Well, everyone, today, we are going to be diving into one of the last hand-drawn animated films that was released by DreamWorks during the early 2000s, before the studio, and many other ones, including Disney, decided to shift entirely over to computer animation, for the most part. But before that happened for DreamWorks, the studio released two final hand-drawn films in between the years of 2001’s Shrek, and 2004’s Shrek 2. Those films being 2003’s Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas, and this film, 2002’s Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron. Well, it is the one from 2002 that we are going to be reviewing today. Now, before we move on to the review, I would like to say something to you all, the audience really quick. I know that for some of you who watched me write film reviews just on Facebook, before moving onto a blog, and posting them on my newer blog, and onto Facebook, you may have noticed that with films like a couple of the Jurassic World films, and, I think, a couple others, I have reviewed them a second time around here on my blog as well. Well, if you think that a weird thing, then I understand. Well, just know that after seeing some film reviewers on YouTube, like my friend Steven Mannasse, and Rachel Wagner, review a film more than once on their channel, I figured, why not try it on here as well, especially for ones that I had only reviewed on Facebook before even starting this blog, you know? Who knows, maybe I’ll have additional things to say about it, say more positive, or even negative thoughts about a film that I might review again on this blog. We’ll see! Either way, I think that I should have a right to review a film more than once, especially for those that were just reviewed on Facebook, but not on this blog. Just a thought! That all said, even though this isn’t in preparation for a sequel, I thought that, especially since I reviewed the supposed sequel, or just spin-off film that was just released back in 2021, I figured why not review the original film that was released back in 2002, and was most likely successful enough on video to spawn a TV show on Netflix over a decade later, as well as the 2021 theatrical release of Spirit Untamed? So now, especially for those of you who have followed my blog, and those of you who have followed me even just on Facebook, I give you my review, or rather a second one for the sake of this blog, of the 2002 DreamWorks animated film, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron.
Plot: In the 19th Century Old West, a young Kiger Mustang named Spirit (Matt Damon provides narration for this character, along with Bryan Adams doing the singing part of that), lives most likely in the Rocky Mountains of most likely Wyoming, with his mom, and a herd of wild horses as leader of that herd. But one day, Spirit is taken by a group of cowboys to a U.S. Army camp in the desert of Utah. But once he gets rescued by a Paint Mare named Rain, and an Indian of the Lakota tribe named Little Creek (Daniel Studi), can these two new friends help Spirit get back to his homeland?
Now, for those of you who read my first review of this film just on Facebook, you may recall me mentioning how, when I saw a sneak peek of it on my DVD copy of Shrek, I was fairly excited for it, but more excited for it when I saw a better trailer for it on Ice Age in theaters just a month and a half before Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron hit theaters. Well, here’s a little more that I will confess in addition to that. First of all, how many of you out there have heard the songs “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root, or “You Set Me Free” by Michelle Branch? Probably a few of you out there, yes? Well, interestingly enough, after hearing some of the latter song play during maybe the last half of the trailer for Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, and the former song play as a montage sequence during Ice Age, I had both songs stuck in my head for a while. Why was that, you may wonder? Maybe because of the fact that both songs play in the musical key of C? You got me! Anyway, even though “You Set Me Free” didn’t play during the actual film, I still enjoyed the original songs by Bryan Adams for this movie, but more on that in a bit.
Now, that with all that out of the way, how does Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron still hold up just as much when I last rewatched it a few years ago, and even before, when it came out in 2002, and shortly after? Well, it does, actually. First of all, like in many of DreamWorks’ animated films, especially the other four hand-drawn ones, the animation is top notch at best. That should probably come as no surprise, considering a lot of the animators for DreamWorks came from Disney, when they left with Jeffrey Katzenberg after his falling out with former CEO Michael Eisner, and his decision to form DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen. I mean from the backgrounds of the mountains, and grassy plains, to the beautiful animation of the canyon in Utah, and even the beautiful night skies, you can tell that the animators put in plenty of effort from beginning to end. After rewatching this film again just a couple weeks ago, I was also surprised to find how much detail they put in facial expressions on the characters alone, whether it be the raising of the eyebrows even on a horse, a smile on a human, or even a horse character, you name it. Truth be told, even if Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron takes a more realistic approach in it’s storyline (more on that in a bit), it was probably for the best that this film was animated, as a live-action film, especially one released at a time like the early to mid-2000s, probably couldn’t have that much fun, if at all, in pulling off good facial expressions on an animal. So, because of this, it was unique, and creative how they did that whole deal here.
