Ride a Wild Pony (1975) Reviews

• Good movie that teaches that certain issues are never black and white

  gee-152004-05-07

  My parents took me to this movie when it came out in theatres. I've yet to see it on video/DVD which is a shame as I remember being fairly enthralled by it as a child. Too many movies for children present their conflicts in black and white. Children are not encouraged to consider moral conflicts because the solutions are laid out clearly for them. This is one of the first movies I can remember seeing that made me think (a little). This movie concerns the struggle between two children regarding the ownership of a pony. One is a poor boy from a struggling family whose only material possession in the world is a wild pony that he tames. The pony gets lost and inadvertently ends up in the hands of a crippled girl from a wealthy family who has every material possession possible except the one thing she really wants. The pony brings joy into both children's dark lives and each fiercely resists giving him up. The power in the film is in its ability to never allow all sympathy to rest with either child. You end up feeling for both of them. Unfortunately, there's only one pony...and one of the children will end up the loser. How this conflict is finally resolved and its consequences make the film worth seeing.

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• Wonderful family film

  artzau2006-03-04

  As the face-plate reviewer has noted, children are rarely exposed to conflicts where the lines are not drawn in black and white. This Australian tale that touches on class differences, poverty and rural life ways in NSW in the early part of the 20th century has all the makings of a classic. The principle protagonist, Scottie Pirie, is as wild and untamed as the Welsh pony, Taffy, he acquires only to lose to the strong-willed little rich girl, Josie Ellison, who suffers from a crippling bout of polio and is confined to a wheel chair. When the pony runs away from Scott and rejoins his herd, he is picked out by Josie for his stink individual qualities to be trained to pull a dog cart. The eventual discovery of the pony by Scottie and the confrontation leads to a division of the rural community along class lines which is mitigated by the town's class-conscious Lawyer, Mr. Quayle, played by veteran Australian character actor, John Meillon, whom most of us remember as Crocodile Dundee's sidekick. This is a delightful family film that should be required viewing by all kids. I remember taking my son to see it in the theater the year it came out and I recently bought it on VHS for my wife. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it, relived my pleasure when I saw it again on TV and loved it when I watched it last night at home.

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• A captivating film for anyone who loves horses and ponies.

  gabbitassj2005-03-31

  I have only ever seen this film once when I was a child,but I enjoyed it so much that I have never forgotten it and would love to see it again (if it became available on DVD or VHS in the UK).It is a Disney production (which I did not find out until I began looking for the film recently)and is set in Australia.The film focuses on two children,a boy and a girl (each from different families)who both fall in love with the same pony captured for them on separate occasions from the wild.They cannot agree whom the pony belongs to,so they have a test to make the pony choose his owner.This film totally gripped me as a pony lover,seeing the children in anguish over their beloved pet.But it all ends well and has touched my heart forever.This is a film not to be missed by both adults and children who have ever had a pony.It will fill you with emotion.

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