War Horse

Steven Spielberg committed after seeing the London stage version on 1 February 2010. On stage the power came from puppet horses worked in full view of the audience; the film drops that for real horses, animatronics and computer imagery, so the illusion gives way to the animal’s own face and the cutting around it. Fourteen horses played Joey, eight as the adult, four as a colt and two as a foal, while four shared Topthorn. Head trainer Bobby Lovgren says the First World War barbed wire on set was fake. American Humane Association representatives stayed throughout and the production took the body’s highest rating for animal care. Everything was shot in England across 63 days: the farm is Ditsworthy Warren House on Dartmoor, the ground between the trenches is Wisley Airfield in Surrey. India’s Reliance Entertainment is a co-producer. The film took six Oscar nominations and won none: best picture, cinematography, art direction, original score, sound mixing and sound editing. John Williams was nominated twice for original score that year, here and for The Adventures of Tintin. A good fit if you accept Joey being handed from owner to owner, each one starting new characters. Not for you if you want one protagonist throughout, or find the war told through one animal’s route rather than a front line too indirect.