Found this movie while seeking a no swearing/no sex/no violence feature to watch with my elderly, easily-offended folks. They enjoyed it - and there were some good performances and memorable moments - but this is a very flawed film.
One of the biggest issues seemed to be the editing. One wonders if there was a more fully realized screenplay which was hacked to pieces late in the game to fit a producer's last-minute whims.
One example: Supposedly ruthless granddad (played by Peter Coyote, looking like he wishes he'd never agreed to this film) dispatches the foreman to destroy less-than-perfect puppies from a litter.
We see the foreman walking down the road with the bag of puppies, with protagonist Belle following him from a distance.
Suddenly, this pivotal scene ends abruptly and lurches inelegantly into another scene in which Belle is at her grandfather's house talking to her dad. Just as randomly they are talking about her mother's death and whether her dad wanted to pull the plug when she was on life support. Now dad's new girlfriend and grandpa are talking about Belle being drowned in a river. Whaaat? And now the prize horse is gone! It's as if huge chunks were cut, with little thought for continuity or clarity.
The same happens in another scene where Belle is trying to lead her horse across the train track (in the middle of a storm, no less, and while a train is coming - because she apparently is an idiot). Suddenly, she's pulling in the horse to cross and, because it is smarter than she is, it rears up and runs away. Next we see Belle passed out on the ground, right by the tracks, because apparently her horse running away has made her lose consciousness. And now the dog is tugging on her pant leg and the train is coming and it's all very amateurish - as if filmed and edited by a fourth-grader on the free film-editing software he got with his new laptop. All we need are some Keystone Kops and a Snidely Whiplash-style villain for this awkwardly cobbled-together melodrama. Toward the end, everyone realizes the error of their ways and starts listening to Belle. She begins bossing around her grandfather in a mock serious/cutesy way that is incredibly irritating. Better writing and direction would have made this part so much more believable.
This film also tries to jam so Many subplots and ideas into one movie. Is it about a young girl's struggle to heal after losing her mother in a car crash? Is it about her father's attempt to heal while working as a dog catcher? Is it about grandpa's attempt to heal by turning into a callous Jack wagon? Is it about a dog food company that is accidentally poisoning dogs? Is it about a veterinarian falling in love with Belle's dad? Is it about Peter Boyle getting a cameo (although he is pretty funny)? Is it about "To Kill a Mockingbird?"
The themes of loss, valuing all living things when they aren't perfect, and keeping our hearts open despite adversity are all important. The scenery, at times, isn't bad. The actress who plays Belle is charming, but needed more direction (she may have been as confused by the schizophrenic screenplay as we were). Peter Coyote is the best-known actor and does what he can with this smorgasbord of half-cooked ideas.
It also drags on mercilessly toward the end - and probably could have been 20 minutes shorter if they didn't suddenly introduce the completely superfluous dog food part.
Anyway, both my parents fell asleep, so that's probably the best review of all.
