''Journey to Spirit Island'' is a 1988 U.S.

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning family adventure film directed by Lásló Pal, produced by Bruce Clark, with a screenplay by Crane Webster from a story by Lásló Pal and Crane Webster. It stars

Bettina Bush Bettina Bush, also known professionally and simply as Bettina, is an American actress and pop music singer. Early life She was born the youngest of three children. Her father was Charles V. Bush, the first African-American graduate of the US ...

, Brandon Douglas and Marie Antoinette Rodgers. The cinematography is by the Oscar-winning

Vilmos Zsigmond Vilmos Zsigmond ASC (; June 16, 1930 – January 1, 2016) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wave ...

. On the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

and a nearby, unspoilt

San Juan island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington (state), Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 6,822 as of the United States ...

; a young Native American girl, her brother and their two new friends battle land developers determined to build a holiday resort on the sacred burial site that is Spirit Island. Allmovie Retrieved 2016-8-2

Plot

Two brothers Michael (Brandon Douglas) and Willie (Gabriel Damon) are on vacation from Chicago to Spirit Island with a teenaged Native American girl named Maria (Bettina Bush) and her brother. They plan to save Spirit Island to preserve their heritage, when a conflict arises regarding the development of tribal burial grounds. When her Grandma organizes a protest against defiling their ancestors' sacred burial ground, Maria takes up the cudgel. The villains are land developers who seek to transform Spirit Island into a vacation resort.

Cast

as Maria * Brandon Douglas as Michael *Marie Antoinette Rodgers as Jimmy Jim *

Gabriel Damon Gabriel Damon Lavezzi (born April 23, 1976) is an American former actor. His acting career involved a leading voice role as a child in the 1988 film ''The Land Before Time'', and a variety of live-action guest roles on television. Biography Damo ...

as Willie *Tarek McCarthy as Klim *Tony Acierto as Hawk *

Nick Ramus Nickolas George Ramus, also known and credited as Nick Ramus, (September 9, 1929 – May 30, 2007) was a Blackfoot Native American actor, best known for his appearances on television. Early life Ramus was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew u ...

as Tom *Atilla Gambasci as Phil *Rod Gibbens as Peter Mackel *

Frank Salsedo Frank Sotonoma "Grey Wolf" Salsedo (May 20, 1929 – July 3, 2009) was a Native American actor. He was often cast in smaller parts centered on his Native American heritage. As an actor, Salsedo has performed in movies such as '' The Ghost Danc ...

as Hoots *Skeeter Vaughan as Harry *Edie Hottowe as Lucy

Release

"Journey to Spirit Island" went unreleased until 1992 when it premiered in the U.S. on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

Reception

The

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Reviewer of "Journey to Spirit Island" commented: "This film, beautifully photographed by topnotch cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, is good hearted family fare marred by a hopelessly naïve conclusion".The reviewer added: "...Ostensibly a lesson in environmental protection, respect for Native American culture and the exploitation of that culture by the 'white man', 'Journey to Spirit Island' negates what impact it might have had by making an Indian the villain and a white businessman the noble hero". Hal Erickson for

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

, praised "the superlative photography by Vilmos Zsigmond. In his review for the

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

, John Ferguson concluded: "The members of a largely unknown cast give winning performances, director Laszlo Pal expertly brings together the mystical and adventure elements of the tale and the rugged northern locations are gloriously captured by Zsigmond".

Award

"Journey to Spirit Island" received the following award: *1993 Emmy Award: Directing, Children's Special to Lázsló Pal for "Journey to Spirit Island".(Disney)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0095412 1988 films Films about Native Americans 1980s English-language films