YMMV / Black Beauty

• Anvilicious: The book pulls no punches about the horrible treatment of horses in Victorian society, and Anna Sewell wrote it partially to educate the general public. The abuse of the bearing rein for 'fashion' disappeared almost immediately and there was an instant call for better treatment of animals in general. Anna Sewell also wisely made some of Beauty's suffering come from the well-meaning but ignorant, showing that owners who don't know how to handle horses can injure them just as badly as the indifferent and the cruel.
• Awesome Music:
  • Danny Elfman's entire soundtrack for the 1994 adaptation counts, though special mentions goes to "The Dance / Bye Merrylegs", "Goodbye Joe", "Poor Ginger!" and "Bye Jerry / Hard Times".
  • "Galloping Home", the theme to the 70s The Adventures of Black Beauty ITV series (and its 90s continuation) is often synonymous with the title character for many UK audiences.
• Narm: One complaint of the 1994 version is that Alan Cumming's narration as Beauty can get a bit much at times, particularly at the broken bridge scene.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Despite its dark and real life-based premise, the book is often presented as children's literature for being about a horse. Some modern versions, such as the Dorling Kindersley version, have made it Lighter and Softer for children by removing the more unpleasant bits such as the puppies' ears being docked.
• The Woobie:
  • Black Beauty himself. It doesn't help that he (and his mother) believe that Stoic Woobie is the equine ideal.
  • Ginger teeters between this and Jerkass Woobie but she defrosts through kind treatment from her owners. Her fate later in life however...

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