Film Review: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

*All reviews contain spoilers*
Disclaimer: This blog is purely recreational and not for profit. Any material, including images and/or video footage, is property of their respective companies, unless stated otherwise. The author claims no ownership of this material. The opinions expressed therein reflect those of the author and are not to be viewed as factual documentation. All screencaps are from Animationscreencaps.com.

 

Cast – Almost entirely male, but it’s somewhat justified given the context
Chopper Bernet – Sgt. Adams
Robert Cait – Jake
James Cromwell – The Colonel
Matt Damon – Spirit (Narration)
Donald Fullilove – Train Pull Foreman
Michael Horse – Little Creek’s Friend
Jeff LeBeau – Murphy and Railroad Foreman
Matt Levin – Joe
Zahn McClarnon – Little Creek’s Friend
Richard McGonagle – Bill
Charles Napier – Roy
Adam Paul – Pete
John Rubano – Soldier
Daniel Studi – Little Creek
Meredith Wells – Little Indian Girl (the only female voice in the cast)
Sources of Inspiration – An original idea, always good to see!
Release Dates –
May 18th, 2002 at the Cannes Film Festival, France (premiere)
May 24th, 2002 in the USA (general release)
Run-time – 84 minutes
Directors – Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook
Composers – Hans Zimmer
Worldwide Gross – $122 million
Accolades – 10 wins and 22 nominations, including an Oscar nomination

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2002 in History

Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people and killing about 147
The Sierra Leone Civil War is brought to an end with a Commonwealth victory
Unfortunately, Ivory Coast enters its first civil war following a mutiny led by General Robert Guéï
The death of Jonas Savimbi also brings the Angolan Civil War to a close
Queen Elizabeth II of the UK celebrates her Golden Jubilee
Shortly afterwards, her mother passes away aged 101 and is buried in Westminster Abbey
South African Mark Shuttleworth becomes the first African space tourist
East Timor (or Timor-Leste) regains independence from Indonesia
The Igandu train collision occurs in Tanzania, killing 281 people in one of Africa’s worst rail disasters
The Rome Statute enters into force, bringing the International Criminal Court into effect
The African Union replaces the Organisation of African Unity
Members of terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah detonate a series of bombs in nightclubs in Bali, killing over 200 people in the worst terrorist act in Indonesia’s history
Several armed Chechens seize the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow for three days; the militants are eventually gassed, but this results in the deaths of well over a hundred civilians as well
The people of Gibraltar reject joint British-Spanish sovereignty in a referendum, remaining solely under British dominion
US President George W. Bush creates the Department of Homeland Security in response to 9/11, the largest governmental reorganisation since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947
Births of Davis Cleveland, Prince Felix of Denmark, Gaten Matarazzo, Levi Miller, Maddie Ziegler and Jacob Sartorius

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Hello everyone, and welcome to another film review. This week, we’re exploring another of DreamWorks’ forgotten hand-drawn efforts from the turn of the century; Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. In contrast to The Road to El Dorado with its lighter, more comedic tone, this one harkens back to the more serious, historical style of The Prince of Egypt, telling a simple but powerful story of courage in the face of adversity, all set against the backdrop of the American frontier. This is also the first film I’ve reviewed since Prince of Egypt to feature a female director – Lorna Cook, who worked on the film alongside co-director Kelly Asbury (he’s a guy; the name is unisex).

While Spirit seems to enjoy a fairly strong reputation today, there’s surprisingly little written about its production. At some point in the 1990s, the project was born when Jeffrey Katzenberg had the idea of creating a western for his new studio; he then hired writer John Fusco, who was known for his work on films such as Young Guns (1988) and Young Guns II (1990). Fusco first wrote and submitted a story idea to the studio in novel form, before adapting that into a screenplay; he would remain on the project for four years as its main writer, working closely with the directors, artists and Katzenberg.

That’s it – I couldn’t find any other details on the making of this one, so presumably the production went smoothly (for once). The finished film was released in late spring 2002 to a modest box office performance and mixed reviews, but like countless other animated films from that period, its popularity has gradually increased over the years, possibly helped by nostalgia. With a lot of the usual trappings of animated films stripped away here – no comic sidekicks, no elaborate musical numbers, no anthropomorphised talking animals – Spirit has held up very well, but it deserves more love from a new generation who might not have heard of it (DreamWorks really hates acknowledging their hand-drawn work for some reason). So, fetch your crop and spurs, because it’s time to saddle up for a trip out to the Old West – this is Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

 

Characters and Vocal Performances

This film has an extremely minimalistic cast, with only three characters given significant arcs. For the equine lead, the filmmakers made the dubious decision to cast a well-known actor as a narrator to provide the audience with snippets of Spirit’s “inner thoughts”. They originally considered Tom Hanks or Robert Redford before settling on Matt Damon, but we’ll get into that further below – for now, it’s enough just to say that the narration is mercifully brief and for the rest of the film, Spirit communicates entirely in realistic horse vocalisations and movements.

Spirit, whose name isn’t even given to him until near the end of the film, is a Kiger mustang stallion with a bad case of “DreamWorks face” who is born into the untamed wilderness of the American frontier. He has no way of knowing it, but forces are in motion in the human world that will change and redefine his lands forever, forces against which he must pit all his strength and courage as the story progresses.

Spirit’s journey is a simple one. We witness its beginning with his birth; even as a foal he is plucky, eager and optimistic, prancing around within moments of being born and hungrily suckling from his mother. This bold attitude grows as he does and by the time he’s a colt, he’s already gained a reputation within the herd as a bit of a troublemaker (reminds me of young Tarzan). Unlike some of the more skittish youngsters, Spirit is not easily fazed by new things, as we see when he gazes in delight at a hulking buffalo while his friends run and hide behind their parents. It’s exactly the kind of mindset that a good leader needs, so it’s no surprise to find that he grows up to become the leader of his herd – taking the place of his father, according to the narration.

As a stallion, Spirit is a magnificent sight to behold. Utterly free, he and his herd go wherever they want to go, drinking and grazing and generally loving life, although with adulthood come responsibilities which the young horse must not neglect. Spirit is always on the alert for potential danger and takes no risks when it comes to the herd’s safety – this is why, one night, he is drawn across the plain to a mysterious light he spies far off on the horizon. It is the beginning of a long, hard journey that will test him to his limits.

Investigating, Spirit discovers the light to be the remains of a human campfire, but soon the wranglers are awake and after him, eager to tame such a beautiful steed. It’s here that we get a glimpse of one of the most common flaws of the young – cockiness. Spirit is so certain of his ability to escape his pursuers that he underestimates them and, working as a team, they’re able to lead him into a trap, dragging him away from his horrified herd.

