Disney+ Review - Black Beauty (2020)

The inevitable pull of Disney+ has been astronomical so far, mainly due to the lure of the complete works of Marvel, Star Wars, animated classics, and, of course, The Simpsons from the very beginning (although, if you want our advice, skip to Season 3 and go from there, but we digress). However, like with Netflix and Amazon Prime before it, Disney’s original content has yet to capture hearts and minds alike, having to find its footing despite all its obvious talents for such things: Lady and the Tramp didn’t quite re-create the original’s magic, while films like Togo, Magic Camp and Secret Society of Second-Born Royals failed to make a big impact.

Now, outside of Soul and Mulan which were due for theatrical runs, there are two new films for the festive season for families to enjoy with a reimaging of Black Beauty first up that, whilst not quite bringing all of Anna Sewell’s literary brilliance to screen, is both charming and touching and performs a decent enough job of updating it for modern audiences.

Set amongst the picturesque and lush surroundings of New York’s countryside, Beauty (narrated/voiced by Kate Winslet), is taken away from her family and herded off to different places before being put under the tutelage of a famed horse whisperer (Iain Glen) at Birtwick Stables. Still untrusting of humans and angry at her imposed isolation, Beauty soon meets Jo (Mackenzie Davis), herself struggling with her own anger and sadness after the death of her parents, and the two, whilst getting off on the wrong foot, soon find a bond together.

Switching things from the original text, writer/director Ashley Avis deviates into the present to tackle some of the larger problems with modern-day animal and horse ownership issues, whether those surrounding the wealthy and their obsessions with equestrianism and its culture; to the animal cruelty that plagues the world right now. It’s all the more pertinent now given how 2020 has panned out, as is the continued changing of environments for horses during their life spans, never able to settle with everything feeling foreign.

They’re quite heavy subject matters for a family film, but Avis’ delicacy with the story and her direction allows for education rather than shocks. What is always difficult to get away from is the melodramatics of the piece, even in its original context, and while Avis does a good job at handling everything, those elements are always intertwined with the narrative and, at times, threaten to derail what is a lovely, timely and thoughtful film.