Secretariat

Disney struck gold again, turning an impressive sports story into a heart-tugging American drama as well.

The focus is on Penny Tweety, married mother of four who briefly separates from her family in order to care for her dying father's horse breeding farm. She inherits not only an aspiring young colt named Big Red (dubbed Secretariat in racing circles for uniqueness) but a sizable debt. Faced with a chance to sell Secretariat to pay the bills, she straps herself up with female fortitude not seen since The Blind Side and solicits a series of investors in the racehorse in order to cover them. Suddenly, winning the Triple Crown's three grueling races becomes more than a dream unaccomplished in 25 years, becomes a requirement in order to satisfy the investors' "performance clause" in the contract.

Historians know that Secretariat pulls it off, and captures the third race spectacularly. But the Disneyfied context around it creates a warm feeling for a fall evening trip home from the theater. Catch it there if you can.