After a long, weary march which is implied to cover many states and weeks, Spirit is delivered to a US Cavalry outpost in the desert, where he’s appalled to find rank upon rank of disciplined, drone-like horses in full tack who are completely subservient to the humans. It’s an alien concept for the wild mustang, but worse is to come, for he soon meets the imperious Colonel and it quickly becomes clear that the man has the same fate in mind for Spirit.

Spirit truly meets his match in the Colonel. The cavalry’s initial attempts to “break” him are a total failure, with Spirit easily dispatching all the best riders there – I particularly enjoyed his little rivalry with the blacksmith, Murphy, whose own stubbornness is still no match for Spirit’s. However, the Colonel notices that Spirit’s recalcitrance is inciting a kind of equine “rebellion” among the other horses, so he decides to put a stop to it and prepares to break Spirit in himself.

First, he cruelly tries to break Spirit’s physical stamina by starving him for a few days, even denying him water despite the fierce heat. Spirit bears it all with admirable grit, refusing to let the Colonel see him falter, but the audience sees that he’s finding it harder than he’s letting on – he misses his family, and it is his longing to return to them which keeps him going at the outpost and beyond.

After a while, the Colonel decides that Spirit has been sufficiently weakened and makes a public display of his attempt to “break” him in the corral. This is the first serious test of Spirit’s resolve; the Colonel is a far more challenging adversary than any of the other nondescript soldiers and very nearly succeeds with his riding prowess. Only when Spirit notices the disappointment in the eyes of the other horses does his resolve return; as the lone rebel in the face of totalitarian authority, it is up to him to be the symbol of hope for the equine proletariat, so he quickly pulls out some of his best moves to unseat the Colonel and finally sends him flying.

Of course, humiliating a man like the Colonel is never a good idea. In a tense moment, it looks like Spirit is about to become a martyr as the Colonel aims a gun at his head, but he is saved from this fate by Little Creek – a young Lakota man who has been similarly captured by the cavalry and has developed a liking for the rebellious mustang. The two of them escape together, even taking the time to bust the other horses out too, but the matter of Spirit’s freedom isn’t quite settled yet. Much to the mustang’s chagrin, he finds himself roped and tethered again, this time being led off to a Lakota encampment which thankfully proves far more hospitable.

Spirit’s stay with the Lakota is quite different to his time at the outpost. While Little Creek, too, wants to ride him, he goes about it very differently – for instance, instead of trying to starve Spirit into submission by tying him to a post, he instead ties him to Rain, a beguiling mare who shows Spirit around the area and warms him up to the Lakota’s way of life. Little Creek’s method is to reach Spirit through understanding rather than overpowering, but crucially, he is also willing to accept defeat and grant Spirit his freedom, once it becomes obvious that the mustang simply will not be tamed.

However, when the moment finally comes, it is not as easy for Spirit to leave as he expects. By this point, he has begun to fall in love with Rain (of course) and feels his heart “torn two ways”; after all, Little Creek has already saved his life once and the Lakota have treated him with more kindness than any other people he’s met so far. Unfortunately, before he can convince Rain to accompany him back to his old lands, the Lakota are attacked by a division of the US Cavalry – led by none other than the very Colonel who so abused Spirit. Naturally, a horse like Spirit isn’t going to take this lying down, so when the Colonel aims his pistol at Rain and Little Creek, Spirit is right there to stop him; the act of bravery stays with Little Creek, but it is Rain who is Spirit’s priority.

After the pair go over a waterfall together, Spirit hurries to her side and lays with her all night, hoping she will not succumb to her injuries. Yet before dawn has even broken, the suffering pair are interrupted by still more infuriating humans, who physically drag Spirit away from Rain while heartlessly leaving her to die alone. It’s hard to watch. Luckily, Rain has Little Creek to take care of her, but the young Lakota also does not forget about Spirit and later sets out to track him down.

Believing Rain to be dead, Spirit comes to his second great test of character and nearly despairs. In a surprisingly accurate depiction of depression, he loses his vigour and stops eating, much to the concern of the other horses. As he’s loaded into a railcar bound for a destination unknown, it’s almost as though he’s past caring what happens to him anymore – without Rain, his life now feels empty, pointless. The relentless exploitation by group after group of people demoralises him and nearly crushes his… well, spirit, but once again, he finds new strength when he thinks of his family, waiting for him far away across the plains.

Filled with fresh resolve and backed by the other horses, Spirit assesses the new situation he’s delivered into and patiently waits for a moment to break free. It turns out that he’s now part of a chain of workhorses being used to haul an enormous steam engine over a hill, but even worse, he realises that the humans are laying tracks which will take them out into his homeland – and he cannot let that happen.

Displaying surprising (and perhaps slightly unrealistic) ingenuity, Spirit uses the old “playing dead” gambit to get himself taken out of his harness. As soon as he’s been dragged off to one side, he’s back up and fighting again, quickly breaking the other horses free and then racing down the mountainside with the engine tumbling after him. The massive machine crashes into another at the bottom of the slope, igniting an explosion which sets the forest ablaze while Spirit looks on in satisfaction. The plan nearly backfires when the fire threatens to cut him off, but luckily Little Creek finds him at just the right moment and helps him escape from the forest.

Spirit is overjoyed to be reunited with his old pal again. Little Creek has now saved his life twice (and Spirit has already returned the favour once) so he has earned the mustang’s respect as a friend – and just as well, because no sooner has Spirit woken up than the dang cavalry turn up again. Even the Colonel is surprised to keep running into this same horse! (Seriously, how big is the American frontier?)

This is it – the last race for freedom. To Little Creek’s amazement, Spirit finally allows himself to be ridden and the pair of them work together to outwit the riders of the cavalry, leading them on a merry chase through a series of canyons until they find themselves cornered atop a towering plateau. Little Creek thinks this is the end, but Spirit never gives up – so to the astonishment of Little Creek, the cavalry and perhaps even Spirit himself, the mustang makes a truly incredible jump across the canyon to the plain beyond, his force of will so strong that it seems to be literally carrying him to the other side.

It’s the film’s most thrilling and joyful moment, seeing Spirit soar through the sky in pursuit of his freedom. Apparently, the sight is enough even to dampen the Colonel’s colonial arrogance, for when one of his men aims his rifle at Spirit, he lowers the man’s gun with a look that simply says, “Enough”. Against the odds, Spirit’s will to live earns him even the Colonel’s respect, winning him his freedom once and for all – what a terrific conclusion to his journey.

