Young Black Stallion

I am a Walter Farley Fan and have been since I was 5 years old. Have read every one of his books MULTIPLE times and now am saving them for my young grandsons to enjoy. Because of this early exposure to the grand adventures of the Black and his get, horses became part of my free-time life; moved to Montana because of it and raised Arabs as a pacifier.

The Black's Dam's name is actually Aisha. She was a Chestnut and the horses chosen for the several "The Black" movies have accurately portrayed Walter Farley's descriptions. Not being critical and am very pleased that others have enjoyed the series as much as I.

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'm not sure you'll find a more spellbinding debut than that of Biana Tamimi. Grounded in compassion and emotional complexity, her performance, at times, borders on the ethereal. Breathing new life into an all too familiar genre, Tamimi acts as a torch bearer for young actresses who seek to break the cycle of form over substance.

The rejection of cinematic norms is what raises this particular film above many of the tried and true Disney formulaic offerings. Tamimi is at the center of this paradigm shift. At once mysterious and spiritual, Tamimi's star is on the rise. She's here and for real!!

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?"

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.