Tag: pony

Sunset Over Hope Valley: Keeping Secrets

On By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

It seems like almost every character is keeping a secret in
this episode of When Calls the Heart. Lucas wants Montague’s hotel bid
to be kept under wraps. Nathan wants to protect Allie from the truth about her
biological father. Faith prolongs telling Lilly about her grandmother’s
recovery. But, sometimes, keeping secrets is not a bad thing in Hope Valley.
Earlier this season, Elizabeth keeps Nathan’s surprise party a secret. In this
episode, Bill has a surprise for Jack Jr. When it comes to keeping secrets on When
Calls the Heart, it depends on the character and the context of their
secret. The secrecy can cause a conflict within an episode’s story or give the
audience a certain perception of a character. What is not a secret is how kept
secrets in a television show adds intrigue and gives viewers a reason to still
watch. When these secrets are finally revealed, it can, sometimes, be
satisfying.

Just a reminder: If you did not see this episode of When Calls the Heart, there will be spoilers within this re-cap.

When Calls the Heart season eleven poster created by Hallmark Media, Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel

Season: 11

Episode: 9

Name: Truth Be Told

Major stories:

Montague returns to Hope Valley to discuss his hotel bid
with Lucas. During their meeting, Lucas reveals how an acceptance of the bid
equals an acceptance of 50% of the hotel’s profits. When Montague brings up his
desire to receive 60% of the hotel’s profits, Henry denies that request. Meanwhile,
Rosemary and Bill discover Montague’s return to Hope Valley. They even approach
Montague and question his involvement in the mystery surrounding Lucas’ injury.
Montague claims he had nothing to do with shooting Lucas. After learning how
Lucas is strongly considering working with Montague on the hotel, Rosemary
struggles with whether to share this news with Hope Valley. She ultimately decides
to write about Montague and Lucas, despite Lucas wanting to keep Montague’s
hotel bid a secret. When her article is published, Lucas is very upset about
Rosemary sharing his secret with the town, believing she broke his trust. Rosemary
stands by her decision, as she feels the residents of Hope Valley have a right
to know what’s happening in their town. But shortly after Rosemary’s article is
published, Montague is attacked in Hope Valley’s stables. Due to the attack, Montague
receives a concussion and his arm is put in a sling. Montague not only still
denies shooting Lucas, he also refuses to work with Lucas on the hotel,
thinking the project will put his life further into danger.


Allie’s family album makes her curious about her biological
father. This is because there are no pictures of him in this family album. When
Allie asks Nathan about her biological father, Nathan refuses to share any
information about him. Upset by this secrecy, Allie turns to Elizabeth for
advice. Elizabeth tells Allie how her search for her father is up to her, but
she shouldn’t shut Nathan out. Nathan also turns to Elizabeth for advice,
revealing how Allie’s father, Dylan, showed up in Hope Valley back in season
eight. Elizabeth tells Nathan how he should trust his gut as well as know when
the timing is right. Later in the episode, Nathan shares the truth about Dylan
with Allie. This information does not deter Allie’s desire to meet Dylan, as
she believes people can change. Allie is so determined, she learns how to
contact Dylan while volunteering to work the phone board at the Mercantile.

Newspaper image created by Zlatko_plamenov at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/newspaper-mockup_1386098.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/mockup”>Mockup psd created by Zlatko_plamenov – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Minor story:

Dora, Lilly’s grandmother, calls Faith to tell her how she
has finally recovered from her medical issues. This means she will retrieve
Lilly in the following days. While Faith is happy Dora has recovered, she is
also sad that Lilly will soon leave Hope Valley. She turns to Joseph because
she doesn’t know how she will share this recent news with Lilly. Joseph
suggests giving Lilly a perfect day in Hope Valley, so Lilly will always
remember the good times she had in this town. Taking Joseph’s advice to heart,
Faith makes this perfect day a reality. From a trip to the hair salon to an
afternoon in the park, Lilly has a smile on her face the entire time. Faith
even shares with Joseph how she plans on asking Dora if she will allow Faith to
stay in Lilly’s life. Later in the episode, Faith comes clean about Dora’s
health with Lilly. Even though Lilly is happy to see her grandmother again, all
she wants is to have another perfect day with Faith and her grandmother.

Close-up of pony image created by Flatart at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background photo created by flatart – http://www.freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Some thoughts to consider:

·       
When Allie shares her desire to learn about her
father with Angela, Angela tells Allie how Jacob recently called and invited
her family to spend Christmas with him. As soon as Angela said this, I thought
this story could lend itself to a Christmas movie! I know the creative team
behind When Calls the Heart doesn’t create movies in between seasons
anymore. But if Hallmark is looking for ideas for this or a future Christmas
season, I think a Christmas movie about the Canfield family could work,
especially since the movie would already have a built-in audience.


·       
I know no character is meant to be everyone’s
cup of tea. But out of all the seasons Lucas has been on When Calls the
Heart, he was his most unlikeable in this episode. While he had his heart
in the right place, he was too narrow-minded and stubborn about his “grand
vision”. It got to the point where, in this episode, his plans seemed
underhanded. As a Heartie, I’d like to see this hotel brought to life in season
twelve. However, I don’t think the hotel is worth losing friends over.


