Black Beauty

Originally a novel from 1877, Black Beauty is a classic horse film made in 1994. Black Beauty tells the story of a horse born on a English farm and his journey through life from leaving the farm. The film is narrated from a horses point voiced by Alan Cumming.

1) The full title of Black Beauty is actually `Black Beauty, his grooms and companions; the autobiography of a horse` a bit of a mouthful, you can see why it has been shortened over the years.

Below you can watch the trailer of Black Beauty. 2)Black Beauty was written by Anna Sewell, she wasn`t published until she was 57 years of age, she began writting Black Beauty when she was 51 and this was her first and only published book. Anna did have experience writing her mother was an author and she would often help her edit her books. 3) Black Beauty was believed to be based on a spirited horse owned by Anna Sewell`s family named Bess. 4) Black Beauty has made millions over the years but Anna received just a single payment of £20 for the rights of the book, sold to Jarrold and Sons in 1877. 5) Five months after the release of Black Beauty Anna Sewell died of hepatitis in April 1878. 6) Because of her early death of Anna Sewell, a signed copy of Black Beauty will set you back over £10,000, in 2015 a signed copy made £11,875 ($18,133) at a Christie’s auction. In 2006 a copy she signed for her mother sold for £33,000 ($50,693). 7) Although loved by children for over 100 years Black Beauty was intended not to amuse children but to make adults consider how they treat horses, who at the time were often used as work horses and transportation. 8) The book did help improve life of the horses at the time, after the release of the book the use of a bearing rein was stopped for most cart horses. 9) Black Beauty is one of the best selling books of all time, selling more than 50,000,000 copies and it has been translated into 50 languages. 10) Black Beauty has been adapted to the movie / tv screen on 6 occasions 1917, 1921, 1946, 1971, 1987, and 1994, there was also a Black Beauty TV series that ran from 1972-4.

Black Beauty 1971 Trailer

Disney To Remake Black Beauty

Disney is on the search for new content for its Disney plus platform, and the latest news is the plan for a remake of the 19th century classic Black Beauty. This is not the first time Disney has made an adaptation of Black Beauty in 1966 they released an LP version of the story for the radio.

The new Disney version of the story will star Mackenzie Foy, Kate Winslet(the voice of Black Beauty), Claire Forlani, Iain Glen and Fern Deacon. The film is being shot in South Africa. Black Beauty is a smart acquisition for Disney plus and will introduce the story to millions of youngsters from all around the world.

Below you can watch the opening title`s from the 1990`s New Adventures of Black Beauty, along with the iconic theme tune!