Arena dos Sonhos

I recently had the opportunity to screen this sweet family movie. 12 year old Bailee Madison is the adorable (and yes, "feisty and rebellious") main character who is driven to find the daddy she has never known. She talks to a poster she has of Walker (remember the Texas Ranger? smile...I had to explain who he was to my 8 year old...) on her bedroom wall. In her search to "belong" she is taken in by the Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Here she finds a safe place of unconditional acceptance and begins to discover that her color in "God's crayon box" is not determined by anyone else...nor is it just "clear" ☺. Happy watching!

This is a terrific film, full of heart without being sappy, with believable characters and a wonderful story. It's a shame a film like this doesn't get widespread theatrical distribution anymore. I would have died to have a film like this to take my daughter to when she was of the right age (8-15). This one captures the imagination without an avalanche of sound and fury, topical jokes or plain silliness. But the biggest testament is that I saw this with an audience of youngsters, and they watched with great concentration, quietly, engrossed in the story. I'm not sure I've ever witnessed this before. It reminded me of my own childhood favorites, My Friend Flicka, Fury, and the live-action films Disney doesn't make anymore. James Cromwell and Frankie Faison are a couple of solid actors, and here they are together, with an ensemble of incredible young actresses playing a troupe of trick-riders on the rodeo circuit. Take your kids to see it if at all possible. If not, find the DVD--it's worth seeking out.

I loved this movie the first Cowgirls N' Angels it was a great movie. Everything I've seen Bailee Madison in so far I have liked like this movie & the Christmas movies I've seen her in. As I myself grew up as a foster child I like how Ida found her natural talent & a whole different new group of good family & friends. I am an animal lover my self I grew up on a farm in Northern Virginia before my great uncle died when I was 11 which is when I started going through the system of foster care & group homes so we had lots of animals so I like any movies that has lots of animals. This is a great movie.

I took my 12-year-old daughter and her five friends as a birthday treat at a theater in Omaha. Well, now they all want to be trick riders, which is pretty cute. Fun to watch them stand on a hay bale doing the hippodrome. The movie really affected us. I could tell that it's not a real high budget film, but the emotions that it portrays are so powerful. And the performances are very genuine and believable. My girls love Bailee Madison and they all thought this was her best performance so far in her career. As a father it is a great film for fathers and daughters to watch together because that is basically what it is about. We highly recommend the film. And what's really nice is that it's appropriate for everyone in the family.

I have waited forever to see this movie. Seen a preview and knew it was something I wanted to see. Unfortunately I don't believe it ever made it into our local theater so as soon as it was on DVD I rented it and after watching it and loving it I will be going out to buy it not only for my house but for my moms as well. It is great family entertainment. Very real emotions and I cried and laughed and loved it. The cast is the best around they did a stand up job. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. You don't have to be a horse lover to love this, but I am and that was just a perk. I hope to see this cast together in the future, hopefully more movies like this will be made.