Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you all a safe and wonderful day as we celebrate what we are thankful for. Know that we are thankful for each and every one of you. We love sharing our love of Disney and geekdom with you and we are thankful that you join us in doing this. However you celebrate today, we hope that it is a positive day, even though things look a bit different this year.
In my family, there is a tradition that every year we watch The Thanksgiving Promise. This made-for-tv movie was made in 1986 and aired on November 23, 1986, for The Sunday Disney Movie on ABC. It is about a young boy named Travis who is tasked by a neighbor to raise an injured gosling to be the neighbor’s Thanksgiving dinner. However, as Travis faces life’s growing challenges with this goose named Chester, he grows fonder and fonder of the goose. With this, the promise of turning Chester into a Thanksgiving dinner becomes more difficult to want to keep. It is based on the book Chester, I Love You by Blaine and Brenton Yorgason
The Thanksgiving Promise was directed by Beau Bridges, who also starred in it. In fact, the whole Bridges family is a part of this film making it a family movie in a completely different way. This is really quite fun to see. There are three generations of the Bridges family in the movie. The first generation includes Lloyd Bridges and his wife Dorothy Dean Bridges as Stew and Aggie Larson. Beau Bridges plays Hank Tilby and his real-life son Jordan Bridges plays his on-screen son Travis Tilby. Jeff Bridges also makes a cameo in the film as a neighbor with a truck. Jason Bateman, Ed Lauter, Millie Perkins, and Anne Haney are also featured in the film. The soundtrack was written by Bruce Broughton. Disney fans might recognize this name for his contributions to The Rescuers Down Under and the current soundtrack for Spaceship Earth at EPCOT.
This movie is the definition of what a “feel-good movie” really is. The plot is pretty straight forward. It has messages of family, integrity, and of course gratitude. It has some cute moments, some touching moments, and some humorous moments. Overall, it is a family movie made by a family.
The Thanksgiving Promise can’t be found currently streaming and is not easy to purchase on DVD (or cheap). However, it is on YouTube. Here is The Thanksgiving Promise for you to enjoy. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does! Happy Thanksgiving!
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