''Moondance Alexander'' is a 2007 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by Michael Damian and written by Janeen Damian, Juan Saenz and Martha Lopez. Shot on location in

Okotoks Okotoks ( , originally ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region, Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Downtown Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to t ...

, High River and

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the film is based on actual events from the life of Janeen Damian. It stars

Kay Panabaker Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and former actress. She is known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerland''. ...

and

Lori Loughlin Lori Anne Loughlin (; born July 28, 1964) is an American actress. From 1988 to 1995, she played List of Full House and Fuller House characters#Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC ...

, with

Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

and Sasha Cohen.

Plot

Moondance (Kay Panabaker) is faced with the difficulties of her father's passing and her overprotective mother (Lori Loughlin). When she finds a lost pinto horse and discovers his jumping abilities, she convinces his owner Dante Longpre (Don Johnson) to train them to compete in a jumping show. There Moondance faces her enemy Fiona Hughes (Sasha Cohen) and her fancy horse Monte Carlo. When they do a surprisingly good job at the show, Dante isn't questioned anymore about his ability to train riders and horses. Everybody is shocked when Moondance ties Fiona, the reigning Bow River Classic champion.

Cast

as Moondance Alexander *

as Dante Longpre *

as Gelsey Alexander * James Best as Mr. McClancy * Sasha Cohen as Fiona Hughes * Whitney Sloan as Megan Montgomery * Joe Norman Shaw as Ben Wilson * Aedan Tomney as Josh Wilson * Mimi Gianopulos as Bella * Landon Liboiron as Freddie

Behind the scenes

''Moondance Alexander'' was not well received by ''HorseChannel.com'' for storyline believability reasons. However, the story is closely based upon Janeen Damian's childhood experience of befriending a horse that she had found, receiving help from a trainer, and entering the horse in the Memphis Classic. ''Moondance Alexander'' is a true family film, written by Janeen Damian and husband Michael Damian (born Michael Damian Weir), Damian, a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

winner, was also the producer of the film. Much of the music was written by Damian's brother, music producer and '' New Music Weekly'' editor, Larry Weir.

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winning

Tom Weir Thomas Weir Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (29 December 1914 – 6 July 2006) was a Scottish climber, author and broadcaster. He was best known for his long-running television series ''Weir's Way''. Early life a ...

was the mixing engineer at Studio City Sound. Checkers the horse was played by three horses, a horse for tricks, a horse for jumping and a horse for

to ride. Michael Damian recalled two of the horses names as Picasso and Trigger. The third horse's name is Spook.Ending credits of the movie names all three horses. ''Moondance Alexander'' received a U.S. General Audiences rating and was filmed in

Alberta, Canada Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. , + , - , 2007 , ''Best Picture'' , Dixie Film Festival , , - , 2007 , ''Best Actress'' (

) , Dixie Film Festival ,

Soundtrack

The ''Moondance Alexander Original Soundtrack'' was the second soundtrack released under the Caption Records label.

Featured vocalists

* Mimi Gianopulos * Lea Herman * Tessa Ludwick * Buck McCoy * Monét Monico * Sara Niemietz * Ian Walsh * Laura Wight * Heather Youmans

Musicians

* Bernie Barlow, Vocals * Paul Bushnel, Bass * Michael Chaves, Guitar * Jorge Costa, Vocals (Background) * Michael Damian, Percussion, Vocals (Background) * Milo Decruz Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer * Burleigh Drummond, Percussion * Blake Ewing, Vocals (Background) * Josh Freese, Drums * Joshua Grange, Guitar * Lea Herman, Keyboards, Vocals (Background) * Matt Laug, Drums * Lance Morrison, Bass * Ginger Murphy, Cello * Leah Nelson, Viola * Michael Parnell, Keyboards * Tim Pierce, Guitar * Cam Tyler, Drums * Ian Walsh, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (Background) * Kevin Walsh, Guitar * Larry Weir, Percussion, Vocals (Background)

Personnel

* Jorge Costa, Audio Engineer, Engineer * James Gaynor, Audio Engineer * Josh Mosser, Audio Engineer * Luke Tozour, Audio Engineer, Engineer * Tom Weir, Audio Engineer, Engineer

References

External links

Moondance Alexander
on Facebook * * * {{Michael Damian 2007 films 2007 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films about horses Films set in Colorado American films based on actual events Films directed by Michael Damian Albums produced by Larry Weir Sara Niemietz songs 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language comedy-drama films