Of course, there’s one last thing he must do before returning home, something which in many ways is harder than overcoming the Colonel. The time has come to say goodbye to Little Creek, who by now is as close to him as a member of his family. It feels like an early rehearsal for the relationship in How to Train Your Dragon as we see the raw emotion between the two of them, and in this tender moment, Little Creek blesses the mustang with his name: “Spirit… who could not be broken.”

Little Creek is even good enough to grant Rain her freedom too, so that she can be with Spirit (she has miraculously survived being shot). As he watches, the two of them race off into the sunset and back towards Spirit’s homeland, which presumably takes them a few weeks at least. Eventually, they make it, and they’re greeted by Spirit’s whole herd (including his mother, who hasn’t died because this isn’t a Disney film). It’s a deeply satisfying ending and a well-earned one, for this protagonist has had to suffer a heck of a lot to get here.

Spirit’s story is about perseverance, courage and self-discovery. Seeing him draw strength from the love of his family and agonising over how to choose between friends is something anyone can relate to, but there’s also plenty to admire in his sheer determination and willpower, his desire to prove himself and his protective instincts. Spirit is a highly engaging lead because of the force of his personality; it feels like there’s nothing he won’t do to achieve his goals and such characters are always easy to root for. Hopefully, children who watch this one will draw inspiration from Spirit’s example, approaching life with the same bold and adventurous attitude, for it will surely serve them well if they do.

The Colonel, who was possibly based on the infamous Custer, is introduced as Spirit’s main rival once the unfortunate mustang has been dragged halfway across the frontier to the cavalry outpost. This guy embodies everything wrong with the colonial mindset; he’s cold, callous and arrogant, totally confident of his right to be there, acting the way he is and doing the things he’s doing. He is usually calm and unflappable, giving him a chilling presence rather like that of a snake (something Spirit notices himself) and often feeling like a cat toying with a mouse.

However, while he’s used to ordering around his subordinates, the Colonel meets his match in Spirit – he must rarely encounter anyone, human or otherwise, with such an indomitable will as this mustang, and he quickly develops a rivalry with the stubborn horse. With more lines than most other characters, we get a glimpse into the Colonel’s way of thinking from his description of the Lakota “submitting to providence”; the idea of “manifest destiny” was a widespread belief at the time that white people were preordained to settle the continent of North America, so the Colonel’s arrogance was probably born from that culture. As a high-ranking military official, he’s used to getting his own way and probably sees little of his superiors, stationed as he is in such a remote location, so he’s been allowed to turn into a total tyrant.

There also seems to be an element of male pride at play in this character. In the entirely male community of the cavalry outpost, the Colonel feels the need to defend his position at the top of the pecking order by being the one to personally break this stubborn horse himself, impressing the others with his masculine display of skill. Back then, of course, a large part of “being a man” was about being in charge, which in this case means forcing Spirit to submit to the Colonel’s will and making him do as he’s told.

When the young stallion makes a fool of the Colonel, he finally shatters the man’s placid façade by damaging his male ego and sparks genuine wrath in him. Although Spirit is able to escape death at his hands with Little Creek’s help, it’s not the last the Colonel will see of this troublesome mustang.

We next see this awful bloke leading the charge as the cavalry storm a Lakota community. It’s possible the Colonel tracked Little Creek back there after seeing them escape, as he’s clearly not stupid and has undoubtedly led many such engagements before, in this time of the American Indian Wars. Luckily, Spirit happens to be there and rushes in to protect his new friends, much to the Colonel’s surprise and frustration.

After this, the Colonel is out of the story for a while as Spirit falls into the hands of the railroad workers, but we can’t end the film without giving resolution to his relationship with the mustang. Shortly after Spirit’s escape from the railroad, the two run into one another yet again and this time it’s do or die. The Colonel leads his men after Spirit and Little Creek and pursues them right up to the top of a rocky mesa, but even he cannot fail to be impressed at the sight of the magnificent stallion leaping for his life across the canyon – this final, desperate action seems to convince the Colonel to drop the whole conflict for good. With a curt nod, he indicates his new respect for Little Creek and Spirit, finally turning around and leaving them alone.

Perhaps it’s a tad unlikely, but it’s a much more interesting way to resolve the Colonel’s arc than the triter “defeat” that you might expect in an animated film. The Colonel approaches Spirit with the air of a consumer looking for the right product (or you might say, a slaveholder appraising a slave), but by the end of the story, he’s forced to recognise Spirit’s autonomy and acknowledge his desire for freedom. In fact, you could take the whole film as a subtle metaphor for the end of slavery in the US, which was happening at about that time; the Colonel represents the oppressive white man who viewed non-whites as inferior beings, while Spirit represents the slaves who rose up and demanded their freedom from the indignities of bondage.

It’s a choice that really makes Spirit’s freedom feel earned at the end, although sadly such a change of heart rarely happened in reality – slavery may have been ending, but the Trail of Tears was already well underway and the west was close to becoming a permanent part of the growing USA. Much like The Road to El Dorado, the happy ending of this one becomes less easy to believe in as you get older and realise what the future really had in store for Spirit and Little Creek…

Speaking of which, let’s get on to Little Creek, the young Lakota who befriends Spirit at the cavalry outpost. Right from the moment he’s introduced, Spirit takes an interest in him, because they’re brought into the story in the same way; dragged in by the whites, Little Creek is treated just as badly as Spirit, even down to being tied to a post like an animal and starved. Although Spirit is naturally dismissive of the human boy at first, he still feels a certain sense of kinship with him due to being victims of the same persecution. The Colonel represents their common enemy, one which they are eventually able to overcome by uniting against him.

Little Creek soon takes a shine to the beautiful stallion tethered nearby and attempts to communicate with him; when the irritated Spirit tries to ignore him, Little Creek is not offended but simply laughs, a marked difference from the reaction of the Colonel. Later, he’s just as shocked as the cavalry horses when Spirit appears to have been “broken” by the Colonel, which is partly what spurs the stallion back into life and leaves the Colonel sitting in the dust. Then, just as things are looking dire for Spirit, Little Creek chooses his moment and breaks free from his bonds, joining the mustang in his escape from the outpost.

Of course, Little Creek may have purer intentions than the Colonel, but he still has some of the same human failings. With such a wonderful horse up for grabs, he doesn’t simply let Spirit ride off right away and promptly recaptures him with the plan of “breaking” him in more gently. Spirit is astute enough to recognise the boy’s kinder treatment of him, but he’s still nobody’s fool and isn’t about to let anyone ride him without a fight, even if this time he’s more playful about his resistance. Try as he might, Little Creek simply cannot mount the stubborn horse, so he comes up with the idea of trying to soften him up with a little romance, courtesy of his mare Rain.

