Secretariat

Last night I had a chance, thanks to BlogHer and Disney, to check out the newest Disney movie, Secretariat.

About a month ago, after bed time, Lou came to me and told me all about this movie she had seen a preview for on television.  She couldn't remember the name, but it was about a horse that won a lot of races.  I told her it sounded great and then sent her back to bed.  She is the queen of finding excuses to come talk to me after bed time.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I got an email from Disney Movie Rewards offering two tickets to the screening of Secretariat.  I thought it would be a fun date to take Lou La on, but by the time I responded all of the tickets in my area were taken.  A week later I received a similar email from BlogHer.  I jumped at the chance and was lucky enough to get four tickets to the screening.

Last night a good friend of mine and my two oldest kiddos headed out to the screening.

I am sure you know the story at least as well as I did.  A horse wins the triple crown.  I was excited to see the movie, but wasn't expecting much suspense.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Disney did a really great job of pulling you in and building anticipation, even though you knew what the end result.  During the races my son was sitting on the edge of his seat jiggling with excitement and Lou leaned over more than once to tell me "I know he is going to win, I saw the previews, but I am still nervous."

The actors were amazing.  What isn't to love about Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, and James Cromwell.   But my favorite part of the movie was the likability of each character.  There was conflict and suspense and competition without a character that you had to label as the villain.  Even Pancho Martin (Nestor Serrano) was too funny to completely dislike.

The characters made it more than a great movie about a great horse and elevated it above the the standard Disney message of following your dreams.  The story was about supporting and loving others people and just plain being a nice person!  When was the last time you watched a movie about someone being a nice person?  It was a nice change.

Walking out, my 9-year-old son said it was the best Disney movie he had ever seen.  I don't think you can get a better review of a family movie than that!