Sadly Over-hyped

A Major Disappointment

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I first watched this movie, when i was a little kid, maybe fourth grade or earlier, before i saw this film i thought horses were boring and girly, after watching this movie, i begged my parents to buy a horse! The movie is a little slow, especially for those with low attention spans, and when i first hear Alan cumming ( Floop from spy kids) narrating for the horse, i cringe every time, but it starts to grow on me with his kind demeanor and pleasant description of things. The movie starts with the horse being born and growing up on Sean bean's farm, when hes old enough, Sean bean begins to ride him, the horse starts galloping, faster and faster, and by this point i was honestly expecting Sean bean to fall off and die, but the scene completely takes your breath away as it shows all the wonder and beauty of nature. The horse is then sold to some rich people who own other horses, and he becomes friends with a stable boy named Joe, along with a miniature named merry legs, and one named ginger. however the happy times end after that, when beauty is sold to multiple owners some bad and some good. one of the good owners is a cabby played by Ares from wonder woman 2017; minus the mustache. while in the cobble stoned street city, you feel transported to that time era and you feel attached to the people while there. however this movie's main driving force is tragedy, beauty is sold again and he learns his old friends are dead. After years of hardship, the once beautiful horse is beaten and broken, and is being sold again, however this time he sees a older Joe and tries to gain his attention, in this moment, my entire family and I always scream at Joe to look back and notice Beauty, of course he does and the old friends are reunited, this moment is so emotional, that i have to really try to hold back the manly tears, beauty is then freed from his life of constant hardship, and is now free to spend his days living peacefully in a green pasture, dreaming about being with his old friends. i have to admit, i'm not really much of a animal person, but it is movies like these that i feel so sorry for animals living in pain and abuse, this movie really knows how to pull the right heart strings, and is still one of my personal favorite animal movies, i would say this comes right after war horse and charlie the lonesome cougar. However the movie isn't perfect, it is slow in some places, the editing and story line is very choppy, and i don't get really invested until beauty is living in hardship. i always like to compare this movie and 12 years a slave because both main characters are both......nice guys! Both start out their stories accustomed to a peaceful, good life, but are then thrown into a abusive and tragic existence. But when both are rescued by an old friend and pulled out of their painful circumstances, you truly feel the freedom, that they have deserved for so long. Great movie, and I recommend anyone to watch it.

I loved the movie! I'm a big horse lover. A very good movie for anyone that likes horses. It was a very nice story told from the horses point of view. The music and the scenery were both beautiful. This is a movie for all ages that captivates the young and the old. If this movie was made in Hollywood they would some how find a way to ruin it but instead was made in England. The English always seem to make nice movies like this without over doing it. The movie as one would expect does not have a lot of action sequences to it. Instead the movie relies on good story telling supported with excellent acting. The scenes with the English county side are beautiful. I would watch again and recommend it to all.

'Black Beauty' is such a brilliant film, and when I asked my friend if he had seen it, and he said no because it was a 'horsey' movie and they were always the exact same. I was actually quite angered at this statement, Black beauty is a different film all together. The film comparison with the book, was quite clear, while the story line was there, some of the message, that the author 'Anna Sewell' wrote the novel for, was lost in the film. The author originally wrote the book, to make people aware of the brutality and cruelty that was thrust upon horses in those days. Though the director (Caroline Thompson)demonstrated the message, through the bearing reins, whipping and jumps racing (where they raced ginger before she was fit). In the novel there are many events where they come along a horse and rider, who is being cruel, and help the horse. In the film there is no mention of that. Although all in all, it was a great film, and the voice-over of 'Alan Cumming' suited the film the butter to bread, it was his smooth real voice that you would believe, was the very voice inside Beauty's head. The characters well fitted there description in the novel, although what was lost was the story of ginger when she was younger, and how she was treated so badly. As well as the story of the old war horse 'Captain'.The film toys with your emotions and does bring a tear to your eye. twas the first film that actually made me cry, one of the favorites and ALWAYS will be.

I had read the reviews for this story of one of the most famous fictional horses in literacy, and this film adaptation is the only one so far that has a decent star rating (all others are two, this is three), from director Caroline Thompson (scriptwriter of Edward Scissorhands). Anyway, basically Black Beauty (voiced by Alan Cumming) tells his own stories of all his mini adventures, being given to many different masters, making many friends, doing many services for them, and ultimately his "circle of life" over many years. His mini adventures include being born, learning to stand and run, his name given, given hooves, being sold to new masters, a fire, falling in love, becoming sick, riding people, and much more. Starring Sean Bean as Farmer Grey, Dragonheart's David Thewlis as Jerry Barker, Jim Carter as John Manly, Peter Davison as Squire Gordon, Alun Armstrong as Reuben Smith, John McEnery as Mr. York, Eleanor Bron as Lady Wexmire and Peter Cook as Lord Wexmire. Kids, especially young girls, will adore this film, and there is some interest for the older viewers as well in this heartwarming drama. Worth watching!