Disney+ is giving us a contemporary, reimagined version of the iconic classic Black Beauty, and it’s definitely a must-watch with your families this holiday season.
To celebrate its big premiere, the streaming platform, along with star Mackenzie Foy and director Ashley Avis, headed up to the Fair Hills Farms in Topanga, California last Friday (November 20) for a socially-distanced event where Foy and Avis shared their favorite behind the scenes moments from production and posed with Avis’ very own horse, Ghost, after his Liberty Training session with top horse trainer Damian Pichardo.
Check out some of the highlights from the conversation below:
Celeb Secrets was one of the few media outlets on the ground to participate in an intimate Q&A session, followed by a sensational Liberty horse training session with Foy’s own horse “Ghost” that emphasized the importance of the trust communication and bond formed between the actors and horses during filming.
Upon arrival of the picturesque farm, we were greeted with temperature checks and given assorted Disney’s Black Beauty “swag” before being seated on hay barrels for a front row seat to the conversation between Foy and Avis. After the Q&A, we were treated to a demonstration of the “bond forming” and Foy volunteered to train with “Ghost” for the first time. After a short session, we were stunned to see Ghost following Foy’s lead. Ghost stole the show, then posed for photos, alongside Foy, for the press.
View this post on Instagram
Black Beauty is a timeless reimagining of Anna Sewell’s classic novel following the life of Black Beauty— a wild horse born free in the American West. Beauty’s world is turned upside down when she and her family are cruelly rounded up and taken away from their home, Beauty is sent to live in a dusty corral which she fears she may never escape.
Beauty’s fortunes are destined to turn, however. When the quiet, gentle horse whisperer John Manly arrives from New York to adopt a mustang, he notices Beauty’s fiery spirit. Adopting her for his training program at Birtwick Stables, John is unsure if Beauty can ever be tamed. She is heartbroken and angry over the loss of all she’s ever known, and does not trust the presence of humans.
Soon, John’s world is upended when his niece, seventeen-year-old Jo Green, shows up on his doorstep. Similar to Beauty, Jo has just lost her parents, and her spirit is close to breaking.It is through the profound connection between Beauty and Jo that both girl and horse begin to heal. The two forge an unbreakable bond that will last for both of their lives — even when Beauty’s journey takes her away from Jo, on a series of adventures with different owners.
Through the seasons of her life, Beauty learns more about love, loss, heartbreak, joy, and the extraordinary power of friendship.The events, locations, and beloved characters of the film parallel the original tale while bringing Black Beauty into today’s light, as we follow literature’s most iconic horse on her quest to be reunited with the girl she loves.
Black Beauty is now streaming on Disney+. Let us know if you’ll be watching by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
With reporting by Nona Melkonian
