“War Horse” is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. The stage play is based on the heartbreaking novel by Michael Morpurgo. Young Albert and his horse Joey share an extraordinary World War I (WWI) journey. When the war begins, Joey is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France to be used as a War Horse.
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(Limited spoilers ahead, but not enough to wreck it.)
Joey ultimately goes on to serve British and German soldiers before experiencing respite on a quiet French farm. As time passes, Joey finds himself stranded in No Man’s Land. Meanwhile, Albert never stops pining for his beloved horse. The young boy enlists in the military illegally and begins a journey to find Joey and bring him home.
Checking Out The War Horse’s Details
While the storyline is phenomenal and sure to entertain audiences, the real story of this production is the incredible talent that brings Joey, the War Horse, to life. Three puppeteers from South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company create the horse’s realistic movement.
The “head” puppeteer controls the movement of the head. The “heart” puppeteer controls the movement of the front torso area and two front legs. The “hind” puppeteer controls the back portion, two rear legs, and hindquarters and has the fly-swatting duty (the tail). Watch the incredible movement details as the puppet Joey meets a live Clydesdale horse.
The horse’s head has triggers for ear movements and other tiny movements. The puppeteer moves the head to convey what the horse is thinking, where he is looking, and what he is hearing. The intricate movements are very realistic.
The heart, or the front part of the horse, also has movement triggers. The leg design allows them to move as closely as possible to a real horse’s movement. Each leg has separate controls, and the hooves can curl up like a real horse. With each movement of the puppeteers, viewers get the impression that the horse is breathing, adding to the realistic effect.
The incredible detail built into each part of the war horse puppet adds to the realism. During the production, the three puppeteers do not talk. They communicate only through breathing and slight muscle movements, creating the lifelike movement of the horse as a team. A split-screen comparison shows how closely the puppeteers match the actual movement of a live horse.
This Story Was Also Made Into A Full-Length Movie
If you can’t make it out to see the stage version of “War Horse,” you can stream the movie based on the same story. Unfortunately, it is only available for a small fee, but you can find it on Prime Video, Fandango, and Apple TV. A cool note about the movie is that they used a robot horse for all the dangerous stuff Joey had to make it through!
Please share if you enjoyed this look behind the scenes of “War Horse.”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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