War Horse is a 2011 war drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay written by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis. It is based on Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel and its 2007 stage adaptation. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, Jeremy Irvine, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch. Set before and during World War I, its plot follows Joey, a bay Irish Hunter horse raised by English teenager Albert as he is bought by the British Army, leading him to encounter various people throughout Europe, in the midst of the war and its tragedies.