Movie Thoughts: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

• Released: 4 November 2016
• Directed by: Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook
• Running time: 1 h 23 min
• Rating 4.5/5

Synopsis

A wild horse in America is captured by colonizers and must find his way back to his herd with the help of a Lakota man named Little Creek.

My Thoughts

A film I watched a lot as a horse-hyperfixated five-year-old but saw less and less as I grew older. Prior to re-watching it for this review, I actually haven’t seen it in like five years, I believe. So it’s definitely a different experience, especially since I’m also watching it in the original English version now, not the Dutch dub. So, let’s have a look at this horsey movie, right? Is it as good as I remember?

Okay, so the plot by itself doesn’t sound mightily complicated or new, but the way it is executed is amazing. The story constantly has you wondering what’s going to happen next and how Spirit and Little Creek will make it out okay, even if it is seemingly against impossible odds. You also get a great idea of the bond that blooms between this young man and the stallion. It’s just done fantastically, and I can’t commend it enough for that.

The characters are pretty darn good, too! Spirit himself, despite not really speaking other than some internal monologue, has a very clear personality and changes over the story as he becomes more open to humans, especially Little Creek, and ends up befriending Rain. Little Creek is a very good deuteragonist, he’s just so likable and cares so much for this horse who doesn’t even let him ride him. There’s of course Rain, who, while not having too much to do in the film, still has a clear personality. The villains are very strong, too. They aren’t the deepest, but they don’t need to be. You just know they’re evil by what they’re doing, and the Colonel definitely leaves a huge impact as a villain. It’s sad that he doesn’t end up being defeated in the end, but at the same time this nod of respect to Spirit and Little Creek is something meaningful. I’d still like to have seen him perish, though. Fuck that guy.

The pacing is just perfect. Nothing in this movie lingers for too long, it flows smoothly, the scenes are connected wonderfully. It’s just one of the most well-paced animated movies I’ve ever seen.

Now let’s get to the visuals. Starting with, of course, the animation. Hot damn is it good. First and foremost, horses are a pain to draw, let alone animate. Yet they totally nailed it. The movements all feel realistic, like an actual horse could make them, and the body-language is accurate as far as I know as well. They also managed to make the horses really expressive, which is another thing that’s hard to do on such an animal. The humans are animated very well, too, which goes without saying. But I just wanted to give a special shoutout to the beautifully 2D-animated horses. The animation isn’t just 2D, however. Backgrounds and elements like background characters are sometimes done in CGI. This… usually works. In some instances the less-detailed and well-animated background horses do somewhat stand out among their better-looking 2D-animated counterparts, but it’s never really distracting unless you pay close attention to it. The incorporation of CGI into the film looks a tad dated by today’s standards, but it’s still definitely impressive. Overall, the animation in Spirit rocks.

The backgrounds also look fantastic. They’re a mix between 2D and 3D, and mostly look fantastic. I absolutely love the color palettes they chose for them, too. From the harsher yellows and somber grays used for the scenes where Spirit is captured by the settlers to the very comforting reds and oranges of the Lakota village, it’s just very well-done.

Then there’s the voice acting. All of the actors had a great delivery and I especially liked the narration by Spirit (Matt Damon). He never directly has any dialogue, but he conveys the inner monologue of this stallion perfectly.

The songs of course also matter. While I personally have them all memorized with Dutch lyrics due to my childhood, the English originals definitely deliver. I just love the soundtrack of this movie in general, both the background scores and the songs with lyrics. These are nothing short of fantastic. 

Overall, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is a movie that’s nothing short of fantastic. It has a great soundtrack, wonderful characters, stellar animation and a perfect story-structure.

Just go check this one out already. I can’t recommend it enough. Even if you’re not a big horse fan (AKA me nowadays), it’s still worth seeing, even if it is just for appreciating the visuals, story and soundtrack.