This movie is a delight to both adults and kids, alike, especially if you like horses. It tells of the realization of dreams and the cost of achieving them. Velvet, a horse crazy girl, longs for a horse and falls for a questionable gelding. She meets Mi Taylor, who is looking for information about his dead father. The story tells of the work it takes to make a dream come true. Velvet has the support of her mother and the rest of the family. Mi starts out as a scroundrel but responds to the trust Mrs. Brown puts in him. National Velvet is a great movie to be seen over and over.
National Velvet
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Great family movie; even better for horse lovers.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 6 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of National Velvet was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that even though she wins the race, Velvet is deprived of the title and the prize because girls are not eligible to race. No one questions that rule or seems surprised by it; she undertakes the race knowing that this will happen. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are equal partners at home and at work, though she is the stronger character.
Families Can Talk About
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- Families can talk about why Velvet can't keep the prize, even though she won. Why didn't Mrs. Brown want to tell Mi about his father? What made her decide it was time? Why didn't Velvet want to make movies or do any of the other things people asked her to do after she won? What would you do? What did Mrs. Brown mean about goodness not meaning much unless there is a little bit of badness to overcome? What did she mean about everyone's being entitled to a "breathtaking piece of folly"?
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More on National Velvet
What’s the Story?
When young Velvet Brown (Elizabeth Taylor) meets Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney), the two immediately connect, bonding over their love of horses. He came to town because he found Velvet's mother's name in his late father's address book, but he has no idea what their relationship was. Velvet wins an uncontrollable horse in a lottery that she names Pi; she decides that Pi must be in the Grand National race and goes against the adults' wishes by riding him herself. She wins but is disqualified because she's a girl. Still, the family returns home in triumph, knowing that they won what was important to them. Appearance and endorsement offers follow, but Velvet knows that it's time to move on. So does Mi, who says good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. When Velvet hears that he's gone, she asks if she can tell him about his father, who helped Mrs. Brown achieve an important dream. Mrs. Brown consents, and Velvet races after Mi, catching up to him just as the movie ends.
Is It Any Good?
National Velvet is the story of dreams themselves, wise and foolish, big and small, realized and impossible, and about the way all of these dreams change those who are lucky enough to dream them. But it also deals with what happens after the dream comes true. It sometimes seems that half the movies that are made -- and well over half of the movies that are made for kids -- end with the hero or heroine triumphantly standing in the winner's circle, holding the trophy overhead as the music swells and the credits roll.
The film also conveys the importance of faith -- Velvet's faith in herself and in the Pi and in her dream, and her family's faith in her and in Mi -- and the importance of that belief and support in making the dream come true. But most of all, National Velvet is the story of a loving family and is a wonderful starting point for a discussion of the ways that families of all kinds can teach and support each other.
Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros., Director: Clarence Brown
Run time: 0 minutes
Theatrical release: 01/01/1944, DVD release: 07/11/2000
MPAA Rating: NR
Run time: 0 minutes
Theatrical release: 01/01/1944, DVD release: 07/11/2000
MPAA Rating: NR
Our Members Say
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Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
- My highlights are:
A good movie for the whole family
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I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
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I rate this title on for age 6 and give it
sweet horse movie!
Wonderful horse movie-will keep even little kids interested in the beauty of it while older children will be able to understand it & parents won't be bored! :) Great acting, great story!
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
It
It Was A Very Good Movie I Really Liked It Its Very Good For Kids Of Any Age.
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| 50% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
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