Spirit does not forget that Little Creek saved him from the Colonel, so he reluctantly allows Rain to show him her world, soon finding himself drawn to the peaceful, nomadic lifestyle of the Lakota. Eventually, he and Little Creek become friends, with Spirit even sticking up for the boy when his friends laugh at his failed attempts to ride the wild mustang. A crucial moment comes when Little Creek finally accepts what the Colonel still hasn’t at this point – “I’m never going to ride you, am I? And no-one ever should.” With that, he offers Spirit his freedom at last and the gesture wins him major points with the stallion, who immediately races back to help when the nefarious Colonel appears again.

Spirit saves Little Creek’s life, returning the favour from earlier, and also does his best to save Rain’s too. When Little Creek sees poor Spirit being dragged away yet again by another group who plan to exploit him, he makes up his mind to go after him – their fates are bound now, and he wants Spirit’s freedom almost as much as Spirit himself does. He finds Spirit just in time to save him from a raging forest fire, so when the horse wakes up the next morning, he is delighted to see his friend again. The young Lakota earns Spirit’s respect instead of trying to demand it, and it is this which finally enables Little Creek to ride the magnificent mustang – as an equal rather than a master.

After working together to disable most of the pursuing cavalry, Little Creek then puts his faith in Spirit one last time as they make the daring leap across the canyon, evading the Colonel’s guns for good. When the Colonel gives them that little nod of respect, it could also be interpreted as a gesture meant for Little Creek, which arguably makes it even more powerful – in acknowledging Little Creek’s skill as a rider, he is also acknowledging his humanity in a way that he never did before, seeing the Lakota man as an equal for the first time.

Spirit leaves behind a lifelong friend in Little Creek. The young man is responsible for bestowing Spirit’s name upon him, and he says it with such pride and admiration that it’s hard not to tear up; their relationship builds upon a mutual respect, and after everything they’ve been through together you really feel how hard this goodbye is for them (we honestly did not need the narrator to tell us).

Now, I don’t want to be too hard on this film for its presentation of female characters, because there are some stories about male bonding where their presence isn’t necessary (we just need more stories about female bonding to balance it out). However, I have to register at least a small degree of disappointment that the only two female roles of significance are, once again, the male protagonist’s mother and love interest. How many times have we seen women relegated to these positions? The fact that they’re both horses makes it even more noticeable, as it means there are no conversations between women in this film at all. Granted, the same was true in El Dorado, but at least Chel did have some level of identity distinct from Tulio and Miguel (however little).

Anyway. With that said, I do like Rain, Little Creek’s paint mare, who is first introduced just after the escape from the outpost. Her main role is to entice Spirit into wanting to stay with the Lakota, but she does also enjoy an affectionate relationship with Little Creek and does not take kindly to Spirit’s initial angry treatment of him. She’s rather mischievous and takes a “playful” approach to winning Spirit over, using her charms to lead him into practical jokes, but she also has a quieter side and leads him to a beautiful, sheltered spot, where they truly seem to connect.

However, while she does take to him, Rain’s loyalty to the Lakota prevents her from simply running away with him when the opportunity arises. She also recognises and sympathises with Spirit’s genuine yearning to return to his home, so that until the moment of the cavalry attack, it seems like they’re going to part on good terms. Fate has other plans, though, and minutes later Rain is facing down the Colonel with Little Creek astride her; Spirit sees she is just as brave as he is, but is forced to watch in horror as the Colonel coldly shoots her at close range, sending her crashing into the river behind her.

We then get a bit of a damsel-in-distress moment where it’s up to Spirit to save his beloved… sigh. Why must we always cripple strong female characters? Still, it does lead to a touching moment on the riverbank afterwards, with a clearly agonised Spirit doing his best to keep Rain’s flagging spirits up. Dragged away by the humans, Spirit is left to assume the worst, but the audience sees Little Creek re-join his mare, after which he is presumably able to treat her wound successfully.

Rain is out of the story from here until close to the end, but she is waiting at the new Lakota encampment to act as Spirit’s “reward” (sorry, sorry, I’ll stop being so cynical). It’s honestly portrayed as a more genuine relationship than that so I won’t harp on about it too much; she may not be given much to do, but her connection with Spirit is very sweet and goodness knows this poor horse deserves some happiness after all he’s dealt with. Rain does also get a moment to have a proper goodbye with Little Creek, so her own relationships are not overlooked.

After bidding farewell to their friend, she and Spirit immediately set out for his homeland and, upon reaching it, Rain is welcomed into the herd by the others, joining Spirit at the head of the group. It’s all very nice, but I have to admit I’m looking forward to the Ghibli girls now – DreamWorks women may be strong, but there never seem to be very many of them and they’re always tied to men in some way.

The only other significant role is that of Esperanza, Spirit’s mother (yes, she does have a name, although it’s never mentioned even in the credits). There’s not really much of an arc to discuss here as she is simply filling the role of “the mother”; we see most of her scenes at the beginning of the film, where she births and then raises Spirit. Still, it’s easy to see where he got his strong attitude, as she quickly shrugs off the pain of childbirth and is up and grazing again in seconds (just like most real mares). As Spirit grows, she is sometimes embarrassed by his rambunctiousness, but generally she is proud of the powerful young stallion he becomes.

The day she loses Spirit is a mother’s worst nightmare. After watching anxiously as he rides off to explore a mysterious light on the horizon, Esperanza is briefly reassured to see him back again the next morning, with the danger apparently taken care of – but it’s too good to be true. The wranglers have followed Spirit and, in his desperation to lead them away from his herd, he winds up getting captured himself.

Esperanza sees the whole thing from atop a nearby bluff and cries out to him in agony, even preparing to slide down into the canyon to help – but Spirit calls back desperately (all in real horse sounds, remember) to warn her off. She turns sadly and bolts with the rest of the herd, the last Spirit will see of her for many months. Yet she’s never far from his thoughts, representing the loving home he so longs to return to; her presence far away across the plains provides Spirit with reserves of strength that even he didn’t know he had, making her an important part of the story even if she’s not physically present for most of it. Thank goodness Spirit is reunited with her in the end – I don’t know what we would have done if she’d passed away in his absence.

The other members of this modest cast are essentially bit-parts and extras. A bald eagle is featured prominently throughout and there are no prizes for guessing what he represents – as the enduring symbol of American freedom, he was a natural choice to represent Spirit’s as well.

He inhabits the skies around Spirit’s homeland, so his presence is one of the first (or last) indicators of its boundaries. Spirit himself seems to be something of a friend of the eagle’s, racing and playing with him and crying out to him as he’s being taken away. During his stay with the Lakota, Spirit appears to spot a similar eagle (I don’t think it’s the same one) and mistakes him for his friend, calling out in joy and then whinnying in disappointment when the strange eagle turns and flies away – it is this moment which brings home to Rain the depths of his desire for freedom.

