As the face-plate reviewer has noted, children are rarely exposed to conflicts where the lines are not drawn in black and white. This Australian tale that touches on class differences, poverty and rural life ways in NSW in the early part of the 20th century has all the makings of a classic. The principle protagonist, Scottie Pirie, is as wild and untamed as the Welsh pony, Taffy, he acquires only to lose to the strong-willed little rich girl, Josie Ellison, who suffers from a crippling bout of polio and is confined to a wheel chair. When the pony runs away from Scott and rejoins his herd, he is picked out by Josie for his stink individual qualities to be trained to pull a dog cart. The eventual discovery of the pony by Scottie and the confrontation leads to a division of the rural community along class lines which is mitigated by the town's class-conscious Lawyer, Mr. Quayle, played by veteran Australian character actor, John Meillon, whom most of us remember as Crocodile Dundee's sidekick. This is a delightful family film that should be required viewing by all kids. I remember taking my son to see it in the theater the year it came out and I recently bought it on VHS for my wife. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it, relived my pleasure when I saw it again on TV and loved it when I watched it last night at home.
