''Everyone Loves Mel'' is a 1998

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

directed by

Joey Travolta Joseph Allen Travolta (born October 14, 1950) is an American actor, singer, producer, director and screenwriter. He is the older brother of actor John Travolta. Early life Travolta was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, a nearby suburb o ...

, starring

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

Julie Hagerty Julie Beth Hagerty (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress. She starred as Elaine in the films ''Airplane!'' (1980) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982). Her other film roles include ''A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982), ''Lost in Am ...

and

Greg Evigan Gregory Ralph Evigan (born October 14, 1953) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He began his career in theater, appearing in the Broadway production of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', followed by a stage production of the musical '' Gr ...

Plot

Bonnie and Peter are working on their marriage while dealing with a difficult teen-aged son. Her father takes the boys (Roger and Travis) in for the summer at his

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. It is apparent early on that he's fighting with developers that want his land while he wants to preserve his family's legacy. The developers had taken over a prior farm and turned it into an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, something that Grandpa does not approve of. The boys explore as children will and find their grandfather is harboring a large

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

-like creature called Mel. Mel is a legend of local Swanson Lake and is known as Swannie to the general populace (similar to "

Nessie NESSIE (New European Schemes for Signatures, Integrity and Encryption) was a European research project funded from 2000 to 2003 to identify secure cryptographic primitives. The project was comparable to the NIST AES process and the Japanese Gov ...

"). The boys' adjustment to their life in the small town is helped by getting to know him. While going around with a girl (Susie) one day, Roger (the elder boy) accidentally causes an

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

on the developer's property with his grandfather's

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

. When the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

comes by to arrest Grandpa, Roger tells them he was the one who caused the wreck but they still put Grandpa in jail. Bonnie and Peter (the boys' parents) come to stay at the farm when Grandpa is jailed. The boys end up staging a break out for Mel from the amusement park and with the help of Susie and her brother try to get him back to the lake, setting a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

loose and creating mayhem in the process.

Cast

as Grandpa *

as Bonnie *

as Peter *

Jack Scalia Jack Scalia (born November 10, 1950) is an American actor. He has had many roles in television series (both as a regular and as a guest-star), television movies, and feature films. He is perhaps best known for his role as Chris Stamp on ''All My ...

as Bailey Silverwood *

Bug Hall Brandon "Bug" Hall (born February 4, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood roles as Alfalfa Switzer in ''The Little Rascals'' (1994), Newt Shaw in ''The Big Green'' (1995), and Buster Stupid in ''The Stupids'' (1996). ...

as Travis * Josh Paddock as Roger * Vanessa Evigan as Susie *

Paul Sampson Paul Christian Sampson (born 12 July 1977) is an English rugby union and rugby league player who played at Wing (rugby union), wing or Fullback (rugby union), full-back for London Welsh, Blackheath R.C., Blackheath, Worcester Rugby Football Cl ...

as Matt Henderson * George Yager as Sheriff Edgewood * John Green as Technician (as John Green aka Marino) * Molly Ann Lashinsky as Debbie (as Molly Lashinsky) *

Ellen Travolta Ellen M. Travolta (born October 6, 1939) is an American actress known for playing Louisa Arcola Delvecchio in ''Happy Days'' and ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' as well as Lillian in '' Charles in Charge'' (1987-1990). Early years Ellen M. Travolta wa ...

as Dr. Vogul *

Jason Evigan Jason Gregory Evigan (born June 10, 1983) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His songwriting credits include co-writing and production of Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" and " What Lovers Do", Madonna's " Ghosttown", ...

as Sammy * Christopher Wanner as Joey * Doyle McCurley as Undercover cop

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Everyone Loves Mel (film) 1998 films 1998 fantasy films American fantasy films Films about farmers Films about turtles 1990s English-language films 1990s American films