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Running Free
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Jean-Jacques Annaud (story)
Jeanne Rosenberg (also story)
Directed by: Sergei Bodrov
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 2, 2000
DVD: November 14, 2000
Running Time: 81 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: G for General Audiences
Starring Jan Decleir, Lukas Haas, Chase Moore, and Arie Verveen
The film reveals the story of how herds of wild horses came to Namibia's vast desert -- and what it says about humans in their relationship to animals.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Mongol
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Bodrov's staging and cutting does a perfectly good job conveying their anthropomorphized feelings and motives; the spoken drivel is just a distraction. The film's human characters are largely inconsequential.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
There's no spirit of adventure to separate this one from the pack.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
It's just too soon after those silly talking dinosaurs to put up with any movie about a talking horse.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Monica Eng
It's probably best to leave talking animal stories in the care of comedic filmmakers.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
It is aimed primarily at children, and its affectionate treatment of animals is certain to please most of them.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A stunner marred by its central figure, a colt named Lucky, having been voiced (by Lukas Haas). Piovani's score is lyrical and emotionally charged, and it goes a long way toward negating the effects of the voice-over narration we're asked to accept.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I seem to be developing a rule about talking animals: They can talk if they're cartoons or Muppets, but not if they're real.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
The majesty of the landscape and the sweetness of a plot strand about the horse learning survival skills from a 12-year-old girl might have been more intriguing without the cloying voice-over.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer
Awful narration almost ruins the ghostly, gorgeous Running Free.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Vacillates between cutesy Disney-style anthropomorphism and "Born Free" exoticism.
Read Full Review >Film.com Gemma Files
If you're looking for something child-appropriate that'll actually keep the little darlings awake for two hours straight, you'd do better...and cheaper...to just stay at home with the Discovery Channel.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ron Stringer
Let horses be horses, scrap the tin-eared Lukas Haas narration.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Hofler
A profoundly disappointing attempt to reinvigorate the animal movie genre with the classic ingredients of physical poetry and mythical storytelling.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
This may be the first talking-animal movie in which the critter hero seems to have been body-snatched by a commentator from C-SPAN.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Erin gave it a0:
Lukas Haas' narration is perhaps the most atrocious experience a moviegoer could ever hope to endure. A "must skip", unless you're into silent colour films. Anthropomorphic elements are irritating, and border on profoundly disturbing. Show to your children if you wish to stunt their development.
Orville gave it a0:
Narration is simply wretched.
Jessica B. gave it a 10:
It is the best horse movie i have ever seen. I love it.
Casey gave it a 10:
People don't know a good horse movie when they see one. This is better than Black Beauty! And it's aimed at adults too, not only children. A touching movie focused on a young Arabian colt named Lucky, born on a ship leaving Germany to arrive in Nambia, trying to surviving in a harsh desert town in 1914. His mother is a gorgeous grey Arabian mare that is murdered by the arrogant "thoroughbred" stallion Caesar (who is actually a Fresian.) Lucky must survive in the desert after the town is bombed and evacuated, and vows to return to the abandoned town to defeat Caesar and to take his daughter, Beauty (whom Lucky has a crush on), and the other horses to the magical lake in the mountains to live with him without fear of old Caesar. A very cute movie, and the best one I've seen out of all live action horse movies! 10+!
Laurie L. gave it a 10:
The critics were a bit unfair in judging this movie and giving it such a bad rating. Anyone who works with horses and can appreciate all the work that went into this movie and what a tear jerker it was. Chapeau to the producer and I think it was one of the best horse movies since "The Black Stallion." Saw the movie for the first time today and will certainly purchase it. Bravo, a definite 10.
