| Winky's Horse | |
| Director: | Mischa Kamp |
| Producer: | Burny Bos Michiel de Rooij Sabine Veenendaal |
| Screenplay: | Tamara Bos |
| Starring: | Ebbie Tam Aaron Wan Hanyi Han |
| Music: | Johan Hoogewijs |
| Cinematography: | Lennert Hillege |
| Editing: | Sander Vos |
| Studio: |
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| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Pictures (Netherlands) |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Language: | Dutch Chinese |
Winky's Horse (Dutch; Flemish: '''Het Paard van Sinterklaas''') is a 2005 Dutch Sinterklaas film directed by Mischa Kamp and written by Tamara Bos. It was released in the Netherlands by Warner Bros. Pictures on 26 October 2005, and received a re-release the following year. The film received multiple award nominations and wins, screenwriter Tamara Bos won a Golden Calf award for Best Screenplay of a Feature Film and the film received a Golden Film for 100,000 visitors.
A sequel, Where Is Winky's Horse?, was released in 2007.
Winky (Ebbie Tam) and her mother (Hanyi Han) have recently traveled from China to the Netherlands to join Winky's father (Aaron Wan). The move is not entirely smooth, as Winky has to learn to speak Dutch while also experiencing some culture shock due to the differences between the two countries. She finds some solace with her neighbors Oom Siem (Jan Decleir) and Tante Cor (Betty Schuurman), as they own an old horse that Winky instantly adores.
However, when her beloved horse dies, Winky is heartbroken and decides that she must have another horse in her life—even if she must appeal to Sinterklaas (also played by Decleir) to accomplish this.
Variety wrote a positive review but stated "Kidpic 'Winky's Horse reps a delightful girl-meets-horse story, aimed at tiny tots. Despite its charms, this Holland-set Christmastime fable will have a rough ride finding offshore buyers, even if redubbed for export, given its intensely Dutch frame of reference."[1] DVD Verdict was mixed in their review, as they felt that "It's not a magical tale of whimsy and magical whimsical magic, but it is a sweet slice of character drama. Little Ebbie Tam is a sweetheart who is in nearly every scene which gives her plenty to do, but she's up to it. Of course the overwrought dubbing detracts from the effectiveness—a good amount actually—but my, what a smile!"[2]