Towards the end, the eagle is also the first indication Spirit and Rain have that they are nearing his homeland, showing them conclusively that they are out of danger for good.

There’s also a cougar that attacks Spirit’s herd right at the start of the story, who is… well, just an ordinary cougar. His fight with Spirit shows us a nobler side of the stallion, as even when he has the cat at his mercy, he doesn’t hurt him but simply scares him and chases him off.

The cougar’s targets are a pair of young foals – twins, perhaps – who belong to Spirit’s herd. These two give Spirit a chance to show off his more responsible side, not just by protecting them from danger but also by sternly rebuking them for bickering with each other later that night. While they are mischievous, Spirit recognises himself in them and is not too harsh; they in turn respect his authority and do eventually settle down to sleep. Strangely, although he seems to be away for many months, they have not aged a day when he returns at the end!

Then there’s the buffalo that Spirit meets as a young colt, who is worth mentioning because he’s such a darn prankster. The massive animal arrives with his herd at a watering hole where Spirit and his friends are playing and the others turn tail and run, terrified by his imposing presence, but little Spirit is bolder and sticks around to admire him. The buffalo decides to have a little fun with this and, with a knowing glance at the others, emits a deafening bellow right in Spirit’s face – but he’s charmed when the colt beams back at him in delight.

It’s a cute moment, but the buffalo’s backstory is just as tragic as most of the others when you look into it. The American bison once roamed the plains of North America in vast herds of many thousands, totalling millions of animals which lived in a great “belt” that stretched from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico. They were a staple source of food and other resources for generations of Native Americans, but the nomadic inhabitants never over-hunted them and a balance was maintained. Then came colonialism.

With westward expansion and a growing population, bison were hunted down almost to the point of extinction in less than a century, so that by 1893 fewer than 400 remained. Despite this astonishing scale of destruction (and the damage it did to Native American cultures), people finally realised that they were in danger of losing the animals altogether and by the turn of the twentieth century, efforts were underway to preserve them and rebuild their population. While their numbers have never been brought back to anything like their historical ones, there are now numerous sustainable and protected herds living in national parks throughout the western US. A happier ending than it might have been, at least.

L-r: Roy, Joe, Pete and Bill

Jake on the left, Roy again on the right (I think)

The first humans Spirit meets are the wranglers, a group of five camping out on the plains who are apparently searching for horses to sell to the US Cavalry. Their names, officially, are Joe and Pete (the two younger ones), Roy, Bill and Jake, but there is little to distinguish the latter three. While they are shown to have an obvious appreciation for Spirit’s beauty, they still seek to exploit him for their own gains, as do most of the people in the film. After a long chase, they finally capture him, dragging him forcefully from his home and leading him hundreds of miles away to the outpost, where hopefully they were at least paid a decent price after going to all that trouble.

The danger posed by the presence of humans is foreshadowed by the wranglers’ horses, one of whom spots Spirit as he makes his way towards their camp. Spirit is troubled to see fellow horses tethered and apparently trapped, so his first impression of people is not a positive one. Still, despite the horses’ warning looks, Spirit boldly (or recklessly) continues right into the camp itself, where he soon awakens the wranglers and sets off the chase that will end in his capture. Throughout this ordeal the horses are clearly on Spirit’s side and take no pleasure in aiding his captors, but they simply do not have a choice – it would be too dangerous for them to rebel, so they are forced to go along with it.

Sgt. Adams on the right

We then have the US Cavalry and their horses, whom Spirit meets at the outpost. The various mounted regiments of the US Army had only been consolidated into the cavalry by an act of Congress in 1861, so at the time this is set they were a fairly new division.

They are represented here primarily by Sgt. Adams, who seems to be second-in-command to the Colonel and tends to be the one who answers his summons. Various unnamed members of the cavalry partake in the competition to be the one to “break” Spirit for riding, but none succeed, with most eventually being deterred from even trying after the mustang easily dispatches the first few cocky riders. Scouts from the regiment are also responsible for capturing Little Creek and their rough treatment of him is sadly all too accurate for the time.

Murphy is the outpost’s resident blacksmith and is apparently also responsible for “looking after” the horses. He and Spirit quickly develop a kind of personal rivalry, as Murphy struggles to trim the mustang’s mane, shoe his hooves and brand his hindquarters – naturally, Spirit isn’t having any of it and repeatedly abuses the poor bloke, even seeming to enjoy it. Murphy’s smouldering fury is one of the funniest things in the film, and during Spirit’s escape later on, he makes a final stubborn attempt to block the gate; Spirit knocks him over one last time with something close to affection, before he and the other horses jump over him and run free.

The cavalry horses are generally subdued and despondent, but Spirit’s arrival infuses them with new life and they begin to celebrate every small act of rebellion on his part, encouraging him with their moral support until he finally breaks free altogether. Grateful for their faith in him, Spirit frees them too, at which point they must all set out to return to their old herds (or perhaps form a new one).

On the opposite side of the coin, we also have the Lakota, a small group of whom take Spirit in after his escape from the outpost. One thing I love about this film is its depiction of Native Americans – finally, an animated film which doesn’t “exoticize” them or try to make them out to be “magical”, alien beings. Instead, they are portrayed as they should be, living ordinary lives and engaged in daily tasks, with all the flaws and qualities of real people.

Little Creek’s “friends” are jerks who get a lot of fun out of his many failed attempts to mount Spirit, but after Rain chastises Spirit for being rough with Little Creek, Spirit later takes his cue from her and does the same to these two when they crack up laughing at Little Creek’s latest failure. Spirit also meets a small Lakota girl (whose voice actress is the only girl in the whole cast) and engages gently with her, comforting her after accidentally knocking her over.

The Lakota horses are shown to be far happier and healthier under their care than the cavalry horses were, so the film is not demonising horse-riding altogether. It’s simply about respect; the Lakota treat their horses like fellow beings with individual personalities and feelings, rather than as a mass-produced “resource” like the soldiers.

Given this naturalistic portrayal, it’s even more painful to see the uncomfortably realistic attack on the Lakota camp by the American soldiers later on. Much like Cortés dragging Tzekel-Kan off at the end of the last film, the images of the cavalry tearing down the Lakota tipis and running them out of their camp are far harder to watch as you get older, because you realise that this happened all the time in those days. Armed with the racist belief in “manifest destiny”, the whites drove countless Native American people from their homes and either killed them or cut them off from their homelands. While this particular group are able to re-establish themselves at the end, history tells us that the same was not possible for many, many others.

