sensitive to predictability and a plot not taken seriously. The character actions are lackluster to say the least - especially from main character Noah (Elliott Gould). They also seem to through caution to the wind for the sake of a family adventure. Nothing here is credible. If you just want a fun adventure film for a lazy Sunday afternoon, then maybe this is your cup of tea.

While Vincent Gardenia and J.P. Ryan only appear in the film's beginning, they are pretty much in character. Gardenia wise cracking and Ryan playing a really small part as a "heavy" after Elliott Gould for money owed to his bookie. The story is rather "formula driven". Plane carrying animals goes down on an island. Japanese Soldiers appear, eventually making friends with Gould and Genieve Bujold. Two kids who were stowaways are the only reason this is a family film. I found them to be more annoying than anything, but obviously they were not going to go away. Once the plane is turned into a raft, we get the expected crisis of the minute, including a shark attack, and a storm. All ends well, and the movie is far from memorable, especially for adults. - MERK

First off, I'd like to say that I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid. I just finished watching for the first time in 16 years, with mixed opinions. First, the story is good. The dialogue is decent (swearing in a Disney kids movie? Right on!). The cinematography is ok. The directing is pretty good. The acting is okay. The music is HORRIBLE. I've noticed, not only with this picture, but almost every Disney movie from the late 60s on into the mid 80s, if you turn the music off, it's actually more enjoyable to watch. Being a music theory major in college, I have come to really appreciate good scoring for movies. There are several scenes where the music is entirely inappropriate (such as after the crash, when they're rounding up all the equipment and animals and the music is straight from Yee Haw). Still, after all these years, it was good to watch it again. So if you can cringe your way through the sappy music, you're good to go with this edgy Disney movie.

In fact, it wasn't Bette Midler who first brought new blood into the heavy-handed 7O's and 80's Disney productions. It was people like Elliott Gould who originally provided the shot in the arm that Disney needed. In this movie he lends his wise-cracking, go-to-hell character to the role of Noah Dugan and it's a joy to watch! The whole cast is great, and the whole movie is a delight from start to finish.