- “A wise horse once told me that a mustang's spirit can never be broken that it has the strength of the ocean and lives forever like the wind. Over the course of my life, my spirit has been tested a thousand times until I discovered a secret that saved me.”
- ―Black Beauty[src]
Black Beauty is the protagonist of the 2020 Disney+ original film of the same name. Born in the wilderness of Utah, Beauty is a wild mustang who lived with her mother Duchess before she was taken from her family where she faced several other challenges throughout her life. She was brought to Birtwick Stables, where she struggled to adapt her life when she was in the wild in these situations where she met two fellow horses - Ginger and Merrylegs and a teenage girl named Jo Green. During her life after Birtwick closed down, Beauty faced several challenges with many people as she attempted to adjust her life with domestic horses, and despite this, she put her courage in these situations, even though she was separated from her mother, especially when it came to her goal in reuniting with Jo after not seeing her for years.
Black Beauty is based on the titular main protagonist from the titular Anna Sewell novel.
Background[]
Black Beauty is a wild mustang who was born free from the Onaqui Mountains of Utah. As she adapted her life, she experienced a tough challenge the other horses had to face - such as the case of rustlers and other animals competing for food in the mustangs' territory as well as various challenges she faced throughout her life such as harsh treatments, changing seasons, and various other sorts of adaptability. Over life, she was able to overcome the challenges she had, especially when she thinks about happy thoughts such as her life with Jo Green as well as adjusting to very tough situations. Throughout her life, she often narrates of a saying when a wise horse told her that a mustang's spirit can never be broken, showing that a true mustang never gives up on its hope and love to Beauty's determination, especially during her bond with Jo.
Role in the film[]
At a young age, Black Beauty was born on a meadow of soft wild flowers to an adult female mustang named "Duchess" who showed her daughter her home - a grassland full of wild mustangs. At this age, she became strong, fast, and fearless in order to show her confidence to the herd of horses. Soon as she became older, her mother told her that her mustang spirit was the one who always guiding her to know the difference between right or wrong, knowing that she must be gentle and kind especially with the other horses as what her mother told her. As Beauty grew older, she noticed various other animals arriving at the mustangs' territory consisting of cattle and sheep. Being bound to follow the rules of not leaving the mountains, Beauty instead broke the rules when she was trying to find out the person who brought cattle and sheep to graze onto the land, which put her family in danger. That night, Beauty's mother told a story about what happens when a horse completes its journey of life, explaining to her daughter that as she grows older, she would not always be here to worry, because she told Beauty that there would come a time where a horse would complete its journey of life, and when her mother died, her spirit would always watch over her daughter.
After her mother died, Black Beauty faced another challenge throughout her life: a group of rustlers whom she led to the mustang' territory by mistake, resulting her to be captured by a group of rustlers, which Beauty finds out that humans are a mustang's enemies, resulting her to be captured and placed onto a corral, followed by several other horses placed into fences. Black Beauty then recaps that her mother died during a stampede, claiming that it was all her fault. Following her mother's death, Black Beauty got her feelings hurt and grew angry about her mother's death just as Beauty lives in her pen feeling mistreated. Suddenly, a horse trainer named "John Manly" arrives and approaches Beauty who is mistreated for being forced to train like the other horses in the corral, leading John to send her to a better place where she could be treated better. As Manly rescues her, Black Beauty narrates that the man had an empathy in her, happy that she is one of the few horses to be luckily rescued. As John drives for days, he relocated Beauty to the Birtwick Stables just as she adapts her life in the stables.
That night at Birtwick, Beauty narrates that she missed her family, the other horses in the stables were stranger, but ended up feeling comfortable in this place. The next day, Beauty approaches John, which Beauty thought she could not understand him, still feeling uncomfortable in her pen and as she has a hard time adapting her life, she encounters two neighboring horses, Ginger and Merrylegs, who became friends with them, just as Beauty feels comfortable that she has other horses accompanying her in her enclosure. One rainy night when a girl named Jo Green arrived at the stables, she started to know that her parents died in a car accident. Seeing her sadness, Beauty realizes that Jo's spirit was broken as well. The next day, John Manly approaches his niece, telling her that Black Beauty was taken from her family to be forced to be trained in a corral, making Beauty's life miserable during her life.
