The Giant of Thunder Mountain facts for kids
The Giant of Thunder Mountain is a 1991 drama film. It stars Richard Kiel, known from The Spy Who Loved Me, and Noley Thornton. Bart the Bear also appears in the movie. The story was written by Richard Kiel, Chrystle Fiedler, and Tony Lozito. James W. Roberson directed the film.
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Story of the Giant
In the town of Weaverton, signs for a circus appear everywhere. In Zeke MacGruder's barn, a group of boys are having a meeting. Two brothers, Tommy and Ben, are dared to climb Thunder Mountain. People say a giant lives there. The boys accept the dare and start their climb up the mountain.
They get caught in a big thunderstorm. Lightning flashes close by, which is how Thunder Mountain got its name! They find shelter inside a strange, very large log cabin. Inside, they discover mysterious wooden figures. Suddenly, the giant returns. He finds the boys hiding under a table. They quickly escape, taking one of the wooden figures with them.
Back in town, they tell their family their amazing story. But no one believes them. The next morning, they go back to the mountain with another boy, Zeke MacGruder. Zeke doubts their story about the giant. Tommy and Ben's younger sister, Amy, secretly follows them. She almost gets caught in a bear trap! The boys tell her to leave, but she keeps following.
Meeting the Giant
The three boys watch the giant from the woods. Zeke gets scared and runs away. But Amy bravely steps out from the woods. She introduces herself and her brothers to the giant, whose name is Eli Weaver. They help him with his chores, like planting young fir trees. The boys offer to get water for the trees. They go into Eli's cabin to find a bucket. Inside, they discover some shiny gold nuggets belonging to Eli. Tommy puts a few in his pocket. They fill the bucket with water outside. Eli's pet wolf comes to check out the children. After this, the children return to town.
Amy finds Tommy and Ben looking at the gold nuggets. They let her have one, promising her not to tell their mother. Amy goes to the general store to buy candy. She tries to pay with the gold nugget. Hezekiah Crow, who says he knows about gold, overhears her. He declares the nugget is "Fool's Gold." But he offers her tickets to his carnival instead. Amy bargains for extra tickets. She then visits Eli and invites him to dinner. She also gives him one of the carnival tickets.
The Circus and Trouble
Eli comes to the Wilson's house for dinner. After eating, he fixes their cuckoo clock. Hezekiah Crow's circus parades through Weaverton. Zeke's father, Mr. MacGruder, hosts the event. The circus has many acts. There are jugglers, a trained lion, a boa constrictor, and a clown act. There is also a camel, a high-jumping acrobat, and two white horses.
The last act is a trained black bear. This reminds Eli of a sad day. A giant grizzly bear once killed his parents. Amy sees a beautiful doll at a circus booth. Eli tries to win it by throwing balls to knock down pins. The booth is run by one of Hezekiah's sons. He has put a rod through the pins so they can't be knocked over. But Eli's strong throw breaks the pins! He expects the carnival man to give Amy the beautiful doll. Instead, the man gives her a cheap doll. Amy is very disappointed. Eli gets angry and lifts the carnival man into the air. He then drops him on the ground. Eli gives the beautiful ceramic doll to Amy.
A crowd gathers around Eli. Amy's mother appears and scolds Amy for causing trouble. The crowd shouts mean words at Eli. Eli crushes the doll's head in his hand. He warns the town to stay off Thunder Mountain. Amy tries to make him stay. But he says he won't visit a town that disrespects him. He storms off. Later, at a bar, Hezekiah and his two sons plan to steal Eli's gold from his cabin. Meanwhile, Eli burns the wooden statuette he carved of Amy.
Kidnapping and Rescue
Amy goes to see Eli and says she is sorry for what happened. They become friends again. Eli and Amy go for a walk in the woods. He shows her the biggest tree in the forest, called 'The General.' Tommy and Ben go to find Amy. At the cabin, Hezekiah Crow and his two sons attack them. They kidnap Ben, knock out Tommy, and steal Eli's gold. Hearing a group of people approaching, they escape out a back window. Tommy is left unconscious on the floor.
Meanwhile, in the woods, the grizzly bear appears. Eli fights it and knocks it out with a tree branch. Amy runs for the cabin. Eli limps along after her. Amy arrives at the cabin and runs to her mother. The group of people, called a posse, don't understand what's happening. They think Eli kidnapped Amy's brothers. They set out to catch him. Eli is wounded in the leg while being hunted. He hides under a pile of leaves. He surprises one of the posse members who has caught his leg in his own bear trap. Eli takes the man's gun and frees his leg from the trap. The posse burns Eli's cabin. They do this because they wrongly believe he kidnapped the children.
Amy and her mom return to town with Tommy. The kidnappers go to the MacGruder's house to steal their things. Eli tracks them down and frees the MacGruder family and Ben. Hezekiah Crow tries to trick Eli and escapes out a window. Eli follows him. Hezekiah then comes face to face with the real Giant of Thunder Mountain – the grizzly bear! Caught between Eli and the bear, he gives up to Eli and the posse.
The movie ends with the town asking Eli to become their sheriff. They promise to rebuild his cabin. Eli says he must return to the mountain. But he leaves as their friend.
Main Characters
- Cloris Leachman as Narrator / The Elder Amy
- Richard Kiel as Eli Weaver
- Marianne Gordon as Alicia Wilson
- Noley Thornton as Amy Wilson
- Chance Michael Corbitt as Tommy Wilson
- Ryan Todd as Ben Wilson
- Jack Elam as Hezekiah Crow
- William Sanderson as Percey Crow
- George 'Buck' Flower as Oliver Crow
- Danuel Pipoly as Zeke Macgruder
- Ed Williams as Mr. Macgruder
- Bart the Bear as The Bear
