Cowgirls 'n Angels is a 2012 American family film starring Bailee Madison, James Cromwell, and Jackson Rathbone. The film was directed by Timothy Armstrong from a script by Armstrong and Stephen Blinn. The film was followed by the 2014 sequel .
Plot
12-year old Ida Clayton lives with her single mother, Elaine, but Ida's summer days are boring and full of nothing to do, so she begins sneaking off to rodeos in order to keep herself entertained. Ida's father, a man named Walker whom she never met, is a subject that Elaine refuses to speak about, and is part of the reason why she disapproves of rodeos. When Ida is given the opportunity to tour America with The Sweethearts of the Rodeo, a group of young women who perform at rodeos, Ida takes it, and after several scenes, Elaine approves. Ida quickly befriends the Sweethearts managers, Terence Parker and his daughter, Rebecca. She sets off on a quest, looking for her father with the help of fellow Sweethearts, troubled, retiring alcoholic, Kansas, Madison and Kansas's new lover that Rebecca disapproves of Justin Wood.
Cowgirls 'N Angels was shot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Guthrie, Oklahoma including Lazy E Arena and Pawnee, Oklahoma and environs during April–May 2011. The film used already existing rodeos to complete the look as well as two staged rodeos. Rodeo and horseback riding facilities of Oklahoma State University and Barnum Ranch as well as the facilities in Pawnee were used in the shoot and the filmmakers also shot the Guthrie Oklahoma annual parade which included the fictional Sweethearts of the Rodeo drill and trick riding group. The production retained the services of the Sky High Angels drill team from Arkansas as the core Sweethearts of the Rodeo and added the actors cast as well as three professional trick riders from Oklahoma and nearby Texas. One of the trick riders, Haley Ganzel, was cast as Rose in the production for authenticity. Another trick rider actually doubled for both Madison and also Ida's fall from her horse Prince in the film. Production went well notwithstanding extreme weather conditions which included high winds, rain, extreme heat as well as a large tornado which required the cast and crew to hide in the basement tornado shelter of the Stillwater National Bank in Stillwater. Multiple drafts of the script were written prior to productions and a number of changes were made on the set based on input from the film's cast, crew and production team.
The Cowgirls 'N Angels soundtrack is filled with young country pop artists many of whom are from Oklahoma including Amber Hayes, Maggie McClure, Susan Herndon, Caitlin Rose, The Powwows, and Kim DiVine. An original composition Always There For Me performed by Richie McDonald, formerly of the band Lonestar, and Amber Hayes, as part of the father daughter motif is included both in the soundtrack as well as performed in the film's honky tonk sequence. The Soundtrack is available digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, and many other digital outlets.
Book
A Cowgirls 'N Angels book was created to accompany the film. The book was written by Timothy Armstrong, Pam Bassuk, and Stephen Blinn.
Reception
The film received mainly positive reviews, with critics praising its "family-friendly" appeal.
