Customer Reviews

Littlest Outlaw [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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THE STORY: A story of a prize jumping horse in Mexico named "Conquistador", owned by a Mexican General, and a boy named Pablito that works on his ranch and cares deeply for the horse. The boy's mean stepfather Chato uses cruel techniques to train the horse, that backfire when the horse appears in a show. Pablito is forced to steal the horse to save his life, and they both embark on a cross-country trek full of adventure, running from the military and Chato who are hunting them down. Pablito and the horse run into banditos, (including Jose Torvay who later appeared in US films as a villain), and gypsies. A kind priest that plays a very positive role model helps Pablito but also encourages him to do the right thing and return the horse. There are some very authentic scenes of bull fighting, without the usual staging and stuntmen, as well as some horse jumping for you horse fans. A traditional Mexican carnival for the feast day of the blessing of the animals, including a parade and fireworks.

BEHIND THE SCENES & TRIVIA: This Disney Studios film was shot entirely on location in the village of San Miguel Allende, Mexico, and the surrounding countryside including the Xajay Ranch. Even the interior scenes are real places, as the authentic minded producer Larry Landsburgh, did not like using studio built sets and soundstages. In addition to production duties, he wrote the original story (adapted to screenplay by Disney veteran Bill Walsh). Lansburgh had been with the Disney studio for two decades by this point working on live action animal themed featurettes, and later produced "Run, Appaloosa, Run" for the studio. Walt Disney had cultivated the market for Disney Studio products for many years, and this movie contributed to that for a number of reasons. First of all, with the exception of the priest, all of the actors were Mexican, some quite famous like the Mexican actor Rodolfo Acosta that played Chato. Then, they filmed lovingly on location without the use of stereotypes and with a sense of realism not usually seen from most studios at the time. This is a hallmark for work by Landsburgh. The production was very respectful in including cultural issues and traditions without pandering. So that the movie could enjoy a simultaneous release in Mexico every scene in the film was shot twice, once in English and again in Spanish. This menat they could avoid dubbing, which can ruin the authenticity of many movies.

The theatrical release was on December 22, 1955, and it included the featurette "Johnny Appleseed". Three years later it aired on the "Wonderful World of Disney" television show over two Sunday nights on January 22 and 29, 1958. It aired again on May 24 and 31st, 1964. It first appeared on VHS in 1987. At only 73 minutes in length, the movie moves at a quick pace and is never slow or boring. The sincere acting, animal training, costumes, locations, cultural aspects, and the story all come together for a fantastic family film. Although my VHS copy has a clean bright image with really good color, I hope it comes to DVD someday.

The video was of great quality....the movie was one of my favorites as a horse-crazy little girl....I really enjoyed watching it again..this time as a 59 yr old horse-crazy woman...who still owns and show horses!!!!

The littlest Outlaw' is one of the rare theatrical Disney releases not available on DVD. It's rare also in the fact that it is a American made Mexican film. While other cinematic shlock continues to pollute video stores and Netflix, this rare little gem is available to view on Amazon on Demand.

The life of a horse rider is a wonderful exciting life filled with adventure. The opening shot of this film shows this excitement as horses leap and soar over obstacles strewn along well traveled horse paths. Chato does not have the luxury to ride horses, but gets to train them for the riders. One of the horses he trains happens to be the one and only `Conquistador' owned by General Torres himself. However, this champion of horses can not successfully make the high jumps on the horse track. With the big horse tournament coming up this does not look good for the General wanting to be the big shot at the event.

To motivate the horse to jump better, Chato puts sharp spindles just atop of one of the higher jumps during horse jumping training. The philosophy is that the horse will jump higher to avoid the pain. Chato is so confident that this will work he places a bet with the local bookie, who also just happens to be the local barber.

Come the day of the big race, Chato's methods prove to be as about as effective as pouring gasoline on a fire to make it go out. The horse knowing that something nasty is coming if he jumps over the horse jump, does what any sensible horse would do. He avoids it. Conquistador is then put in quarantine for embarrassing the general in front of all his would be fans by not jumping. This saddens Chato's stepson Pablito who loves the horse. He was witness to all the cruelty and would gladly spill the beans on this fine example of animal cruelty, but his jerk of a step father has promised swift retribution on the horse if this happens. Thus Pablito remains quiet.

The General's strong-headed young daughter Celita is determined to ride Conquistador regardless of the ban on him. She rides him all around her yard attempting to race him over jumps, which of course fails. As the horse stops at one jump, the girl keeps on going injuring herself. This second offensive is the last strike in Conquistador's fate. He gets the death sentence from the General, which Chato is only too pleased to carry out feeling rather anxious to get rid of the horse he had trained him for failure. Little Pablito seeing the injustice of this situation takes off with the horse, on the run from his step father, the general and the law.

