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{{work|wppage=War Horse (novel)}}
[[File:war_horse_9969.jpg|frame|Disclaimer: horses shown in picture may be larger than they appear]]
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''War Horse'' is a book and later play adaptation by acclaimed children's writer Michael Morpurgo. Appropriately enough, the play was originally done in Europe, then ported to America with some long-distance collaboration, meeting great deals of success both commercially and critically. [[Steven Spielberg]]'s film adaptation was released on Christmas 2011.
''War Horse'' takes place in 1914 during the outbreak of [[World War
What happens next is Joey's journey through both sides of the war, interspersed with Albert joining the military to make good on his promise.
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''War Horse'' is noteworthy for its narrative twist on war, attempting to show the conflict from the viewpoint of horses who switch sides several times over the course of the war, and their observation of humaneness on both sides. While the featured horses in War Horse are just puppets, several surreal usages of special effects and 3 puppeteers ''per horse'' lead to affecting plot progression and [[Manly Tears]] shed by all. ''War Horse'' won the Tony award for best play in 2011, and at a whopping 2-and-a-half-hour playtime of emotional prodding, it's hardly a surprise.
Not to be confused with the novel ''[[Warhorse]]'' by [[Timothy Zahn]].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Action Survivor]]: Albert and Joey. ''Especially'' Joey.
* [[Adaptational Angst Upgrade]]: As if the book wasn't sad enough, the filmmakers seemed to go out of their way to add more tragedy and drama, like the scene in which {{spoiler|Albert and Joey are reunited}}: in the book he and a friend are merely cleaning mud off the horse and slowly realizing {{spoiler|that it's Joey}}, but in the movie he's blinded from mustard gas and {{spoiler|Joey is two seconds away from being shot}}.
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* [[Cliff Hanger]]: The end of the first act shows Joey and a fellow horse charging towards the enemy, then forced to take a leap of faith over some barbed wire quite literally into the audience.
* [[Cool Horse]]: Joey, naturally, and Topthorn as well.
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Major Stewart is shown to be more than willing to fight via ambush, which irks [[Let's Fight Like Gentlemen|Captain Nicholls]]. Pity they were both beaten by even stronger German [[Combat Pragmatist]], who [[Never Bring a Knife to
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Colin and Peter during the barbed wire scene which also constitutes [[Casual Danger Dialogue]], occurring (as it does) in the middle of No Man's Land during a ''very'' tentative ceasefire.
{{quote|
'''Peter:''' Delightful. We read, we knit sweaters and we train our rats to perform circus tricks.
'''Colin:''' Well, if you ever need any more rats, we could always send some of ours over because we have more than we need, strictly speaking. Besides, they scare off all the pretty girls.
'''Peter:''' Our girls aren't afraid of rats.
'''Colin:''' Big strapping German girls. eh? Kind what give robust massages?
'''Peter:''' Every Thursday. And they bring rum cake on your birthday. }}
** [[Silent Snarker|Joey]] himself seems to be this at times.
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* [[Determinator]]: Nothing is going to stop Albert from finding Joey, nor Joey from finding Albert.
* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: Albert spends three years in the trenches and comes home with his horse. Joey survives ''four'' years of the same and comes home with his human.
* [[Epic Fail]]: Albert impresses [[
* [[Eye Scream]]: Implied - Albert is caught in a cloud of mustard gas in the trenches, and the next time we see him, his eyes are bandaged. He recovers, however.
* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: David and Albert overcome their class differences after the war and seem to become friends. David even volunteered to help declare Joey as an officer's horse to ensure he does not get auctioned off after the war.
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* [[Manly Tears]]: All over the place--it's [[War Is Hell|a war movie, after all]]. During an interview, ''[[Love Actually]]'' director Richard Curtis commented that [[Tom Hiddleston]]'s eyes [[Fetish Fuel|are so piercing]] that Jeremy Irvine started crying in the scene where Nicholls buys Joey just to "distract people from the blueness."
* [[Memento MacGuffin]]: Ted Narracott's regimental pennant.
* [[Never Bring a Knife to
* [[Never Learned to Read]]: Albert is illiterate in the play, but not in the film.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Michael keeps his vow to protect his brother Gunther by pulling him out of line and deserting with him. {{spoiler|Of course, an officer promptly finds and executes them.}}
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* [[Plucky Comic Relief]]: A single goose is constantly providing stupid antics during times of great stress, such as when Joey is training to plow and right before he enlists in the army. It even [[Stealth Pun|gooses]] Albert's father after a particularly stupid blunder.
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Nicholls and Fridrich.
** In the film, the [[
* [[Recycled in Space]]: [[Black Beauty]] in WORLD WAR ONE!
* [[Scenery Porn]]: The English countryside combined with [[Janusz Kaminski]]'s cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. Steven Spielberg himself even called it the most beautiful place he'd ever shot a film.
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* [[Single Tear]]: Emilie.
* [[Somewhere an Equestrian Is Crying]] Yeah, Joey probably wouldn't be able to plough a whole field with no experience, no training and also being a young horse who is the wrong breed for this type of work anyway, let ALONE pull with enough strength to slice through rocks.
** Partly averted in the play, where Joey is half-Thoroughbred, half-unspecified breed of draft horse.
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Used to unsettling effect when Joey and fellow horse Topthorn are crossing the Channel in a troopship. As the soldiers sing a jolly little marching song, a lightning storm seems to rage around them (as suggested by the lighting and sound effects), huge waves crash, and there's ominous music and explosions. The horses whinny and stomp while the boys Just. Keep. SINGING.
** There's also Albert and his friend singing "Goodbye Dolly Gray" while they're going over the top, and they keep singing even as men around them start to fall from gunfire. They're cut off when a shell lands near them, but still.
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** Emilie in the stage version.
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: See [[This Is Reality]].
* [[World War
{{reflist}}
[[Category:World War
[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]
[[Category:Works by Steven Spielberg]]
[[Category:Academy Award]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Films]]
[[Category:Film]]
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