Courage Mountain (1990)
Young audiences will enjoy this continuation of the Heidi saga. The story follows Heidi as she leaves her beloved grandfather and Swiss farm and enrolls in a girl's boarding school in northern Italy just prior to World War I. Heidi has a difficult time adapting to the sophisticated ways of her classmates, but a kindly headmistress makes her feel welcome. With the outbreak of war, the militia confiscates the school and the girls are ordered to take up residence in a deplorable orphanage. When Heidi realizes they are virtual prisoners of the owner (a villain straight out of a Dickens novel), she decides to escape with some of the girls to Switzerland. The girls must travel through battle zones and over the Alps with the orphanage owner in relentless pursuit.
Animal Action
Filmed in France, Austria and Italy, Courage Mountain is a treat for the eyes. Farm animals are seen and the girls encounter some sewer rats as they escape from the orphanage. There are carriage horses and soldiers on horseback. A soldier and his horse fall, but it is obviously performed by a trained horse.
