Schindler's Horse

In the 2000s, or earlier, an animated drama film titled Schindler's Horse, essentially an earlier version of Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, was announced by DreamWorks Animation to be in production.

Plot

A mustang horse descending through the stages of horse hell, continually escaping and being recaptured, each time ending up somewhere worse. The human world was to be a disorienting nightmare for the wild horse, culminating him into trouble, and he would eventually end up in a cruel and dark mine, sentenced to work until he died, without ever seeing the light of day again. One last escape would land him in the middle of a forest fire, where a frontiersman would help him -- the first human to treat him with kindness, and the first human to be allowed on his back.

Development

When announced in the 2000s, it was supposed to attach Robert Redford as a director. Nothing much more is known of its development at this time.

Why This Version Was Cancelled

1. Ultimately the story was judged to be simply too painful to watch; often compared to Black Beauty, as the original version of the film would have been as dark and heartrending as Schindler's List, what the film was named after.

Results

• A similar DreamWorks 2D film called Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was released on May 24, 2002. It appeared to be the early version of this film, and was dumbed down as more kid-friendly and less intense, while still including several real-life horse aspects of life.
• The film was permanently cancelled.
• Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook have since replaced Redford as the directors of the film.

Gallery

Paul Shardlow

Luc Desmarchelier

Richard Chavez