The only other characters worth mentioning are the workers who are building the First Transcontinental Railroad (not the “Northern Pacific Railroad” mentioned by the Colonel, which was a different line altogether). These are the people responsible for dragging Spirit away from a dying Rain and setting him to the gruelling task of hauling the steam engine over a hill, although to give them some credit, a few of them do seem to treat their horses rather more kindly than the cavalry. (Not the guy with the whip though; he sucks). Aside from offering another obstacle in the path to Spirit’s freedom, they also provide an interesting bit of historical context with their task, which they did eventually complete (regardless of any delays caused by stubborn wild horses).

 

Animation

The head of the animation team was once again James Baxter, who closely studied horse anatomy and described the assignment as one of the most difficult he’d ever worked on: “I literally spent the first few weeks with my door shut, telling everyone, ‘Go away; I’ve got to concentrate.’ It was quite daunting because when I first started to draw horses, I suddenly realised how little I knew.” He was helped in this by consultant Dr. Deb Bennett, then director of the Equine Studies Institute, who came in to give lectures to staff.

The team also had the opportunity to bring in an actual three-year-old stallion named “Donner” (although it seems he was later renamed “Spirit” in honour of the film). Donner/Spirit was brought into the studio itself for the artists to study up close, just like on many Disney productions of old; in April 2002, after production had wrapped, the horse was then sent to Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary, where he still lived ten years later. Many members of the team went on to work on Shrek 2, where they were able to use their new expertise on the character of Donkey.

The real Spirit

Baxter supervised Spirit himself along with Jakob Hjort Jensen, Steve Horrocks and Dan Wagner, while Bruce Ferriz handled the character as a colt. Pres Romanillos (RIP) was the supervisor for Little Creek, William Salazar supervised Rain, Sylain Deboissy supervised Esperanza, Fabio Lignini supervised the Colonel, Simon Otto supervised the eagle, Lionel Gallat supervised the wranglers, Erik C. Schmidt and Alexander Williams supervised the cavalrymen, Philippe Le Brun and Mary Ann Malcomb supervised the Lakota and their horses, and Patrick Mate supervised the other animals and Murphy. Character design was led by Carlos Grangel, Pres Romanillos, Tony Siruno and Alfie Vann (they explain in the DVD extras about how they had to overlook anatomy for the sake of expressiveness by adding “eyebrows” to the horses).

Just like the last film, Spirit features more of that “tradigital convergence” which dear old Katzenberg was so proud of, blending the latest computer technology of the day with classic hand-drawn work to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it works, but there are moments where the digital stuff simply hasn’t aged well; that moment at the cavalry outpost where the soldiers turn to look at the horses “cheering” Spirit’s triumph is an awkward one, but nowhere is the mesh more obvious than in the train scene. What was it with dodgy CGI trains in these millennial animated films? Much like the one in Anastasia, this one sticks out like a sore thumb as it glides and bounces its way down the mountainside – the textures aren’t too bad, but the physics certainly are.

Still, all that can be forgiven for the sake of the exquisite hand-drawn work on offer here. The horses are all masterpieces of anatomical precision (DreamWorks eyebrows aside), looking distinctly more impressive than Altivo or the horses from Prince of Egypt just a few years earlier. The fact that the writers were able to get away with having a cast full of characters who barely speak and still wring so much drama out of them is a credit to the sheer skill of the animators (if only they hadn’t crippled themselves at the last minute with that damn narration).

As always, the background characters are brought to life with the simplest touches that give each a distinct personality; you can see it especially in the scenes of the wranglers and their horses, all of whom convey a great deal about their thoughts with the slightest changes in expression. Once again, all I can do is lament that this style is so rare nowadays – why did they ever stop making such fascinating art?

 

Plot

Alright, now I do love this film, but the one major flaw it has is the totally unnecessary narration given to Spirit. Committing to a near-silent film with a mostly equine cast would have been a daringly bold move, but apparently it was one that was just too bold for the filmmakers to run with, so they copped out with this lazy technique. It’s all so cheesy, and Matt Damon (much as I like him in other things) doesn’t have a very distinctive voice, making all the dialogue feel forgettable. This isn’t helped by the fact that most of it is simply conveying information that the audience could easily have worked out for themselves – it just wasn’t needed. Its inclusion signifies a lack of faith in the audience’s ability to follow the narrative without having everything spelled out for them, so it’s actually rather insulting. What a shame… they were so close!

Other than that, though, I have no real qualms with the plot of this film, which is after all pretty simple. It’s the standard adventure narrative – hero is forced out of his comfortable life and onto a dangerous journey, during which he must overcome numerous obstacles while also falling in love, before returning to his comfortable home again at the end. A slight twist is that there is no object, no MacGuffin for Spirit to find, which I actually appreciated; instead of jamming in some ham-fisted explanation for why Spirit has to leave his homeland, he is instead the victim of a realistic scenario, essentially being sold into slavery.

However, the film is careful to portray man’s relationship to horses in a more nuanced way than it first appears. While it does demonise the cavalry a bit for failing to “nurture” its horses and treating them like expendable resources, it also makes it clear that well-treated horses – like those of the Lakota – quite enjoy their lives with people. At the same time, it also shows us that some horses, like Spirit, will never be happy as captives and are better off in the wild. There are complexities to these human-equine relationships which makes them feel more realistic than simply defining all humans as bad and all horses as oppressed. It’s all about respect – treat your horse well, and they can prove to be loyal companions.

Illustration from the book “Indian History for Young Folks”, Francis Drake and Francis Dowd, 1919

As with our last film, we also have a bit of historical context for this one, although we’re not dealing with a specific year this time and there are no concrete historical figures present. The film takes place during the American Indian Wars, which were at their peak in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad (1863-1869), both of which influence the events of the story.

The Lakota would become powerful enemies of Colonel Custer and others like him in the decades ahead, with battles like Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee settling their fate in bloody fashion. Wikipedia seems to suggest that the Colonel’s attack on the Lakota in this film is specifically meant to be the Battle of Washita River, but this seems unlikely; that was a far larger engagement than what’s shown here, involving hundreds of fighters on both sides, and it took place out in Oklahoma, a good way away from this film’s western setting. Still, it’s awful knowing what lies in Little Creek’s future; as Spirit rides away from his peaceful encampment, he can have little idea of the tragedies that will soon befall the young man and his people.

East and West Shaking Hands at Laying Last Rail, Andrew J. Russell, 1869

Part of the problem (in addition to “manifest destiny”) was the expansion of the railways into their homelands, which Spirit has only inconvenienced at best. The context suggests that the railroad Spirit is enlisted to work on was the First Transcontinental, which was then known as the Pacific Railroad, not to be confused with the later Northern Pacific Railway referred to by the Colonel (that had been announced but not started in the 1860s). Despite Spirit’s best efforts, these railroads were indeed completed, so we can only hope that his homeland was eventually turned into a national park. Little Creek, meanwhile, would have been lucky to end up on a reservation – at least that would mean he survived the Trail of Tears.

