Director John Gatins' new family drama about a race horse, "Dreamer," took me back to an unhappy incident with a snake. A cinematic snake actually (one reason it came to mind) I encountered years ago in the movie "The Black Stallion" another race horse drama (and the other reason to remember it).

I was watching the movie with my children when the shipwrecked young hero was suddenly threatened by a cobra. Instantly my parental instincts were in full play and, fearing this might prove to be too traumatic a scene for my very young daughter, I leaned over to her and said "Look, there's nice Mr. Snake!" Just then the Black Stallion sprang into frame and stomped the snake to smithereens. It was a long time before my four year old daughter stopped holding me personally responsible for Mr. Snake's short-lived acting career.

The point is that G rated movies, like parents, often lose their balance when it comes to protecting the innocence of their young charges, and sometimes dramatic energy, like Mr. Snake, is the unhappy casualty. This is the thought that needled me as I left the theater at the end of "Dreamer".

"Dreamer" is a perfectly agreeable movie about Cale Crane (Dakota Fanning), a young girl, and the race horse she loves. Her father Ben (Kurt Russell), against better judgment and advice, saves the mare from euthanasia when it breaks its leg at the track. He brings it back to his failing farm and attempts an against-the-odds recovery to save it for a brood mare.

"Dreamer" has all the archetypical elements of the great horse movies: The bond between horse and child, the down-on-his luck trainer, the big race where the underdog faces down the fat-cat racing bosses. The Black Stallion, National Velvet, and Sea Biscuit, have all trod this ground before. And the wonderful thing about the kids-and-horses genre is that we are more than willing to take that journey one more time.

Moreover "Dreamer" boasts an excellent cast. The inspired pairing of Kurt Russell and Kris Kristofferson as Cale's feuding father and grandfather is a minor piece of movie magic. And what more can be said about Dakota Fanning except that she is, hands down, the most talented child actor in film today.

The problem with "Dreamer" is that the pieces are there but the juice is not.

When the movie comes up against a moment of crisis - and to its credit there are many - it slips on by like it was maneuvering past a speed bump. Director John Gatins seems to be viscerally opposed to dwelling on moments of danger and uncertainty that are the life blood of melodrama. After Cale's father bets the family farm on saving the mare he finds out that she is infertile. There will be no money foal to save his family from ruin. Rather than following this dark thread to up the stakes over what will follow, the plot jumps quickly - almost matter-of-factly - to "Oh well, we'll just have to race her." Maybe this saves small children from witnessing the scary realities of the adult world but it also robs them of a reason to care.

It's left up to the big race to bring some electricity to the movie and, let's be honest here, who can resist getting pumped up over a horse race? Even when you know the outcome, horse racing delivers a heart-pounding three minutes of drama.

It's safe to say the no snakes were harmed in the making of this charming but slightly tepid movie. But I can't help thinking-and Mr. Snake, forgive me for saying this-it might not have been a bad thing if one had.

Bruce Bulloch can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com