As we journey with this fugitive from injustice, we meet several interesting characters along the way including a couple of bandits hiding out in a ghost-town. The `Tiger' is the sheriff of this 2 person town and the other resident is the Vulture. Moving on, Pablito takes sanctuary in a church during the feast of St. Anthony. Pablito and his horse arrive in the Good Padre's church during a wedding ceremony. He convinces the Padre that since he blessed his horse during the blessing of the animals, he belongs in the church. The padre accepts this logic and becomes a friend to the boy and the horse.

The shots of the interior church are beautiful and bring the cultural and religious atmosphere of Mexico in bright vivid display. The beauty of the church is reflected in the bright sunny Christ-like character of the priest who helps to guide Pablito in to doing the right thing regarding the horse.

The long dusty road of the life of an outlaw brings the Padre, Pablito, and a pursuing Chato to a bull fight in which the characters try to get to Conquistador before the mad bull, which has a taste for ramming into horses gets to him first.

The final outcome is fitting for a Disney style adventure story featuring a young boy, a horse, and a not so nice antagonist. It's a fine example of a film you can watch with the young-in's without having to be embarrassed by fowl language (not even foreign language) innuendo (there are not too many women in this picture) or fart jokes. If your a Disney fan or a film fan in general, you might want to have `The Littlest Outlaw' hide out in your computer for family movie night.

THE STORY: A story of a prize jumping horse in Mexico named "Conquistador", owned by a Mexican General, and a boy named Pablito that works on his ranch and cares deeply for the horse. The boy's mean stepfather Chato uses cruel techniques to train the horse, that backfire when the horse appears in a show. Pablito is forced to steal the horse to save his life, and they both embark on a cross-country trek full of adventure, running from the military and Chato who are hunting them down. Pablito and the horse run into banditos, (including Jose Torvay who later appeared in US films as a villain), and gypsies. A kind priest that plays a very positive role model helps Pablito but also encourages him to do the right thing and return the horse. There are some very authentic scenes of bull fighting, without the usual staging and stuntmen, as well as some horse jumping for you horse fans. A traditional Mexican carnival for the feast day of the blessing of the animals, including a parade and fireworks.

BEHIND THE SCENES & TRIVIA: This Disney Studios film was shot entirely on location in the village of San Miguel Allende, Mexico, and the surrounding countryside including the Xajay Ranch. Even the interior scenes are real places, as the authentic minded producer Larry Landsburgh, did not like using studio built sets and soundstages. In addition to production duties, he wrote the original story (adapted to screenplay by Disney veteran Bill Walsh). Lansburgh had been with the Disney studio for two decades by this point working on live action animal themed featurettes, and later produced "Run, Appaloosa, Run" for the studio. Walt Disney had cultivated the market for Disney Studio products for many years, and this movie contributed to that for a number of reasons. First of all, with the exception of the priest, all of the actors were Mexican, some quite famous like the Mexican actor Rodolfo Acosta that played Chato. Then, they filmed lovingly on location without the use of stereotypes and with a sense of realism not usually seen from most studios at the time. This is a hallmark for work by Landsburgh. The production was very respectful in including cultural issues and traditions without pandering. So that the movie could enjoy a simultaneous release in Mexico every scene in the film was shot twice, once in English and again in Spanish. This menat they could avoid dubbing, which can ruin the authenticity of many movies.

The theatrical release was on December 22, 1955, and it included the featurette "Johnny Appleseed". Three years later it aired on the "Wonderful World of Disney" television show over two Sunday nights on January 22 and 29, 1958. It aired again on May 24 and 31st, 1964. It first appeared on VHS in 1987. At only 73 minutes in length, the movie moves at a quick pace and is never slow or boring. The sincere acting, animal training, costumes, locations, cultural aspects, and the story all come together for a fantastic family film. A microjoe review.

This Walt Disney movie, made in Mexico, tells a story about a stablehand and the horse he loves, set against the backdrop of the Mexican International Equestrian team. It has excitement, humor, and a wonderful glimpse of Mexico (albeit 50 years ago). My only concern is that this is a VHS copy, and it is right-protected, so I cannot copy it onto a DVD. It is darker than when I originally saw it. I recommend this to any pre-teen or teenager - or adult, for that matter - who absolutely loves horses. For me, it is right up there with "National Velvet" and "Black Beauty" - maybe even better.

After all this time, it still holds up. This was on the Wonderful World of Disney, maybe in the 50s not sure. But being a horse lover I totally rememberd it. After all these years it finally became available and is still a good story. Not as sophisticated as today's but still good!

I loved the mobive and it was in perfect condition just like my seller had said. Now I know who to come to when I want to buy more items:)