The Black Stallion Returns Review

MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1983

Film adaptations of popular novels often fail to impress, so it would not be unreasonable to approach The Black Stallion Returns with a certain degree of skepticism. Luckily although director Robert Dalva took a few liberties when porting author Walter Farley's saga over to the big screen, he ultimately retained the essence and grandeur of the original story. The Black Stallion Returns is a film that will most certainly appeal to horse lovers, but will also warm the hearts of those seeking out a clean and innocent family film.

Young Alec Ramsay (Kelly Reno) came to own a proud and magnificent black stallion in the original Black Stallion novel, and together they beat all the odds and won a major horse race in the U.S. Now they are living on the Ramsay family farm in New York, enjoying a peaceful life.

This serenity is shattered when two groups of Arabians fly into the city, both with designs on kidnapping Black. One of the would-be kidnappers is Abu Ben Ishak (Ferdy Mayne), the former owner of Shitan aka Black who seeks to bring the horse back to Arabia for use in a long and perilous desert race. The other potential kidnapper is Kurr (Allen Garfield), head of a rival tribe that wishes to take possession of Black in order to prevent Ishak from winning the race.

While both are determined to bring pride to their tribe's name by winning the desert race, Ishak retains a sense of honor and respect for the horse whereas Kurr is a dishonorable scoundrel that will do whatever it takes to see that his goals are met. To Alec, it doesn't really matter which of the rival Arabs wants his horse – he's not interested in losing him.

Yet lose him he does, when Black is successfully skirted away under the cover of night and transported to an unknown location across the seas. Alec stows away on a plane bound to Casablanca, where he undertakes a desert adventure in hopes of locating his beloved partner.

Alec faces many dangers on his journey, but luckily he crosses paths with Raj (Vincent Spano), a young Arabian prince that plans to enter the desert race with a steed of his own. Taking the naïve Alec under his wing, together they face the trials of the desert and rival tribes as they seek out Black.

It probably goes without saying that one should not expect realism in The Black Stallion Returns, for nothing about Alec's journey whatsoever has a ring of truth to it. That having been said, this film does offer a warm escape for viewers of all ages, and although those with a passion for horses will be drawn to the movie like a fly to a bug zapper, even those who don't particularly care about horses will find a lot to like about this film. While the plot revolves around the Black Stallion, much of the adventures involve Alec and Raj as they travel the deserts on foot.

The acting in this film was pretty uneven. Kelly Reno gave it the good college try, but he's not a gifted actor (a fact his very short list of movie credits will attest to), so there are times when his more emotional scenes feel somewhat forced. Despite his limitations, he does manage to give a sense of heart to the scenes Alec shares with the Black Stallion.

Allen Garfield was fairly unremarkable as the film's main villain, though whether that is the fault of the actor or the direction he was asked to take is hard to say. Kurr behaved more like the stereotypical bumbling fool than he did a truly dangerous and ambitious tribal leader. Perhaps in a family film this is to be expected, though.

On the other hand Ferdy Mayne gave a solid performance as the somewhat stoic yet honorable tribal chief Abu Ben Ishak. Vincent Spano was also very satisfying as Prince Raj, a young man that is equal parts flustered and drawn to the American Alec Ramsey.

Like most family films, The Black Stallion Returns will capture the hearts of the younger audiences quicker than it will older and jaded film fans. It's not one of the 80's best films in the grand scheme of things, yet it's a heartwarming adventure tale that really doesn't disappoint either. If you're a horse fan, or are in the mood for a disarming and charming desert adventure, you'll probably give a good thumbs-up to The Black Stallion Returns.

Movie rating: 7 stars

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