Get a First Look at ‘Black Beauty’ Coming Next Month To Disney+
A few days ago, we here at MickeyBlog shared details on the awesome programs coming to Disney+ next month. Chief among them is Disney’s version of Black Beauty. The live-action film will introduce a whole new generation to this story about a horse’s unbreakable bond with a girl.
Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with Ashley Avis, the director of the film to talk about its premiere on Disney+ on November 27th. We’re excited to pass on some of these awesome insights to you!
Avis recalls the impact that Anna Sewell’s book had on her as a child saying, “Like so many people, it really impacted me. I just wanted to be part of the world of horses.” She adds, “I grew up on this book, and it very much influenced my entire life and the way everything has panned out with my love of horses.”
In an awesome bit of casting, Kate Winslet will be playing the role of the stunning Black Mare! In Avis’ version of the film, the action takes place in the American West where she meets a spirited teenager played by Mackenzie Foy! There’s actually a fantastic full-circle story about Avis casting Winslet in the role. She recalls her dad telling her a story about Kate getting the role of Rose in Titanic, my dad told me at a very young age, he goes, “Kate sent a letter to beg for the role of Rose. And it was through her gumption and talent and elegance that she was able to get what she wanted.” Since I was a little kid, I’ve clung to that. That’s actually the reason that, as a director, I always write letters to actors that we’re approaching for our projects.”
When asked what the inspiration was behind wanting to update the film for modern audiences Avis said, “I read Beauty and just became a horse crazy kid, like many other women do. [Laughs] The Black Stallion was another seminal novel for me. I asked my mom if I could take riding lessons and I competed until I went to college, [then] my life went a different direction. I wanted to go to the Olympics when I was younger, but that wasn’t the way fate was directing me at the time. About a decade passed before horses reentered my life, and the way this happened was really interestingly serendipitous”
Years later, Avis met producer Jeremy Bolt and pitched the idea to which Bolt said, “Well, that’s interesting you say that, because my partner and I have wanted to remake Black Beauty for 10 years.” The only things they knew that they wanted to do [were] they wanted to modernize the story and they wanted Beauty to be female. And then they left it up to me.”
When asked why she choice a contemporary western setting Avis said, “The biggest challenge I had was figuring out origin story for Beauty, because there’s not really a direct parallel to Beauty being a carthorse in London in the late 1800s. So, I went back to research why Anna Sewell had written the novel in the first place.” She continues “In that day and age, people didn’t really understand horses or animals the way we do now, as empathetic creatures that are highly intelligent and can understand the emotions that we can.
Avis’ reminds us that Sewell wrote Black Beauty for grooms and stable boys and others working with horses to help them take a deeper look at these amazing creatures. Changing the origin of the story and making Black Beauty a wild horse plays on those same intention of understanding how truly remarkable these animals are.
Apart from the setting, another big difference in the Disney remake of the film is that both the horse and Jo are gender-swapped in the film. Avis said of her decision to make both roles female, “As a writer that has always identified with strong female characters, I thought that it was very timely — as did Jeremy Bolts — to have Jo be female.”