·       
In my re-cap’s introduction, I mentioned Bill
having a surprise for Jack Jr. This surprise is a pony, as Jack Jr. has
expressed his wish to ride a horse. When Calls the Heart has a history
of recruiting cute animals to appear on the show. But I can’t help mentioning
how adorable Pal the pony was in this episode! In fact, this pony looked like a
giant stuffed animal.

Sunset image created by Photoangel at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background image created by Photoangel – Freepik.com</a>.<a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/red-sunset-clouds-over-trees_1254327.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What are your thoughts on this episode? How
do you think Lucas’ “grand vision” will be resolved? Tell me in the comment
section below!

Have fun in Hope Valley!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: The Littlest Horse Thieves Review

On By 18cinemalane6 Comments

When it came to The Costume Drama Blogathon, I wanted to choose a movie that was already on my DVR. Out of the six movies that would have fit the requirements, I decided to review The Littlest Horse Thieves! This is a Disney film that I didn’t know existed until this year. Since I reviewed Swept from the Sea and Hallmark’s Hall of Fame’s In Love and War, I thought that I would change things up by selecting a children’s/family-friendly film. What made me want to watch the movie was the historical aspect of the story. Before even hearing about The Littlest Horse Thieves, I never knew that ponies were used in the mining industry. The only animal I knew that went into mines were small birds. I was looking forward to learning something new while being entertained.

The Littlest Horse Thieves poster
The Littlest Horse Thieves poster created by Walt Disney Productions and Buena Vista Distribution. © Disney•Pixar. All rights reserved. Image found at https://movies.disney.com/the-littlest-horse-thieves.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: When it comes to casting young actors in lead roles, those performances can be hit or miss. In The Littlest Horse Thieves, the performances of all three leads were really good! Chloe Franks, Andrew Harrison, and Benjie Bolgar portray the titular horse thieves. Throughout the film, their characters were endearing and likable. The emotions these actors displayed appeared very genuine, as if their characters were real people. It was really sweet to watch the characters’ friendship evolve over the course of the film. Because of these factors, it made it easy for me to root of Alice, Dave, and Tommy.

Historical accuracy: The Littlest Horse Thieves takes place in, I believe, the early 1900s. Every aspect of this movie reflected that particular time-period really well! The sets looked like the audience could step back in time, that this point in history was not too far away. Things like wardrobe, dialect, and even the artwork on the walls brought the early 1900s to life again. Even the issues surrounding mining and employee well-being seemed to come directly from that decade. What made the historical accuracy work in this film was the creative team’s attention to detail. It shows how much care was put into this project.

Not so perfect plans: In a lot of children’s/family-friendly films, the young protagonists’ plans always work out in their favor. This is not exactly the case for The Littlest Horse Thieves. I’m not going to spoil the movie in case you want to see it. But the children sometimes overlook important details relating to their plan to save the ponies. I liked how the protagonists’ efforts didn’t go according to plan. This made the characters and their situation seem realistic and relatable.

Pony Face near the Tree
Close-up of pony image created by Flatart at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background photo created by flatart – http://www.freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A drawn-out story: The Littlest Horse Thieves had a drawn-out story that seemed to last too long. The first half of the movie focused on the children finding out about the conflict and figuring out how to solve it. The act of rescuing/stealing the ponies didn’t happen until the film’s halfway point. It also only lasted for a few minutes. The second half of the movie shifted the focus from the children to the adults. The overall narrative talked about everything but the most exciting part of the movie.

The editing: During the first half of the film, I noticed how less-than-stellar the editing was. It made conversations feel cut-off and transitions between scenes less smooth. These two aspects made the overall flow of the film seem choppy.

The conflict between Dave and his stepdad: Within The Littlest Horse Thieves, there was a conflict between Dave and his stepdad. It’s not the conflict itself I didn’t like. How little time was devoted to it is my biggest issue. In the first half of the film, Dave and his stepdad dislike each other. While the stepdad’s reason is never explained, Dave feels his reasons can be justified. His dislike toward his stepdad also affects his younger brother, Tommy. After the ponies are rescued/stolen, Dave and Tommy’s stepdad automatically becomes supportive of the children and their cause. The aforementioned conflict was not fully explored and felt it was there for the sake of being there.

The Costume Drama Blogathon banner
The Costume Drama Blogathon poster created by Debbie from Moon in Gemini. Image found at https://debravega.wordpress.com/2019/07/14/announcing-the-costume-drama-blogathon/.

My overall impression:

Every studio has those films that don’t always get talked about. Disney is no exception to this. That’s why I try to go out of my way to address these films on my blog. Some of them are better than others. But you never know what’s in store until you give the film a chance. For this particular blogathon, I chose to watch The Littlest Horse Thieves with an open mind. Now that I have seen it, I can honestly say that it was just ok. It’s not one of the worst things that the studio has ever made. But it’s not one of Disney’s strongest efforts. In fact, I could see children, especially younger ones, becoming bored by this movie. However, people who like British and/or historical fiction films will probably like it. Its historical accuracy is pretty satisfying and there are moments that I found educational. I could tell that the creative team behind this film tried their best to make something worthwhile. But it wasn’t as impressive as it could have been.

Overall score: 6 out of 10

Have you seen The Littlest Horse Thieves? Which film from a major studio do think is underrated? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen