'Black Beauty': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about the modern Disney+ adaptation
Anna Sewell’s timeless classic ‘Black Beauty’ is a book many of us have read and reread and loved. What's more, the story about the eponymous horse has been adapted for films on several occasions, including in 1994, 1987, 1978, 1971, 1946, 1921. The story has also been adapted into television series and has even been performed on stage. Now, we are all set to see another adaptation of ‘Black Beauty’ that promises to be a contemporary reimagining of the tale.
Release date
‘Black Beauty’ will be released on Disney+ on November 27.
Plot
As per Disney+, this modern-day reimagining of Sewell’s classic follows Black Beauty, a wild horse born free in the American West. Rounded up and taken away from her family, Black Beauty is brought to Birtwick Stables where she meets a spirited teenage girl, Jo Green. Beauty and Jo forge an unbreakable bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges, and adventures of her life.
Cast
Mackenzie Foy as Jo Green
The 20-year-old American actress and model is best known for portraying Renesmee Cullen in ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’, young Murphy in ‘Interstellar’, and Clara in Disney's ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’. Her other films include ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Little Prince’, and ‘Ernest & Celestine’.
Kate Winslet as Black Beauty
The 44-year-old British actor needs hardly any introduction. Winslet, who received global fame for her performance as Rose DeWitt Bukater in ‘Titanic’, has made a niche for herself in period dramas, playing nuanced characters. Some of her most noted roles include ‘Finding Neverland’, ‘Little Children’, ‘Revolutionary Road’, ‘The Reader’, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, and more. Winslet is the recipient of various accolades, including the British Academy Film Awards, the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and even Grammy Awards.
Iain Glen as John Manly
The 59-year-old Scottish actor is best known for playing Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series ‘Game of Thrones’. His other notable roles include playing Dr. Alexander Isaacs in the ‘Resident Evil’ film series, John Hanning Speke in ‘Mountains of the Moon’, Sir Richard Carlisle in ‘Downton Abbey’, and Bruce Wayne/Batman in the DC Universe series ‘Titans’.
Creators
‘Black Beauty’ is directed by Ashley Avis of ‘Adolescence’ fame. Avis also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film has been produced by Constantin Film and JB Pictures. Jeremy Bolt (of ‘Polar’ and ‘Monster Hunter’ fame) and Robert Kulzer are producers. Martin Moszkowicz, Edward Winters, and Jon Brown serve as executive producers. Dylan Tarason is a co-producer, and Moonlighting Films president Genevieve Hofmeyr is the South African producer.
Trailer
The trailer for ‘Black Beauty’ seems to indicate that the film and Sewell’s story bear little resemblance, save few iconic moments. Curiously enough, the trailer does not give us the horse’s voice, something that defines the classic tale. After all, in the book, the story is narrated in the first person as an autobiographical memoir by Black Beauty. The book’s story is about the horse’s life going from carefree days to immense hardship to happiness once again.
The trailer makes it look more like the story of Jo, the teenage girl who owns Black Beauty for a while before they are tragically separated. Knowing Disney films, they are sure to be united once again. But all the same, it feels like her story more than the Black Beauty's.
If you like ‘Black Beauty’, you will also like
‘Secretariat’, ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’, ‘Seabiscuit’, ‘The Young Black Stallion’, and ‘Dreamer’.
