Image: TMDB
About This Quiz
This Steven Spielberg epic showed the brutality of war -- and the kindness of humans even in the middle of it -- all through the eyes of a horse! Revisit this 2011 Best Picture nominee with our quiz!
How many horses, total, played Joey?
two
five
fourteen
The main horse you see on screen is an ex-racehorse, Finder's Key. He also played the title role in "Seabiscuit."
just one
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This is a classic horse-and-his-boy movie. What, respectively, are their names?
Joey/Albert
Albert witnesses the horse's birth in the film's first scene. He later gives him the name Joey.
Joey/David
Davey/Nigel
Bear/Devon
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Which correctly describes Joey's markings?
two white socks in front and a white blaze on the face
four white socks and a white blaze on the face
four white socks and a star on the face
These are not uncommon markings for a horse. But they'll become important late in the film, when Albert must correctly describe his horse to prove ownership.
two white socks and a solid-colored face
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Who does Ted Narracott, Albert's father, outbid to get Joey?
Albert's friend Andrew
the mayor of Devon
his landlord
Ted's friend urges him to get out of the bidding war. Not just because he can't afford a high-priced horse, but because he shouldn't antagonize his landlord.
a mystery bidder
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How much money does Ted buy Joey for?
five guineas
ten guineas
thirty guineas
A guinea equals one pound and one shilling. The script clearly implies that 30 guineas was far too much for a farm horse.
a tenth of his farm's harvest
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According to one onlooker at the auction, why won't Joey be any good as a farm horse?
he has a lame leg
he's half thoroughbred
"He's half thoroughbred, 'e doesn't have a day's work in him," the man says. Thoroughbreds are a high-strung, delicate breed, prized for racing, but not for everyday work.
he's too tall
he's too small
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Who played Lyons, the landlord?
Tom Hardy
Bill Nighy
Hugh Grant
David Thewlis
Thewlis, a character actor, has lent his long face and serious expression to many films. Look for him as King Duncan in the most recent "Macbeth," with Michael Fassbender in the lead.
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What kind of birdcall does Joey respond to?
loon
dove
owl
Albert can do an excellent imitation of an owl. Joey learns to come when called this way.
whippoorwill
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Who played Rose, Albert's mother?
Catherine Keener
Mare Winningham
Emma Thompson
Emily Watson
Rose is understandably unhappy when her husband comes home with an expensive half-thoroughbred horse. But she warms to Joey as Albert trains him to be a well-behaved working plowhorse.
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Why does Ted have to sell Joey?
he can't afford new horseshoes
Rose gets sick and needs medicine
Lyons raises the rent
heavy rain destroys the turnip crop
Ted takes Joey to town to sell, just as World War I breaks out. This means that cavalry officers are looking for good horses.
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Who played Officer Nicholls, who buys Joey?
Eddie Redmayne
Tom Hiddleston
Nicholls is a kindly sort, who assures the distraught Albert that he'll take good care of Joey. He even offers to "return him to your care" if possible.
Martin Freeman
Robert Pattinson
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How much does Nicholls pay for Joey?
twenty guineas
thirty guineas
Ted originally wants more, but Nicholls knows the horse isn't worth that much. Albert, meanwhile, desperately offers to work to pay his father back, if Ted will only renege on the deal.
fifty guineas
one hundred pounds
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What souvenir goes to war with Joey?
Albert's kerchief
Joey's best leather bridle
Ted's regimental pennant
Ted served in the Boer War, and brought home medals as well as the pennant. But, soured on war, he tried to throw all of them out. Rose rescued the pennant and medals from the dustbin. (That's "garbage can," for American quizzers!)
Ted's war medals
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What is the name of the fellow war horse Joey "befriends"?
Nox
Zeus
Nero
Topthorn
Fun fact: Though Finder's Key is a bay horse (dark chestnut with a near-black mane and tail), if you look for articles on him online, you'll find a photo in which he was dyed as black as Topthorn for a role. The things he does for his art!
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Why does the charge on the German camp go wrong?
there was a traitor in the British ranks
the ground leading to the camp was mined
there was an artillery unit in the forest
The ranking officer, Major Stewart, is forced to surrender after many men and horses die in the charge. Stewart was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, a small role, given his fame now.
both #1 and #2
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After the capture by the Germans, why are Joey and Topthorn spared from being shot?
they are the finest of the captured horses
the ranking officer has a soft spot for horses
they can be harnessed to pull an ambulance
Topthorn at first shies away from the harness collar, until Joey approaches and calms him about it. Joey, of course, learned to pull in harness by plowing the Narracott fields.
they can be sold for supplies
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What's in the parcel that Joey receives from Officer Nicholls?
money
a long letter
photographs of Joey
sketches of Joey
Unfortunately, the package also holds the news that Nicholls was killed in action. This leads Albert to believe that Joey was killed, too.
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Where do the German boys, Michael and Gunther, take refuge after deserting?
a castle ruin
a cave
the branches of a tree
a windmill
Gunther decides to desert (with both horses) after his 14-year-old brother is sent to the front lines. It's a noble idea, protecting his brother -- but when they're found, both are shot for desertion.