Later, as the days pass, Black Beauty approaches Jo who understands that she lost her family, sharing the similar problems with each other. Some time later, Jo starts a bond with Beauty, and upon seeing the horse's appearance, Jo named her "Black Beauty", which Beauty narrates that she found a human who would understand her. However, that night, Beauty notices that Jo and her uncle are having a disagreement, which Beauty was unable to sleep at night as she felt worried of her, just as she continues to grieve about her family just as she continued to stay until sunrise. The next day, Jo, who was grounded, approaches Black Beauty who tells her that the stables are the only safe place where she could live. Just as Jo attempts to grab a strap, she realizes that wild mustangs like her are not comfortable having a strap around their neck. Later when Jo realizes that Henry Gordon is a mean person who would send Beauty to somewhere else if she does not get tamed, despite Beauty being a wild mustang, Jo convinces Beauty to accept her trust in wearing a strap around her, telling her that it would not hurt her. Beauty started to calm down when she begins trusting Jo. Following this, Beauty continues to adapt her life in the stables, feeling comfortable of the strap which she placed while Jo tells her that according to her uncle, he told her that she is safe afterwards.
Over the days, Black Beauty went over a montage of training in the stables being raised by Jo Green and John Manly; however, as John plans to sell her, he explains to his niece that he doesn't own the stables, as the conservancy part is to train and adopt a few mustangs a year and not to keep them. During a bond between her and Jo, the latter grieves over her family while Beauty narrates that she hated seeing Jo upset but since Jo was unable to gallop, she decided to give Jo a ride across the stable. Upon riding on Beauty, she began to trust Jo which the other workers at the ranch noticed Jo riding on her which Beauty and Jo learned to ride together. Throughout a riding montage, Beauty narrates that she had a good bond with a human throughout her life, finding her peace between people and horses. As the summer ended, more horses were brought to the stable, which reminded Beauty of her mother and became comfortable of John riding on her, despite being heavy for Beauty. However, one night, a fire broke into the stables, causing Beauty and the other horses to be trapped by a massive fire. This brought Jo to rescue Beauty, Ginger, and Merrylegs to be escorted out of the stables. Having rescued Beauty from the fire, she and Jo manage to escape from the burning stables, resulting the area to be closed for maintenance.
With the horses saved, Jo tried to convince Henry Gordon to not sell the trained horses (including Beauty), which he denies, telling her that there is not enough room for all the horses, due to the building damaged by the fire caused by a heater left on by a distracted worker. During a discussion, Gordon tells Jo that there is a chance that he might lease Beauty to free up space if anybody wants her, leading Jo to make a deal with Gordon. When the Winthorps arrive, Manly tells the three that Beauty is not for sale but for lease, telling them that his niece Jo is very kind to the mustang. Beauty then narrates of how she encountered people during her life at Birtwick, lucky to come with Ginger just as the transport truck arrives at Earlshall Park where Beauty encountered something she is not used to in the horse stable there. She then narrates that Ginger was purchased for George Winthorp and during her life, Beauty narrates that Georgina is not taking care of her properly as the way Georgina treats Beauty made the horse very angry for Georgina's cruel treatment to the horse, making Beauty uncomfortable about the treatment, resulting injuries to her. Beauty then narrates that she prefers to be cared by Jo more than Georgina, because the latter injured the horse in the stable.
Noticing the injuries on Beauty, Jo alerted George Winthorp about the injuries Georgina caused, which George tells her that Beauty needs care of Georgina just before having a conversation with George. The next day during a race at a social gathering, Georgina began riding on Beauty in a poor way by putting enough pressure and stress onto the horse, resulting her to become injured, despite Beauty feeling determined to win the race against the other horses. Following this, Beauty recovered from her injuries, but it was almost time to go home; John later gave Jo the bad news about the Birtwick Stables closing down, resulting the animals to be sold as Jo plans to save enough money to save Black Beauty before something terrible happens. Beauty began to cry when she was taken away via trailer to be sold to a ranger named Terry at the Town & County Stud and Training Horse Farm, which made Black Beauty more angry than before although Terry seemed to like her, despite trying to adapt her life in the new pen.
