Legendary American folk heroes come to life as young Daniel Hackett (Nick Stahl) embarks on a quest to save his father's farm from a greedy land baron (Scott Glenn). As Daniel struggles to help his dad (Stephen Lang), he encounters storybook characters such as the tornado-roping Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze) and hammer-wielding John Henry (Roger Aaron Brown), as well as gun-toting Calamity Jane (Catherine O'Hara) and ax-hauling Paul Bunyan (Oliver Platt) with his loyal blue ox, Babe.