Our Friend, Martin

Our Friend, Martin is a 1999 American direct-to-video animated children's educational film about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. It was made by DIC Entertainment, L.P. and Intellectual Properties Worldwide and shared by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment under the CBS/Fox Video label. The movie came out just three days before Martin Luther King Jr.'s 70th birthday and was the last film released under the CBS/Fox Video name.

In the story, two friends in middle school travel through time and meet Dr. King at different moments in his life. The film had many famous voices and was chosen for an Emmy Award in 1999 for being an outstanding animated program longer than one hour. It helps young viewers learn about an important person and his work for fairness and equality.

Plot

Miles Woodman, an African-American boy who loves Hank Aaron and goes to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, is struggling with his schoolwork. His teacher, Mrs. Clark, tells him he might have to repeat sixth grade if his grades don’t get better. Miles and his best friend, Randy Smith, visit Martin’s childhood home, now a museum. There, they meet Mrs. Peck, the museum curator.

While exploring, Miles and Randy hold Martin’s baseball glove and suddenly travel back in time. They meet a young Martin in different years, learning about the challenges he faced. They see how Martin stood up for equality without using violence, even when others wanted to fight back. They also witness important moments in history, like the Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin after Rosa Parks was arrested.

Later, Miles and Randy return to the museum and share what they learned with their class. They watch a video about Martin’s work together. After school, some classmates join them at the museum, and they all travel to the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. But when they return, they find that things have changed for the worse because they tried to change the past. Martin explains that he must return to his own time to fix everything, even though he knows something bad will happen. After he goes back, everything returns to normal. Miles earns a good grade in history and decides to keep working for a better future, just like Martin did.

Voice cast

The film featured many talented voice actors who brought the characters to life. It included famous voices such as Charles Barkley as himself, Mike Jones as Malcolm X, and B.B. King as himself. Other notable voices included Terrence Howard and David Banner, contributing to the powerful storytelling of this important movie.

Soundtrack

Motown Records released a soundtrack album for the film, featuring many talented musicians like Diana King, Sheryl Crow, The Jackson 5, Salt-N-Pepa, Montell Jordan, (/wiki/702_(group)), and Stevie Wonder. The album includes songs such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “As Long as I Can Dream”, performed by artists like Debelah Morgan.

Production

In September 1997, it was reported that DIC Entertainment would create their first direct-to-video animated special about the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The company worked with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and hoped the film would be watched every Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The film was released on January 12, 1999.

Many famous voices were part of the film, including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, James Earl Jones, Diane Keaton, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Jaleel White, and LeVar Burton. Martin Luther King Jr. was voiced by his son, Dexter King.