Beauty then narrates Terry brought her to help him search for people lost on the mountains, reminding her of the time when she spent her life in nature before she was captured. Throughout her life in nature, Beauty had to be courageous and bolted before, spending two years in the mountains with Terry in doing many brave rescues within the change in learning new lessons in being selfless, albeit she and Terry risked their lives with people they never met just as Beauty hopes for Jo to come back. During a rain storm on a river, Terry became determined to save the man who was caught in a storm, alongside Beauty as the storm began to become stronger. However, when Beauty noticed Terry and the hostage caught within the storm, she puts her confidence in herself to rescue them from falling off a waterfall. Following this, Terry brings the victim to the hospital while Black Beauty is congratulated for being a heroic horse. During Beauty's new life, she began to feel cold without a blanket in her stable.
The next day, Terry decides to retire Black Beauty who is in the risk of dying and when Beauty remembered the happy moments she had with Jo, she suddenly began to survive. After Terry retired Beauty, she was sold to another carriage company where a farmer who promised Terry he would take good care of Beauty lied to the ranger, due to the farmer's cruel treatment to not only Beauty but to the other horses as well. Throughout her life, Beauty continued to cry in a plan for her to search Jo, but there was no sign of her. Almost seven years since Black Beauty last saw Jo, she was brought to a new stall where she would be free from the farmer who mistreated her. Later when a carriage driver named Jerry began to use Beauty for transportation across a park, she continues to narrate that she began to look for Jo everywhere but could not find a sign for her. As she looked for Jo, she encounters Ginger who was sold without George's knowledge during winter; however, Ginger suddenly dies shortly, which even broke Beauty's heart once more.
During winter, Jerry becomes sick, leading him to become unavailable to use Beauty for transportation. Beauty began to narrate that she is sold to an illegal carriage company that mistreats horses and during her life, Beauty saw Ginger's dead body and felt heartbroken that she lost a fellow horse that accompanied her throughout her life. Back at the Midtown Stables, a stable boy named "Manuel" began to understand Beauty's feelings and the company's illegal activities they are doing to the horses, planning to report to the police about the illegal activity of horses.
With the workers for the illegal company arrested for cruel treatment to the horses, Jo finally reunites with Black Beauty after years apart, making it one of the happiest days of Black Beauty's life. With Beauty rescued, George Winthorp praises Jo for saving her. With Beauty saved, she returns to Birtwick Stables and sees her friend Merrylegs (who was also recovered back to health) who started a new family in the newly-rebuilt Birtwick Stables with Beauty reunited as Jo now works with George (who is now Jo's husband) and John. Beauty then narrates that she started feeling proud of Jo of who she had become, thanks to her kind treatment to Beauty as Black Beauty continues to spend her happy life of where she was meant to be. During the epilogue, Beauty narrates that a wise horse told her that a mustang's spirit can never be broken, which she continues narrating that a true mustang never gives up on hope and love.
Differences from source material[]
- Black Beauty is portrayed as a mare (female horse) in this film, unlike in the original novel where said character is a stallion (a male horse)
- In the novel, Black Beauty was born on a farm and has always been with humans while in the film, Black Beauty was born as a wild horse and later gets captured.
- At the end of the film, Black Beauty was brought to Birtwick where she lives with the rest of her life with Jo Green. In the novel, Beauty was sold to three kind women and reunites with Joe who works at their property.
Trivia[]
- Black Beauty was portrayed by at least four different named horses: Spirit, Jenny, Awards, and Rosie.
- Ironically, a real-life horse named "Black Beauty" (in reference to the literary character of the same name) was used to portray the 2020 film incarnation of said character as a foal.
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