''Cowgirls 'n Angels'' is a 2012 American

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are ...

starring

Bailee Madison Bailee Madison Riley (born October 15, 1999) is an American actress and singer. She first gained acclaim for her role as May Belle Aarons in the fantasy drama film '' Bridge to Terabithia'' (2007). Madison received further recognition for her ...

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...

, and

Jackson Rathbone Monroe Jackson Rathbone V (born December 14, 1984) is an American actor, singer, and musician best known for his role as Jasper Hale in ''The Twilight Saga'' film series. From 2008 to 2012, he was the vocalist and occasional guitarist, bassist, ...

. The film was directed by Timothy Armstrong from a script by Armstrong and Stephen Blinn.

Plot

12-year-old Ida Clayton (

) lives with her single mother, Elaine (

Alicia Witt Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American actress, singer and pianist. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in '' Dune'' (1984) and ''Twin Peaks'' (1990). Witt had a critic ...

) in urban

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, but Ida's summer days are boring and full of nothing to do, so she begins sneaking off to

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

s in order to keep herself entertained. Ida's father, a man named Walker whom she never met, is a subject that Elaine refuses to speak about, and is part of the reason why she disapproves of rodeos. When Ida is given the opportunity to tour America with ''The Sweethearts of the Rodeo'', a group of young women who perform at rodeos, Ida takes it, and after several scenes, Elaine approves. Ida quickly befriends the ''Sweethearts'' managers, Terence Parker (

) and his daughter, Rebecca (

Kathleen Rose Perkins Kathleen Rose Perkins (born November 15, 1974) is an American actress. Life and career Perkins was born in New Baltimore, Michigan, the daughter of Leonard and Donna Perkins. She graduated from Anchor Bay High School (1992) and enrolled in Wes ...

). She sets off on a quest, looking for her father with the help of fellow ''Sweethearts'', troubled, retiring alcoholic, Kansas (

Dora Madison Burge Dora Madison Burge, sometimes credited professionally as Madison Burge and Dora Madison, is an American actress. She is known for starring as Becky Sproles on the NBC/DirecTV drama '' Friday Night Lights'' from 2009 to 2011. She starred as Jessic ...

), Madison (

Leslie-Anne Huff Leslie-Anne Huff is an American actress. Life and education Huff was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She was born to an American father and a Filipino mother. She attended the University of California, Berkeley. She was highly invo ...

) and Kansas's new lover whom Rebecca disapproves of, Justin Wood (

Cast

as Ida Clayton *

as Terence Parker *

as Justin Wood *

as Elaine Clayton *

as Rebecca Parker *

Frankie Faison Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series ''The Wire'', as Barney Matthews in the ''Hannibal Lecter'' franchise, and as Suga ...

as Augustus *

as Kansas *

as Madison De La Cruz * Drew Waters as Rawley West / Walker * Noel Coet as Nora * Mark Nutter as "other" Walker * Amber Hayes as Amber Grant *

Richie McDonald Richard Vance McDonald (born February 6, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. From 1998 until his departure in 2007, he was the lead singer of the group Lonestar, which recorded seven studio albums on BNA Records during his t ...

as Doug Grant

Production

Development

''Cowgirls 'N Angels'' was shot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Guthrie, Oklahoma including Lazy E Arena and Pawnee, Oklahoma and environs during April–May 2011. The film used already existing rodeos to complete the look as well as two staged rodeos. Rodeo and horseback riding facilities of Oklahoma State University and Barnum Ranch as well as the facilities in Pawnee were used in the shoot and the filmmakers also shot the Guthrie Oklahoma annual parade which included the fictional Sweethearts of the Rodeo drill and trick riding group. The production retained the services of the Sky High Angels drill team from Arkansas as the core Sweethearts of the Rodeo and added the actors cast as well as three professional trick riders from Oklahoma and nearby Texas. One of the trick riders, Haley Ganzel, was cast as Rose in the production for authenticity. Another trick rider actually doubled for both Madison and also Ida's fall from her horse Prince in the film. Production went well notwithstanding extreme weather conditions which included high winds, rain, extreme heat as well as a large tornado which required the cast and crew to hide in the basement tornado shelter of the Stillwater National Bank in Stillwater. Multiple drafts of the script were written prior to productions and a number of changes were made on the set based on input from the film's cast, crew and production team.

Release

Production was completed by 15 July 2011.

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curre ...

released the film theatrically in the USA on May 25, 2012, after its world Premier in the Dallas International Film Festival, Dallas Texas.

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

released the DVD & Blu-ray in the USA on October 2, 2012.

Music

The ''Cowgirls 'N Angels'' soundtrack is filled with young

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

artists many of whom are from Oklahoma including Amber Hayes, Maggie McClure,

Susan Herndon Susan Herndon is an American singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The ''Tulsa World'' has called her one of the "region's most talented musicians;" while the (now-defunct) free paper ''Urban Tulsa Weekly'' has praised Herndon's ability to "de ...

Caitlin Rose Caitlin Rose (born June 23, 1987) is a Country music, country singer and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. She has released three albums, Own Side Now (2010), The Stand-In (2013) and Cazimi (2022). She also recorded two Arctic Monkeys son ...

, The Powwows, and Kim DiVine. An original composition Always There For Me performed by Richie McDonald, formerly of the band Lonestar, and Amber Hayes, as part of the father daughter motif is included both in the soundtrack as well as performed in the film's honky tonk sequence. The Soundtrack is available digitally on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, Google Play, and many other digital outlets.

Book

A ''Cowgirls 'N Angels'' book was created to accompany the film. The book was written by Timothy Armstrong, Pam Bassuk, and Stephen Blinn.

Reception

The film received mainly positive reviews, with critics praising its "family-friendly" appeal.

Sequels

A sequel to the film, entitled '' Cowgirls 'n Angels: Dakota's Summer'', premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2014. Written and directed by Timothy Armstrong, the film followed new characters, and starred

Haley Ramm Haley Michelle Ramm (born March 26, 1992) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jen Long in the police procedural series ''Without a Trace'' (2007–2008), Brenna Carver in the ABC Family drama ''Chasing Life'' (2014–2015), a ...

as the titular Dakota, alongside

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

Spencer Boldman Spencer Boldman (born July 28, 1992) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Adam Davenport on Disney XD's ''Lab Rats'', and for playing Gio in the film '' Cruise''. Personal life Spencer was born in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from P ...

and

Emily Bett Rickards Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series ''Arrow'', her first television credit. She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows ''The Flash'', ''Legends ...

. Another sequel titled ''

A Cowgirl's Story ''A Cowgirl's Story'' is a 2017 American family film written and directed by Timothy Armstrong and starring Bailee Madison, Chloe Lukasiak and Pat Boone. It is the third film in the ''Cowgirls 'n Angels'' series. Plot Seventeen year old Dusty ...

'' was released on April 18, 2017, and was directed by Armstong. This film features Bailee Madison from ''Cowgirls 'n Angels'', but this time played a different character Dusty Rhodes. It also stars

Chloe Lukasiak Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

. Another sequel, ''A Cowgirl's Song'' was released on April 22, 2022, again directed by Armstrong. It stars

Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series ''Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 to ...

, Savannah Lee May and

Darci Lynne Darci Lynne Farmer (born October 12, 2004) is an American ventriloquist, singer and actress. Lynne has been credited with the revival of ventriloquism, earning praise and numerous accolades for her work. Born in Oklahoma, Lynne developed an int ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowgirls 'n Angels 2012 films Films about horses American independent films Rodeo in film Films shot in Oklahoma 2010s English-language films 2010s American films