Joe Piscopo delivered a fairly good performance, although "Zike" was a shade too contrived. He can do better. By far he was the best actor - everyone else was either wooden, too stage-y, or couldn't deliver their lines with appropriate intonation or emotion. The script left a lot to be desired. Why would the mom not think to look for her daughter in her horse's barn? Why would a girl run off without her horse (DUH - teen girls and horses, ya know - LOL!)? Most disturbing - why would a movie show a little girl chatting with and exchanging insults with two men who have just invited her into their car? She wouldn't have gotten away with that in real life.
Oh well, we have a lot of fun with interpreting what the horses are really saying. Most of the time, they're asking, "Are you gonna give me that treat, or what?" The little horse tries to dominate the big horse in many of the scenes. Best of all, when one horse is supposed to be encouraging the other, he's doing the equine equivalent of flipping the bird! Park your brain at the door, but do pause and talk about things from time to time with your kids.
I gave it three stars because of Joe Piscopo, and because I can think of movies that are a lot worse.