Despite the simplicity of the plot, there are also a few holes to be picked here and there. For instance, the distances and scenery involved seem jarringly inconsistent – I gather that the artists drew inspiration from a variety of national parks, but the cherry-picking of locations leads to some geographical confusion.

Spirit’s homeland seems to have been based primarily on Wyoming, but when he’s taken to the cavalry outpost he’s suddenly in the deserts of the southwest, at least six hundred miles away. Perhaps it’s in neighbouring Utah? Then later, the Lakota encampment looks vaguely Californian, but their western range stretched only to the Dakotas, over a thousand miles to the northeast. I suppose the action is all taking place in roughly the right part of the country, at least.

There’s also the usual problem of unsurvivable injuries. For instance, how on earth does Rain survive not only being shot, but then plunging over a waterfall moments later? I get that the plot requires her to be absent while Spirit endures his final trial, but her recovery felt incredibly contrived. Not as contrived, though, as Spirit somehow surviving a definite broken neck when he gets a chain-leash caught on a log as he jumps over it. Good grief, it looks so painful! His whole body is yanked forwards and he’s hanging by his neck for a short time before Little Creek frees him. Considering how fragile real horses can be, I highly doubt that our mustang would have gotten through that unharmed – but hey-ho, the plot rules all. Artistic licence is our only explanation I suppose.

(Also, not to be a killjoy, but there’s no way on earth that Spirit could make that jump over the canyon. The long jump record for a horse is a still-impressive twenty-eight feet, but the gap must be at least twice that. Rule of Cool indeed.)

 

Cinematography

One thing this film really excels in is cinematography, just like its fellow hand-drawn DreamWorks brethren. Production designer Kathy Altieri worked with two art directors, Luc Desmarchelier and Ronald W. Lukas, to construct the most appealing vision of the old west possible, with the results speaking for themselves.

A shot of real-life Wyoming

I never noticed the Lakota crossing the river before…

(SONY DSC) – A shot of real-life Utah

The production team, including the above trio and the directors along with producer Mireille Soria, story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen and of course, Katzenberg, headed out to the western US themselves for a whistle-stop research tour of scenic spots to inspire their artwork. They packed eight national parks into just four days and took riding lessons to help them get a better feel for equine anatomy, with the finished film including elements of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks in the homelands of the mustangs and Lakota, as well as Monument Valley in the cavalry outpost and its desert setting. Most of the action is therefore presumably taking place in Wyoming, with the cavalry and railroad parts down in Utah (which the First Transcontinental passed through).

Everything looks amazing, with the opening shot standing out as a truly glorious piece of work. As the eagle soars majestically through the deserts of the southwest, you can just sit back and drink it all in like a moving painting – apparently, the filmmakers nicknamed the shot the “Homeland Pan”, which took over nine months to design. It really shows how far animation had come in the few years since the death of cumbersome multiplane cameras, with digital techniques now allowing for much greater range of movement. With seven hundred background elements and an average of thirty background layers of artwork for that opening scene alone, you can only imagine how much work was involved in bringing the rest of the film to life.

Interior of Fort Laramie, Alfred Jacob Miller, 1858-1860

Since the story is set so far from civilisation, there’s little in the way of recognisable man-made structures, although Fort Laramie may well have served as inspiration for the cavalry outpost. Elsewhere, however, you can make out distinctive natural features like the geysers of Yellowstone, the rapids of the Colorado River (which does also run through Utah) and the peak of Half Dome in Yosemite. The vistas on display in this one are absolutely delicious, but luckily, there’s enough substance to the story to support the lush visuals… after all, there’s nothing more frustrating than beauty without a soul (right Pocahontas?).

 

Soundtrack

For the music of Spirit, Katzenberg turned again to his old favourite, Hans Zimmer. The composer found this film more of a challenge than the previous one, experimenting with various approaches to try and capture Spirit’s “voice” through the music in place of the usual dialogue. Eventually, he chose to focus on specific melodies that are repeated at different points in Spirit’s journey (my favourite is the particularly triumphant one that plays over his canyon jump, among other scenes). Zimmer also worked closely with Bryan Adams to create the songs – apparently, country legend Garth Brooks was originally set to fill Adams’ role as the film’s main singer, but the early 2000s weren’t a great time for him and so that idea fell apart.

Now, I’ve given Phil Collins a bit of flak for his musical “narration” in Tarzan and Brother Bear, so it’s only fair to point out that Bryan Adams’ work on this film fills exactly the same role. However, for some inexplicable reason, I really like the songs in Spirit – perhaps it’s because they’re less tied to the context of the story and can be understood on their own terms, or maybe it’s just a simple preference for Adams’ voice. Whatever the answer, I remember the music being one of the things that really hooked me when I first saw this film as a teenager.

The first song, Here I Am, plays early on as we witness Spirit’s birth. It’s a tender, uplifting rock ballad which suits the moment perfectly, capturing all the gentle hesitancy of a new life beginning while also confidently proclaiming to the world “This is me”. There’s some interesting percussion, and in keeping with Zimmer’s leitmotif idea, the melody can be recognised in many later scenes.

Ooh, now this one is my favourite. You Can’t Take Me, which comes as Spirit is being dragged out of his homeland by the wranglers, is a moodier and more reflective piece, loaded with a kind of simmering fury and just a hint of fear. Accompanied by a lot of dramatic scenery, it expresses Spirit’s torment over being torn away from where he belongs, his desperation and his indignance, all culminating in his declaration of independence – “You can’t take me, I’m free.” You could also interpret it as the words of a fighter who refuses to let his opponent get the better of him, which in many ways describes Spirit just as well.

This one is a lot of fun! Get Off My Back plays over Spirit’s “breaking montage” and it’s positively oozing confidence – you know, that specific type of cocky, leather-clad, slightly-arrogant confidence embodied by young bucks of all species the world over. While it obviously works well in the specific context of a horse throwing riders off his actual back, it could easily be repurposed by a rebellious teen trying to shake off the authority in their life; I can just imagine them thrashing away to this. That’s what I love about these songs; they’re so flexible and easy to relate to, but they manage not to feel generic by stirring up a lot of the emotional weight of Spirit’s own story.