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Why isn't Emilie, the French girl who finds the horses, supposed to ride?
it's not ladylike
she's never been taught to
she has brittle bones
Emilie is being raised by her grandfather after the death of her parents. He reminds her that her mother would not want her to ride, because of her physical fragility. However, Emilie ultimately does ride Joey.
it's a pursuit only allowed the aristocracy
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What names does Emilie give to Joey and Topthorn?
Claude and Jean-Luc
Francois and Claude
Emilie explains that Francois was a boy whom she was in love with, who loved a girl named Marie instead. Claude was a boy who also broke Emilie's heart, but whom she intends to marry some day. French love lives are so complicated!
Star and Blackie
Wolf and Sable
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What does the farmer make, along with Emilie?
bread
jam
It's a bit surprising that in time of war the farmer hasn't switched to a staple food. Still, the German soldiers that barge in seem to enjoy sampling the jams.
dairy products
wine
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When Germans come to the farm, where does Emilie hide the horses?
in the windmill again
in her bedroom
Seriously, she got them to climb stairs and everything! Maybe it's not so odd: there was a trend decades ago for trying to keep miniature horses as house pets.
at a neighbor's farm
in a thick copse of trees
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When the Germans retake Joey and Topthorn, what are they made to do?
carry officers on cavalry charges
carry scouts on reconnaissance missions
pull artillery guns
This is hard labor, even for a horse. The German guns, despite being on wheels, are very large and weighty, and Topthorn soon cannot keep up.
pull an ambulance again
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How does Topthorn die?
exhaustion from pulling artillery
Topthorn simply lies down and dies while in harness. We suspect there were more than a few wet eyes in theaters at this point.
he steps on a land mine
he inhales poison gas
he breaks his leg and must be shot
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When Albert goes to war, who's in his unit with him?
his father
his friend Andrew
both Andrew and Lyons's son
Yes, both Albert's working-class pal and the landlord's son end up in the same unit that he does. (This seems to mostly be so that Albert can look like a working-class hero next to the snobby David Lyons.
just Lyons's son
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What do a German soldier and a British one come together to do for Joey?
cut him loose from barbed wire
Colin (English) and Peter (German) slowly make friends as they cut Joey loose. It's a scene of goodwill, reminiscent of the famous Christmas Day football (soccer) game between English and German soldiers in WWI.
free him from a deep pit of mud
get him new horseshoes
find food for him
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A running theme throughout the movie is that Joey isn't good at what?
jumping
Albert learns this when Joey pulls up short at a stone wall and only Albert flies over. Emilie, too, can't persuade "Francois" to jump. But it's most important when Joey is fleeing a scene of battle -- he runs through barbed-wire fences instead of jumping them, which is how he gets entangled.
cutting herds
taking direction
doing tricks
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How does Albert prove his ownership of Joey?
he is the only person who Joey will let ride him
he describes Joey's markings while blindfolded
At first, the officers think Albert is wrong. But when all the mud that splatters Joey is washed away, the marks are revealed, and it's clear that Albert is telling the truth.
he describes the regimental pennant Joey still has on him
he points out a tattoo brand behind Joey's ear
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Who wins Joey at the auction of war horses?
Albert
Andrew
the farmer
Emilie, sadly, has died since losing "Francois" to German troops. The farmer tells Albert that the horse is the last thing he will have of his granddaughter.
Officer Fry
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What persuades the farmer that Joey is really Albert's horse?
Joey plants his feet and refuses to go with the farmer
Joey comes to the "owl" call
Albert identifies his father's regimental pennant
The farmer tells Albert he can have the pennant -- and Joey. It's what Emilie would have wanted, he says, and "she was the boss."
Albert reminisces about plowing the turnip field with Joey
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When Albert returns home, what has his father died from?
cancer
alcohol overdose
tuberculosis
What? His dad didn't die!
Sorry, that was mean. But after such a sentimental movie, we thought you needed a refreshing shot of cynicism!
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Before being made into a film, "War Horse" was a story in what medium?
novel
short story
stage play
both #1 and #3
"War Horse" was first a novel by Michael Morpurgo; it's been called "Black Beauty Goes to War." Later, it became a successful stage play.
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Which well-known actor was up for the role of Albert before Jeremy Irvine took it?
Theo James
Daniel Radcliffe
Eddie Redmayne
The role instead was given to unknown actor, Jeremy Irvine. "War Horse" was his film debut
Jamie Dornan
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What was interesting about the casting of Robert Emms as David Lyons?
he was a jockey in earlier life
he played Albert in the stage play
Apparently, there were no hard feelings about the lead role going to somebody else -- even an unknown. Emms is a bigger man than many!
he's David Thewlis's real-life stepson
he speaks no English
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Which scene required an animatronic version of Joey?
the artillery-pulling scene
his entanglement in barbed wire
Fortunately, Steven Spielberg is an old hand at working with robotic animals. He famously did so early in his career, with "Bruce," the robot shark in "Jaws."
the scene in Emilie's bedroom
his birth in the pasture
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You Got:
/35
TMDB