GamerTab That was an excellent one.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

WakenPayne Why did I want to see this movie? Your guess is as good as mine. I guess that I really want to review things and just watch any movie chosen out of a hypothetical hat just so I can review it regardless. Is this movie about horses worthwhile family entertainment? In my eyes it can be.The plot is that Moondance Alexander (Kay Panabaker) is a 14 year old girl who has trouble fitting in and has to cope with the death of her father. She has a part time job delivering supplies to stables and on the way to her latest delivery she finds a horse who escaped from their stable and they form an instant connection. After the horse is returned she proposes a deal with the owner of the stable, Dante Longpre (Don Johnson), she will work for him over the summer break and she can ride the horse, who she named Checkers. Over time, Moondance (Who names their child Moondance?) bonds with the horse. After finding out Dante was a pretty good horse jumper (I hope that's a correct term!) in his day, she decides to enter Checkers in a contest for jumping horses.So what is there to complain about with this movie? How about THE SOUNDTRACK! I mean every other complaint that will be brought up in this review was at least tolerable but the guy who did the music seemed to have the song selection be from EVERY SINGLE LIVE ACTION KIDS FILM OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. 10 minutes in and it annoyed the crap out of me. It even broke the ice in what was intended to be the most emotional scene in the movie.Another complaint I have with this movie is that Moondance should have been shown grieving over her father's death just a bit more. I know it's meant to be for kids but the scenes where this does happen are too few and far between in this movie.Aside from that everything to complain about is minor. I mean yes - the movie is predictable, yes - the characters intended to annoy succeed beyond their wildest dreams, yes - the story and plot points are slightly contrived. I really don't see a major problem in them because once taken away, this movie can stand on it's own pretty well.Aside from that, I'll go for the compliments. Kay Panabaker can act really really well. Everyone does a decent job (in some cases you have to consider the material they were given - for example the villains) but Panabaker was the stand out.I also like the message of this movie. Basically the message is "be yourself and overcome your obstacles". I know what you're thinking "In your previous review you criticised something for having an unoriginal message, what makes this so different?" The answer is that in my opinion this actually gets the message across in a fresh way that isn't contrived.So aside from those 2 I did enjoy the directing and the writing (although that does get a little weak around the end). They do a good job here getting a rather contrived story about inspiration and the odds being against the heroes but coming out on top while still keeping it fresh.So would I recommend this movie as family entertainment? Yes. I am not in the target audience for this movie (I'm a 17 year old boy) and I found something in it that was complimentary. So if you want some family entertainment for your child (I know I shouldn't be stereotyping but preferably female) which you can also enjoy then pick up Moondance Alexander. For a person like me, call it a guilty pleasure.

Roland E. Zwick 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?

ssexccichica Not only does this movie attempt to be the cliché "horse and rider as one" story, but it fails, and quite horribly. The storyline is very predictable, and at numerous times its just plain boring. Not only is the story bad, but the acting is just awful. The main character's acting ability lacks so much its so hard to watch. The enemies of the main character, moondance, are the cliché mean snobby riders, like always. Also, of course, the main character is missing a parent to make you feel sorry for her, but you don't at all. And, of course, moondance and her "pinto" horse (which is only a color breed, NOT a genetically/characteristically determined breed, which they make the main reason for disapproval of the horse) win in the end. Sadly, this film is just so unrealistic. You cannot learn to jump a .9 or so meter hunter course in 1 month, a horse does not recover from colic that fast, and you cannot be unable to buy a 200$ coat and afford a 600$ GPA. There are way too many problems with this movie. I'm sorry to say this, but as far as horse movies go, this is without doubt on the bottom of the list. The only semi good thing about this film is the setting, its quite nice. But in conclusion, don't waste your time. And if your a horse person, you'll be totally angered by this movie's lack of realistic horsemanship.

aimless-46 "Saddle Club" meets "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "Bratz", as the prettiest friendless teenage girl in cinema history goes up against her "Queen Bee" nemesis in a local equestrian competition. Throw in a little "Pollyanna" here for good measure as the friendless girl manages to inspire the adults in her town to lead better lives. Kay Panabaker plays the friendless girl (Moondance Alexander), and Kay is so pretty she makes figure skater turned aspiring actress Sasha Cohen look rather plain by comparison. And Kay is a polished enough actress with enough effortless charm to almost make this film work. Unfortunately she is saddled (pun intended) with one of the worst written scripts you are likely to ever encounter. The best scenes are those where Panabaker is alone on the screen and the worst are those involving her teenage rivals-the dialog given to these inexperienced cast members is almost surreal in its staggering lameness. The film is at least one back-story too many as there just isn't time to adequately cover Moondance coping with her father's death, reconciling her mother's new romantic interest, getting flirty with the son of her mother's boyfriend, saving stable owner Donte (Don Johnson) from a wasted life of alcohol abuse, turning her horse Checkers into a competitive jumper, and giving Roscoe P. Coltraine (James Best) a few moments of mild comic relief. "Moondance Alexander's" target audience of preteen girls and Sasha Cohen fans wasn't enough for it to get a widespread theatrical release but it is available as a direct-to-DVD product. There is nothing original or exciting here but it is a pleasant enough family film. And the dare to be different theme is handled quite nicely. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.