The ButterCream Gang

Infobox Film
name = The ButterCream Gang


image_size =
caption =
director = Bruce Neibaur
producer = Forrest S. Baker III
Don A. Judd
writer = Forrest S. Baker III
narrator =
starring = Jason Johnson
Michael D. Weatherred
music = Kurt Bestor
cinematography = T.C. Christensen
editing = Stephen L. Johnson
Lori Petersen
distributor = Feature Films for Families
KOAN
released = 1992
runtime = 93 minutes
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by = "The ButterCream Gang in Secret of Treasure Mountain"
website = http://www.familytv.com/p240.html
amg_id = 1:290595~T0
imdb_id = 0103900

"The ButterCream Gang" is a 1992 children's direct-to-video film produced by Feature Films for Families, with music by Kurt Bestor.

Plot

Pete Turner (Weatherred) is the leader of a good-deed-doing group, the ButterCream Gang, in the small rural town of Elk Ridge. Moving away to attend school in Chicago, Pete nominates Scott Carpenter (Johnson) to become the new leader of their small band. Though shortest in stature, Scott exceeds the others in honesty and conviction.

Together with fellow ButterCreamers, Eldon and Lanny, Scott is soon faced with his first challenge as leader of the Buttercreamer's. It seems widow Mrs. Jenkins cannot come to her door, having fallen and hurt herself. The quick thinking Scott devises a daring plan. Eldon and Lanny swing Scott on a rope swing, using his inertia to reach a second story balcony. Scott races to see to Mrs. Jenkins, who is fortunately all right. The boys can't help wondering why the widow Jenkins lives all alone in a huge house.

While living with his aunt in Chicago, Pete's personality remarkably changes as he comes under the influence of a local street gang. He soon has no time to reply to Scott's earnest letter writing attempts. Neglecting his school work and participating in petty crime, Pete is expelled and sent back to Elk Ridge.

Pete turns heads with his new style of dress. Scott notices Pete shoplifts some treats for the gang.

Uninterested in participating in the ButterChurners' charitable acts, Pete starts a gang with two local bullies. He leads them into acts of vandalism, theft, and intimidation, even showing them the proper way to nip treats from the kind grocer.

When Scott confronts Pete about the treats and his other misdeeds, their conflict leads to escalating violence.

Scott's Baseball Coach, Reverend Willde, teaches him about Mahatma Gandhi's use of nonviolent resistance to deal with opposition. Scott discloses the uneaten, stolen treat to his father, who then teaches him about unconditional love, which he uses to try to redeem his friend. Pete's gang repays his kindness with malicious pranks and assaults.

Pete attempts to get back to Chicago by staging his "kidnapping". With help from a seedy drifter, money is demanded from Pete's grandfather under threat of Pete's life. But Scott and his friends, taking this at face value, attack the pretend kidnapper, who is no match for Lanny's patented "Earthquake Stomp".

Angrily, Pete tells them off and runs off to the grocery store, where he demands money. The grocer refuses to let him rob him by offering to give him the money. Flabergasted by this, Pete attacks the store's goods— terrorizing the shoppers— and sends treats flying across the room. After Scott arrives, Pete breaks down and runs away.

Later in the year, Scott and his friends are pleasently shocked to read in a newspaper article that Pete has started a new ButterCream Gang in Chicago, keeping it a complete secret from everyone.

Explanation of title

The ButterCream Gang was formed several decades prior to the storyline during the war. The local women were left unable to churn butter with their men gone. A group of boys began going around town to help them do this (hence the name) and other chores. Over the years, the group expanded to four members and eventually came to do all sorts of helpful things for the locals.

Production

"The ButterCream Gang" was filmed in Draper and Riverton, Utah.

Availability

"The Buttercream Gang" was released on VHS in 1992 by Feature Films for Families (Murray, Utah; OCLC |28037384).

In 1995, it was released with the title "The Treehouse Gang: A ButterCream Gang Adventure" on VHS by Feature Films for Families (Salt Lake City, Utah; OCLC|36876401).

A DVD version was released in 2002, 2003, and 2004 by Feature Films for Families (Murray, Utah; OCLC|54453178).

equels

"The ButterCream Gang in Secret of Treasure Mountain" was the 1993 sequel.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0103900|title=The ButterCream Gang
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOWW-r0AWr8 Collection of highlights from "The ButterCream Gang"] at YouTube.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i7IE1TgPS4 "The ButterCream Gang" trailer] at YouTube. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2445438212315574988 The same trailer] at Google Video.
* [http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/paulinekids/kidslib/mvreviews/buttercream.htmlReview of "The Buttercream Gang"] in "My Friend".