The Young Black Stallion

The Young Black Stallion is not I agree as good as the original(the best) and the film that followed after that. It does take too long to start with and it is much too short, I also got the sense the film was over too soon. However, it is beautifully filmed and has a nice score. The scripting is mostly nice and sweet without feeling too sentimental and the story is very touching on the most part. The acting is good enough, with the girl and the horse particularly believable.

All in all, I liked the movie. The original will always be the best to me and I would have loved the film to have been longer by perhaps extending the training sequence and the beginning to have not taken as long, however I found it overall beautiful and sweet. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Went and saw the premiere with my kids (both under 7) this week. They thought it was great, and although the run time was a little short for my tastes, it worked out great for their attention spans. My little one seemed a little bored during some of the slower portions.

The film was visually very appealing, the landscape was terrific. The far away shots of the desert were really stunning as well as the race footage. You could almost feel the sand being kicked up during the race scenes. IMAX was a great format to see this in and my kids were in awe of the size of the screen.

That being said, the acting was a bit strained but hey 2 of the 3 main characters were kids and the other was the horse. And while it may be nit picking, how does a 12 year-old girl start a fire all by herself with no tools or supplies?

Anyway, overall a fun experience to take your kids to.

This family-friendly film is a kind of prequel (previous film) to The Black Stallion (1979), which was a huge hit at the time. Neera (Biana Tamimi) is an Arab girl who was separated from her father in her homeland during World War II. Left alone in the desert, she ends up befriending a black colt, which she names Sheetan. However, as time goes by, she finds her father again and is forced to abandon her horse friend. But it won't be easy to forget him, and she is haunted by the image of the animal lost in the desert all the time. Later she discovers that it is a legend about a steed born from the desert sands. The film is directed by Simon Wincer (Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles) and features a script by Jeanne Rosenberg, the same screenwriter of the original film, based on the book by Walter and Steven Farley.

Based lightly (considering the changes made to the original work) on the novel series started in 1941, Black Stallion, by Walter Farley and his son Steven Farley, but very cute, and the girl Biana Tamimi captivates and charms with little Patrick Elyas, well like the beautiful Corcel, beautiful scenes on the dunes, beautiful images, a simple and charming production...

I understand that this movie is made for kids and as a parent I have sat through many movies that don't particularly hold my interest, but I can appreciate from a constructive point of view in how it is being received by my children. Parents are supposed to be encouraged after all to take part in their children's activities and to monitor the quality of the entertainment that they view so there should be something that appeals to an adult audience on some level even in children's movies. Disney has always understood this which is why it is so hard to fathom how it could allow such a complete piece of drek to bear their name.

Technically, the sound editing is horrible and all dialog sounds over-dubbed and unnatural. Personally I hate that, but it was doubly awful considering the dialog itself seemed as though it was written by a 12 year old for a school project. The "acting" reminded me of a school play and none of the child actors had any range of emotion in their voices. Thankfully it was a very short movie.

Now, before I come off like a video-geek measuring a kids movie with an adult yard stick, the one thing that can save even the worst children's movie is a positive message. Far be it from me to determine how a message has to be delivered so long as the right one is. Let us take a walk through this film to see what messages are given:

If you are lost, don't worry, you will inevitably find your way home.

Approach wild animals without any fear.

You can win any competition just because you "know" you can.

and my favorite, the final message left in the film:

It's okay to disobey authority figures and do what you think is right.

The scenery is superb! The characters are portrayed in a life-like manner. Neera and Black proved excellent! However, I was a little disappointed with the set-up of the story. It was slow-going for the first 30-minutes. It was great for the next 15-minutes. Then it was over. I felt that what I saw in the advertisement on the Disney channel is actually the entire movie. Wonderful story. I would have liked the beginning to have been shorter and the excitement last a little longer. After the movie I stated outloud, "That's it?"