La légende de l'étalon noir

OK, I have been a huge fan of the Black for a long time and was DISGUSTED after seeing this film. Let's name the problems...First this film has much of the same crew that the first two had. It has also been called the PREQUEL to the original Black Stallion. Why is it that they can't get Shetan's dam's name correct or her color?? In The Black Stallion Returns, we learn the Sagr was the Black's CHESTNUT mother and in this film she is a gray mare name Jenny?!?!?!?!? WTF? And it's set in Africa in 1946 and 1947...I could be wrong but the first one was set in the 1940's as well when the ship wrecks. Time line doesn't sound quite right to me. Also, as a goof, there is a friesian in the beginning of the movie that is supposed to be Shetan's father...upon further notice it appears to be a gelding. Ben Ishaak is the only character that remained to even make this film appear to be related to the previous two in any way. Might be a cute family film to some but it's my biggest movie disappointment of the year.

This movie, no question is a very beautifully shot movie. Much like The Black Stallion of 1979 was. The horses were amazing too and the horse race was fun. The score was very nice. I enjoy this movie, and put it on often when I need something simple to watch. That's the key, this movie is simple. Although the acting annoys me, I still find myself coming back to this movie for that reason. It's under an hour long, it's simple and right to the point. In this movie, I think it works beautifully.

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?"

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...

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