Moondance Alexander

It's the start of summer. Moondance Alexander (Kay Panabaker) is the school outcast whose yearbook nobody wants to sign. She talks to her father's grave. Her eccentric artist mother Gelsey (Lori Loughlin) doesn't really understand. Then she finds a horse by the side of the road and names him Checkers. The horse is returned to Tumbleweed Stables and the grumpy Dante Longpre (Don Johnson). The horse is actually named Tinkerbell. Moondance exchanges work for riding the horse. All the girls are mean but popular Josh might just like her especially when Josh's dad starts dating Moondance's mom. Moondance thinks Checkers might be a good jumper and enters her into the Bow Valley Classic against all the mean girls.

This is a super sweet unsurprising cliché-filled family movie. I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with that as long as it's done well. Don Johnson has the grumpy weary guy well in hand. Lori Loughlin could have been more flaky. At least she doesn't really fit the part. It's the super cute Kay Panabaker that makes this work. She's all hyper energy and willful joy. She is spunky enough to fill the whole movie with her energy. She is also a good enough actress to do the emotional moments too.

Loved the look of the movie, beautiful shots, wonderful characters, actors seemed fine. I'm not much of a horse person, so with me that doesn't carry the movie. Movie was the right length, not too long. The script was just so poorly written, I'd find myself wincing at the dialog. Character names were strange also (Gelsey, Moondance?), as if the author was "putting on airs". The makeup on the young actress bothered me also. First, she's a child and second, she's working in a stable and riding a horse. Those aren't activities where someone would normally be so made up and certainly not a child. If you're looking for a family movie with an interesting story (based on a true story), maybe about second chances, then this would be a good pick.

If you've already seen "Black Beauty," "National Velvet" or "My Friend Flicka," you might want to take a pass on "Moondance Alexander," a wan girl-and-her-horse saga that doesn't even have the energy or conviction to rise above its own clichés.

Moondance is a ninth-grade social outcast who finds meaning and purpose in life when she spends the summer taking care of and learning to ride a horse owned by a cantankerous but lovable Pygmalion played by Don Johnson (think of it as an equine version of "My Fair Lady," minus the songs and quality). The first credibility obstacle we have to overcome is accepting the spunky and attractive Moondance as a girl who can't find herself a single friend (well, the two-legged type anyway).

The paint-by-numbers screenplay comes replete with a miraculous horse healing, a bevy of Valley Girl elitists straight out of Central Casting, and a horse-jumping competition that has all the drama and suspense of a Tiddlywinks tournament in Oshkosh.

Ah well, at least the movie boasts, in the person of Kay Panabaker, a young actress with a great deal of charm and potential. And, besides, where else are you going to hear a line like, "Moondance, I want you to take Checkers over to the stables," if not in this film? Surely, that ought to count for something, don't you think?

I've got to say, this is one of my favorite horse movies out there. It shows the tale of a different and quirky girl meeting a different and quirky horse who just want to fit in a little more. It also shows that sometimes being different is the best way to fit in- something almost no other horse movie shows. The only things that I don't really like is that at first, Moondance clearly doesn't know much about horses but yet still knows how to ride and knows some of the terms (example: "forelock"). I also thought it was a bit of a cliché to make the very girls who bully her at school also her rivals in the horse world. But it's a beautiful movie, so it doesn't really matter. This cute little movie is unfortunately underrated and I can't figure out why. It shows that being different is okay and you can do your own thing and I love the way it shows the magical connection that there should be between a horse and rider. The fact that this movie is based on a true story is even more magical. It tugged at my heartstrings. All the actors also suited their characters very well and were great at playing them. I couldn't imagine this movie any other way. If you're looking for a horse movie that's something a bit different with a moral, look no further!

Kay Panabaker plays a very likable protagonist. This is a good, clean movie about embracing change. Moondance finds a new activity to occupy her summer, while she also copes with her widowed mom getting a boyfriend. And the ranch owner, Dante, comes to accept this girl reopening his life.

You feel really bad for Moondance in the beginning. She is a bullied teenager with no friends. But she remains warm and friendly with people, and finds ways to keep herself busy.