Escape from the Dark

This British film from the Disney Studios is a real sleeper. Although Alastair Sim in what would turn out to be the last theatrically released film of his career is top billed, his is really a supporting role. I doubt most on this side of the pond would know any of the cast members other than Sim, but the real stars are three kids and a Shetland pony, one of many ponies that is used in the Yorkshire coal mines in the beginning years of the last century.

In the mines the little ponies are used to take the coal out but Sim has hired Peter Barkworth as a new manager and he wants to bring in automatic conveyor machines to take the coal out. What happens to the faithful ponies, most likely sent to the slaughterhouse for pet food.

That does not sit well with Barkworth's daughter Chloe Franks and her new friends Andrew Harrison and Benjie Bolgar who are miner's kids. The three steal the ponies. I won't say more but the ponies prove their worth in the end.

This Disney film raises some real adult labor management issues and also issues about the ethical treatment of animals. Among the other issues that are raised is the ponies develop eye trouble and even blindness from exposure to coal dust. It's what happens to the kid's favorite pony. And I guarantee when you see the sacrifice this pony makes on behalf of its human masters you will not have a dry eye for days.

This film should be better known. It's for kids and kids of all ages. And the review is dedicated to one Amber Small, the most dedicated animal activist I know.

Luckily this is not a syrupy-sweet Disney film. It was filmed entirely in the forbidding Yorkshire moors. And though you know it will be a happy ending, they make no bones about the fact that the small working ponies have spent their entire lives down in the coal mines and are about to be sold to the slaughterhouse. Alistair Sims makes his final movie appearance here - most of you will know him as Scrooge from the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol" or in a featured role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Stage Fright."

This movie has a special place for me. As well as being a real tearjerker (if you love horses) all of the pit scenes were filmed at the end of my garden! My mum was an extra as was my grandfather and his brother in law and even his goat! Even 30 years on the "pit tip" were it was filmed is still there, although a little over grown. When I watch this film I can clearly remember the scenes where the children plot to free the ponies. The top of the hill were they lay spying was a grass covered ramp at the end of my paddock.

Other films were also made in and on the same road.. "The Price of Coal" and "The Gamekeeper" by Barry Heines. Yes the village I lived in and where my parent still live was in much demand in the 1970'sw

What a cracking little film!

I was not expecting this to be so great. 'The Littlest Horse Thieves' is a highly touching and well paced film from 1976, it's one of Disney's best live-action offerings up until this point in time.

The studio have done a crap tonne of animal and children stories in these early decades, some of them work nicely whilst some fall flat. This, however, is excellent. It sucked me right in, I was fully invested in the story of Dave, Alice, Tommy and 'their' ponies - especially the latter's spearhead, Flash. The ending hit me, I can't lie.

Andrew Harrison, Chloe Franks and Benjie Bolgar play the aforementioned human trio - they give what you'd expect from kid actors, but I appreciate their performances. You also have a number of adults involved, with my standouts being Alastair Sim (Harrogate) and Joe Gladwin (Bert).

Other positive parts include the locations and score, both of which are lovely. An outstanding film, one I would highly recommend!

The stage curtains open ...

Set in 1909, this is the courageous story of 3 brave children who set out to rescue pit ponies scheduled to be sent to the slaughterhouse because they are being replaced by modernized mining equipment. It is a well written and directed live-action Disney film that touches the heart in the setting of the harsh reality of living in a coal mining town during the turn of the century.

When Alice, the daughter of the quarry foreman, finds out that the pit ponies used to haul coal out of the mine are going to be slaughtered because they are no longer needed, she teams up with two boys from the town to set up a plan to sneak into the mines, steal the ponies, and hide them. Aided by a good-hearted man named Bert - the caretaker of the ponies - they find another way in to carry out their daring plan.

This was a film I remember watching when I was in school as a kid under the Amercian title of "The Littlest Horse Thieves". I remember liking it and I was able to finally track it down again all these years later. Watching it again, I was suprised at the level of reality that was represented with changes that they had to face back then, echoing down through the ages to changes we all face daily, some of which we may not like. But, like our littlest thieves, we all find a way to make the best of things and move on with a positive attitude.

I absolutely loved this movie upon rewatching it. This Disney film flew under the radar, and even among most people my age, it has become forgotten. I highly recommend it to anyone, who can find this lost gem, at a strong 8 stars out of 10.