It’s always fun looking back at the content you consumed as a child. There wasn’t any weight to the artistic merit of it, it just had to make you feel good watching it as a kid. No matter what area you’re from, there will always be something that will define your childhood.
Whether it’s a toy, a fond memory, or a film, there will most likely be something that takes you back to the good old days if you are reminded of it. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Is that film for me. A movie that I am 100% biased about, yet I’ll have to dissect it for the reason of this review.
How to Stream or Download Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. if you like the film, check out also Spirit Untamed which is a spin-off/sequel/reboot of the original.
The Movie Review
Spirit follows the story of a young Kiger Mustang stallion, a horse who has unlimited stamina and unlimited spirit. Set in the 19th century, deep in the Wild West, Spirit rides alone searching for his purpose in life.
His life completely changes when he encounters a young human and develops a bond with him. To further increase these complications, he ends up falling in love with a young and beautiful mare who shows him that there’s more to life than being an aggressive stallion.
Spirit is a film about an unbreakable animal, forcefully tied to a chain of command. Spirit is a wild horse, unbroken by any person before. When he is pushed to the edge, this horse will bug anybody off and do what it must to survive.
That aspect is focused upon perfectly in the movie, yet the film misses out on some important character development that would have brought the character full circle. There’s a lot of uncertainty in this film’s script, it is visible through the dialogues, which just doesn’t make sense at times.
Now while the dialogue itself isn’t perfect, there is a lot to love here in terms of the voice acting. Right off the bat, you have Matt Damon, one of the best actors of that time as the lead character in your film.
Matt Damon portrays Spirit as one of the toughest creatures imaginable, free-spirited, wild at heart, and brave. When he is forcefully taken away from his herd, you can actually feel the pain and spirits character due to Matt’s voice acting.
The other cast though doesn’t really seem very interested in the film. None of the actors make you feel anything about the characters here, and that’s a damn shame.
The one thing this film does perfectly well is the representation of native characters. They show an indigenous tribe and showcase how the colonials ended up damaging their psyche.
It also showcases Spirit as the one character that wants to help these people, especially since he forms a bond with one of the people of the village. Spirit and Little Creek end up becoming really close by the end of the film, which leads to one of the best endings in a kids’ film by far.
Of course, the best thing about this film is its wonderfully creative art style. This was an era where animated films were experimenting a lot with their designs, and Spirit was one of the most gorgeous ones today.
The film had a fantastic mix of 2D imagery, combined with 3D renders in the backgrounds to help you feel the speed of this horse to a higher degree. Everything when it comes to the film’s visuals is pitch-perfect, there is no flaw that can be found in that particular area.
The music on the other hand though, it can get quite repetitive and oftentimes the songs end up being very campy. Sure, this is a children’s film, which means that songs such as that are not going to be a target of ridicule.
Even so, going back and watching it as an adult, the songs don’t really feel nostalgic; in fact, they feel kind of ridiculous in a film of this sort.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, if you are a 9-year-old kid or younger, this is a film that you absolutely need to watch. It will entertain you, excite you and engage you throughout its runtime. Though, if you are an adult, then it’s best that you save your time for something else.
This is a children’s film through and through, from the beginning to the very end, so make sure you’re aware of that when you’re going in.
