Flicka is a 2006 American family adventure drama film loosely based on the 1941 children's novel My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara. The film is directed by Michael Mayer and written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner. The novel had previously been made into a film by 20th Century Fox in 1943, and served as the inspiration for My Friend Flicka, a 39-episode TV series in 1956–1957. In this version, set in the 21st century, the protagonist is a girl, played by Alison Lohman. The film also features Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten and country singer Tim McGraw, who also served as executive producer of the soundtrack album. This USD15 million-budgeted film grossed $21 million in the United States theaters, and then it went on to become a surprise hit in DVD market in the United States; it made more than $48 million on DVD sales and more than $19 million on DVD/Home Video rental.
Theatrical release poster
My Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his mustang horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead (1943) and Green Grass of Wyoming (1946). The popular 1943 film version featured young Roddy McDowall and was followed by two other film adaptations, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945), and Green Grass of Wyoming (1948), both based on O'Hara's novels. A My Friend Flicka television series followed during 1956–1957, which first aired on CBS, then on NBC, with reruns on ABC and CBS between 1959 and 1966. The Disney Channel re-ran the program during the mid-1980s.
First edition cover
The room on the Remount Ranch outside Cheyenne, Wyoming where Mary O'Hara wrote My Friend Flicka. It was added to the main house by O'Hara and her husband around 1931.