National Velvet
Recommended. Age: 7+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Velvet Brown is a girl in England who loves horses more than anything. She wins a hard-to-handle horse named The Pie and dreams of riding him in the biggest race in the land. A young man named Mi helps her train. This is a warm family story about a big dream, hard work and a mother who believes in her daughter. Velvet turns down fame and money to protect her horse. Parents should know she hides that she is a girl to ride in the race, and one man gets drunk at a pub.
For parents
Rated G, and Common Sense Media says seven and up. Things to know: Common Sense Media logs one character getting drunk at a pub and several pipe smokers. Horses and riders fall during the race, and Velvet faints and falls from her horse but is not hurt. Wikipedia notes she poses as a male jockey to enter the race, the horse comes from a raffle, and a jockey's death in an earlier accident is part of the story. She is disqualified for two reasons. Common Sense Media says it is because she's a girl. Wikipedia says she broke the rule that the winning jockey must not dismount before reaching the enclosure. Ask: was it right for Velvet to hide who she was? Why did she lose the prize, and was that fair? Why does she say no to the money and fame? How does her mother help her dream?