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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Vintage" Disney Classic, March 16, 2001
This is the sort of quality family fare that will rarely, if ever, be made again. Produced in the mid 70's when 'The Waltons' was popular and America wasn't so afflicted with Attention Deficit Disorder, it earns its place as one of the best in Disney's period piece library. The cinematography is excellent with many colorful landscape panoramas and some choice episodes including a dog racing event in the Yorkshire countryside, visually interesting shots of old-fangled colliery machinery, worklife inside the coal mines, and an honest rendering of family life inside the village homes. The characters of the story are all cast with competent actors, both child and adult. The films' action derives from the resourceful efforts of the kids to save the colliery ponies whose fate is a grim one in the face of production efficiencies soon to be installed by mine owner Alastair Sim-(played Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol') The film has an innocent charm, although a little dated in both the period of history it covers and its storyline and humor. Even so its charm and quiet drama build to a surprisingly effective climax. There's a sense you've been treated to a unique glimpse of the past with a wide array of period detail providing rich realism. Anyone with patient appreciation for the concerns of children and an interest in the historic difficulties posed by economic/industrial evolution will find a gem in this film. Kids not addicted to video games may also find it enjoyable. Thanks Anchor Bay for a very good transfer to DVD.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful movie for horse lovers of all ages., July 31, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Littlest Horse Thieves [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The last time I saw this movie was in 1976 at a movie theater. I was 9 years old. This movie has been stuck vividly in my mind since the first and only time I saw it. I have been looking to rent and/or purchase a copy ever since. It is a movie set in (wales?) before the turn of the century. Around the advent of the steam engine. It centers around the lives of the "pit ponies" used to pull coal trolleys in the deep dark mines, and the local children who rally to save them from certain death when the mine owner decides to dispense the "pit ponies" and replace them with steam engines. It is a great story, I think, albiet dark, much in the same way as Oliver Twist. I highly recommend this movie, I can't wait to get my copy in the mail! Thanks to AMAZON for carrying this little known gem!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a surprising little gem, April 12, 2003
By A Customer
Its odd how the most underated films can really surprise you. I saw this film for the first time recently, and I regret now not seeing it as a child, I had put off seeing it for such a long time. I did not expect to get too involved about the welfare of a few pit ponies; but honestly the film; inc story; performances and attention to detail are so well done that it almost has a timeless quality about it. Modest as it is; be warned the happy ending only comes with a rather surprising price unexpected for disney in the 70s. Rosemary Anne Sisson,wrote the screenplay also penned 'Ride a Wild Pony' for disney which came out around the same time; also recommended as a companion to this film, hopefully one day that film will be released as well.
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