My Movie Review on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron · 3:08pm Jul 4th, 2021
Happy Independence Day, my friends.
This is your patriotic film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Sound the trumpets! Play the drums! Light the fireworks! And wave the American flag! Because it's once again the time of year to celebrate American becoming its own country.
Today, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm gonna give you guys my take of Dreamworks's "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron".
Here's the rundown of this adventure:
Spirit is a Kiger Mustang stallion who was born in the wild. As the leader of his own herd, he has long served as its protector and shared a loving relationship with his fellow horses.
However, after being captured by humans, Spirit finds himself in a world where horses are no longer a species that runs free. Instead, the horses merely serve humans for whatever is required of them, even if it means breaking their spirits.
I'd like to be honest, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" was something I've been planning on doing a review of for a very long time, often as part of my April line since it was an animal-centered film. Unfortunately, despite my desires to do my own take on this movie, I've had to put it aside in order to focus more on reviewing other movies. That, and time just kept sneaking away from me so fast that I'd often lose motivation.
But, it later occurred to me that this movie would be perfect to analyze for Independence Day. The biggest reasons as to why are because it takes place in America and it's about the title character trying to achieve his freedom, as well as take a stand against his oppressors. Overall, I finally found when I could review this movie so that I'd no longer put off doing so.
After taking the time to rewatch this movie, I'm proud to say that "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" was as awesome as I remembered it being in my childhood.
For instance, the animation was amazing with a capital 'A'!
One of the biggest things I took note of was that the characters were animated with a sense of depth. In this case, they didn't look like individuals stuck on paper and had a three-dimensional layer to them. With the animals being silent characters in contrast to other animated films like "The Lion King", it was amazing to see how emotive the animators made the animals to where having them talk wouldn't be necessary. The hard work the animators put into working with the animals also translated what the personalities of the creatures are. In addition to this, the animation used to create the settings, objects, water, and fire was both groundbreaking and appealing to the eye.
The direction by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, and the story by John Fusco, were spectacular as well.
Admittedly, it did feel weird to see animals as the central focus in an animated film not speak like humans can. But yet, the filmmakers managed to make it work regardless. Everything about the move as a whole helped Spirit's story actually feel like it was being told from the perspective of a real horse, and it made the movie unique among others. Plus, the filmmakers incorporated wonderful heart and emotion, as well as witty and comedic moments that were fun enough to lighten the mood. Having also learned a long time ago that co-producer Jeffrey Katzenberg lended a large creative hand in the project, I could definitely tell that he was clearly all into the whole thing.
The music by Hans Zimmer, and the songs by Bryan Adams, were fantastic.
From the first melody I heard, I was immediately hypnotized by Zimmer's score. He created perhaps one of the most emotionally-invested soundtracks of his career, and it gave the movie a boost in being a visual-venture thanks to reflecting the feelings of the characters and tone of the story. The songs by Bryan Adams were wonderful too. Not only were they a nice compromise from having characters singing and dancing, but they helped move the story forward and fit the scenes they were featured in like a glove, such as when "Get Off of My Back" was played while the American Cavalry men tried to ride Spirit and he kept throwing them off.
What made Adams so perfect as the singer was that his voice had the sound of a college boy leading a rock-and-roll concert, and he showcased an impressive range that proved he could sing for all kinds of songs. "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" was also a great introduction to Adams's work as a singer and songwriter, that's for sure.
Finally, the voice acting, characters, and character development were incredible.
In terms of the voice acting, I have noted that there weren't too many major performers on board. But, the portrayals of James Cromwell as George Armstrong Custer and Daniel Studi as Little Creek were what I'd like to call the most powerful and emotionally-invested performances out of everyone. The narration provided by Matt Damon for the character of Spirit was brilliant too, mainly because he exemplified the feeling that the story was being told from a real horse. That, and his casting was surprisingly fitting.
The characters themselves weren't without personality, and their developments throughout the movie aided them in being instantly three-dimensional. In my opinion, the characters that grew the most were Spirit, Rain, Custer, and Little Creek.
In conclusion, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" is an instant classic, as well as one of the most unique animated films around. Seeing this movie again has also made me wish Dreamworks could make more hand-drawn animated films at some point despite "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" being their last one to date. It's mainly because it would be a nice change of pace considering computer-animation has become too common and overused.
So, I rate "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" five out of five stars.
Ah, a great film and one of my favorites. So underrated.
One of the greatest horse movies of all time!
So great it spawned an equally amazing spinoff series!
The 2021 theatrical film, maybe not so blockbuster.....
But this film truly stands free and independent from all!!!
I loved this movie. The soundtrack was amazing too.
5 out of 5 stars from me as well!