The tone of the next song, Sound the Bugle Now, stands in stark contrast to the last one. It’s such a beautiful piece, delicate and almost soothing yet filled with an ache of longing… it’s no surprise that this one plays during Spirit’s “rock bottom” moment, when he’s been captured yet again by the railroad workers. Cold and alone, believing Rain to be dead, Spirit struggles to muster his usual confidence and stands apart from the others, on the brink of despair. Adams’ rendition is spot on, capturing just the kind of defeated feeling needed.

As the song continues, though, a note of optimism seeps into it, bringing Spirit new hope. It’s almost like his conscience is kicking in, his inner strength rising to the surface to remind him not to give up, but what really gets him back in the game is the thought of his family waiting for him. It’s an excellent musical moment done entirely without dialogue, supported only by the expressive animation – why did they stop making films like these again?

With Brothers Under the Sun, only the melody remains in the final film, where it’s generally used in scenes between Spirit and Little Creek – but thankfully the full, sung version is featured in the credits. I’m glad it found a place somewhere, because it’s another smashing addition to the soundtrack, as raw and emotional as any other number in the film and featuring some great guitar work. These songs all seem to have a distinct rhythm to them, a kind of ebbing and flowing from the gentler verses to the powerful choruses, which works well with the outdoorsy setting.

I Will Always Return I saved for last, because it’s featured prominently throughout the film. It’s essentially Spirit’s personal theme, cropping up in many of his most important moments but perhaps most notably at the end, where it belts out with jubilance as Spirit re-joins his herd at last. The joy in Adams’ performance really sells this one, with the melody lingering in my mind days after I’ve seen the film. Something about it just stirs the soul… you can tell he was writing from the heart for this project.

We also have Don’t Let Go, which isn’t used in the film but is featured in the credits along with Brothers Under the Sun. For this one, Adams is joined by Sarah McLachlan for a sweetly ethereal duet which reminds me of warm summer’s evenings with its country-style guitars and piano melodies. Their voices harmonise beautifully, but McLachlan’s soaring refrain is the part that really sticks in my head – I can’t get enough of this music. This piece was written by Adams working with Gavin Greenaway, Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Gretchen Peters.

Outside of the music, there’s not a whole lot to be said on the topic of voice acting this time around. I’ve already noted how inappropriate Matt Damon’s narration felt, but I did enjoy James Cromwell’s restrained and nasty performance as the Colonel.

The most interesting aspect of the sound design here is actually the impressive array of real horse vocalisations used in place of the typical dialogue you’d expect in animation. It’s a refreshingly mature change from the “talking animals” thing (not that I mind that generally), but one made even more striking by the fact that it’s DreamWorks behind this, of all studios. Sound designer Tim Chau was sent to record horses at stables outside Los Angeles, with the final film’s “dialogue” featuring entirely natural horse sounds and hoof beats – there’s no Frank Welker or Jim Cummings here, talented though they are, and I think Spirit is the stronger for it.

 

Final Verdict –

Spirit was dubbed into over twenty different languages before release to try to increase its appeal to as many groups as possible, but it faced unusually stiff competition on its opening weekend, ultimately placing fourth behind Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man and Insomnia. It still did fairly well at the box office, but reviews were mixed. As always, I find myself agreeing with the late Roger Ebert, who praised the film by saying, “Uncluttered by comic supporting characters and cute sidekicks, Spirit is more pure and direct than most of the stories we see in animation – a fable I suspect younger viewers will strongly identify with.” Yeah – this guy gets it.

After being screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Spirit did also go on to be nominated for the newly introduced Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (then in its second year), but it lost to… Spirited Away. (The names were a coincidence, I’m sure). Honestly, I do love both films, but I have no problem with this outcome at all – quite the contrary, I will forever be delighted with the Academy for choosing that Japanese masterpiece for this honour, especially as they seem reluctant to nominate anime films in more recent years (Your Name, anybody?). Spirit may be excellent, but Spirited Away is a once-in-a-generation film – nothing could have beaten that. If it’s any consolation, Rain did become the first animated horse to receive an honorary registration certificate from the American Paint Horse Association!

The film was released to DVD and VHS in late 2002, followed by a Blu-ray release in 2014 and an “Ultra HD” Blu-ray due later this year. There’s also been a bit of controversy recently following the debut of a new Netflix show based on the film, called Spirit Riding Free. Goodness knows why this has come out so long after the film’s original release, but it’s easy to see why some fans are upset with it. Gone is the lovely hand-drawn animation, the moving soundtrack and the mature storytelling… now, Spirit’s computer-animated descendant (also “Spirit” because why give him his own name?) is exploring the frontier with a young girl called Lucky. Hm. I’m sure they’re having a grand old time, but what about the Trail of Tears? Anyone? No?

 

Anyway… in all seriousness, I’m not too salty about it because at least the existence of this series proves DreamWorks is willing to acknowledge Spirit’s popularity. Like so many other early 2000s flops, Spirit’s legacy has grown ever stronger over the years as his original audience matured; unsurprisingly, it’s a firm favourite among the equestrian set and is hopefully being introduced to lots of new young riders by their parents today. It’s not perfect, sure – it can be very slow at times, and Matt Damon’s “helpful” comments interrupt the film at random – but it’s deep and passionate in a way that few other DreamWorks films have been allowed to be. And yes, the animation helps. Please do seek this one out if you aren’t familiar with it, and let it sweep you off to the wild frontiers of old.

 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this review! Next time, we’ll be coming to the final hand-drawn offering from DreamWorks, Sinbad, followed by a trip back to the eighties for a few weeks of old-school favourites. As always, look out for a new book review in the meantime. Until next time, take care and staaay animated!

My Rating – 4/5

Who knew the Colonel had such fabulous hair?!

 

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References
I consulted my own books to research for this review, as well as some standard web sources:
The Art of DreamWorks Animation (2014) by Ramin Zahed
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9942631 – credit for poster
By Andrew J. Russell – Yale University Libraries, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41243910 – credit for Golden Spike ceremony image
By Internet Archive Book Images – https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14566708480/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/indianhistoryfor00drak/indianhistoryfor00drak#page/n466/mode/1up, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44146725 – credit for image of cavalry attacking an Indian encampment
By Alfred Jacob Miller – Walters Art Museum: Home page Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18782827 – credit for image of Fort Laramie interior
By I, Michael Gäbler, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8807982 – credit for Wyoming scenery
By Peter K Burian – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74995169 – credit for Monument Valley image
https://returntofreedom.org/what-we-do/sanctuary/our-horses/spirit/ – details of the horse that was used as a model for the artists
https://www.animationsource.org/spirit/en/info_chars/&id_film=16 – a breakdown of all the minor named characters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad – Wiki page for the First Transcontinental Railroad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit:_Stallion_of_the_Cimarron – Wiki page
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166813/ – IMDB profile