Now, I bet you’re all wondering what I meant by this film taking a more realistic approach than most other animated films. Well, unlike many other animated films, especially ones that feature animals as the main characters, neither the horses, or any of the other animals speak this time around. Instead, we have two different things going on. First off, there’s Matt Damon being a narrator for this film. Basically, he is the voice for Spirit in this film. Damon narrates Spirit’s thoughts, and feelings throughout the course of this film, such as how Spirit feels this way, or that way, what being a leader of his herd meant, that he has conflicting feelings with certain situations, and things like that. Then, there’s Bryan Adams singing for Spirit. Basically, imagine if instead of Simba in the Lion King singing that he’s eager to be King of Pride Rock, Elton John would be saying that in his place if Simba, and the animals of The Lion King didn’t speak. Thankfully, that was not the case, since all the characters in that film were animals. Anyway, that’s what happens here in Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, Bryan Adams sings when he does his musical narration for Spirit, say when Adams sings about Spirit being born in a new world, and having a new start (“Here I Am”), wanting humans to get off of his back (“Get Off My Back”), and more throughout the course of this film. That said, instead of Spirit himself singing about, or saying those things himself, Bryan Adams does that instead for the musical portion, and Matt Damon for the speaking moments whenever a point needs to get across for Spirit, and any situation surrounding him for this film. Now, I bet you’re wondering why it likely works better for an animated film like Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron for the animals not to talk much more so than in other animated films like 1994’s The Lion King, or 2000’s Dinosaur, for example. Well, maybe my judgment is a little off because neither example that I gave was given a chance for that to be pulled off. However, I think not having the animals themselves speak in this case works beautifully well because, one, of there being humans in this film. Sure, more popular DreamWorks films like Shrek had animals talk, and there being humans. Still, maybe it was the difference in tone in the cases of a movie like Shrek, and one like Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron? Again, maybe I’m missing something. Anyway, I think that the route of not having the animals speak works very well since this film takes a more realistic approach, and, yet, puts it in the form of animation. Films like this, and Prince Of Egypt, for example, somehow know how to pull off a stunt like this very well. Additionally, the other reason this move works well for this movie is that Matt Damon, and Bryan Adams, in addition to helping be the voice for the horse, Spirit, also help move the story along, develop some of the characters of this film as well, most notably ones like a Lakota Indian named Little Creek, and a Paint Mare named Rain, and things like that.
This leads to the storyline overall. The story is very unique, creative, and truly knows how to keep the audience engaged, despite not having the animals talk. Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron definitely breaks cliches in quite a few ways not only for that aspect, but for others as well, like for how relationships are developed, and handled, and even the ending. I won’t give away what happens near, and at the end. However, let’s just say that it’s very different, and unique especially from your typical animated film, and gets pulled off beautifully well. There are also some funny moments, as well as some surprisingly very emotional moments that will pull heartstrings, including a very heartwarming ending. Again, see this film, if you haven’t, and you’ll see what I mean. Some people might take offense at the fact that white men were portrayed as being evil, and Indians being good guys in this movie. Still, since this movie takes place during the 19th Century Old West, and the Indian Wars took place during that time period, can you blame the filmmakers showing that aspect even somewhat, even if it was much worse in real life than what was briefly shown in that regard for this film? Yes, there were good white men. However, since this movie obviously wanted to focus more on portraying a horse’s point of view, and this film could only cover so much, especially around an hour, and a half, it may understandable that though it may have been a difficult decision, it might have been for the best that white men were portrayed in that way. I don’t know. Also, despite this film being one of the very rare ones from DreamWorks to receive a G-rating (yes, extremely rare, with only this one, and 2000’s Chicken Run having that rating to this day), the movie acts very mature in it’s storytelling, and the film’s themes. One other thing I would like to bring up for the story aspect is that it was very nice for this film to have a feel not only of animated films like The Lion King, and even Pocahontas to a degree, but also live-action films such as The Adventures Of Milo & Otis, Homeward Bound, a little bit of Dances With Wolves, and maybe even a mini-series like Lonesome Dove as well.
In addition to all of this, did I fail to mention the score by Hans Zimmer? Wow, one word to say for it is breathtaking. This score for this movie definitely deserves more credit than it’s given. After people hear it, it wouldn’t be surprising if a lot of people decided to buy, or download its soundtrack, especially when hearing the score in the intro of this film, and during the more epic moments that occur in this film. Not to mention all the instruments that are incorporated in the score for this film, like the guitar, the melodic piano, and more. Oh, and having some Irish folklore mixed in was a nice touch for Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron’s score as well.
Now, I briefly touched on the songs for this film a bit ago. However, I will say that the songs are very fun, catchy, and memorable overall. From beautiful melodic ones like “Here I Am”, to comedic ones like “Get Off Of My Back”, songs of determination like “You Can’t Take Me”, to even ones with a more sad, and serious tone like “Sound The Bugle”, or even the finale song, “I Will Always Return”, and any of Adams’ other original songs, these songs that were written by him are memorable, help develop the characters, notably Spirit, and the storyline, and are overall very enjoyable to listen to, and make Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron a really enjoyable experience.
Then, there are the characters. You’ll love these characters as well. Spirit was a great character for being one that doesn’t even talk. Same goes for Rain, Spirit’s love interest, Spirit’s mother, and even the Lakota Indian, Little Creek. Then, there’s the Colonel. Not only is this character voiced by James Cromwell, and serves as the villain for this movie, but he also looks very similar to a real historical figure like General Custer. What’s even more is that despite being the villain of this movie, he also ends up standing out, and being a little more different from many other animated villains. Hard to believe? Well, let’s just say that you’d be surprised by some of the ways that the Colonel is handled in this movie, specifically around the middle to end of this film.
Finally, the movie also does great with the relationships. Not only was the relationship between Spirit, and Rain done well, but also his relationship with his mother, and even his relationship with the Indian, Little Creek. That is another positive about this film is that it develops nearly every relationship really well. In fact, if you saw DreamWorks’ How To Train Your Dragon (which, of course was released eight years later, in 2010), and liked the bond between Hiccup, and Toothless, I can guarantee you’ll also love even the bond between Spirit, and Little Creek, for instance.
And that’s my review for Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron. So, with all of that said, why did this film only recuperate $73 million of it’s $80 million budget back, with only an additional $49 million for a total $122 million worldwide? Did it suffer from competition from films like the first Spider-Man film that starred Tobey McGuire, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, which also came out in May 2002, and then likely getting overshadowed even more by family films like the live-action Scooby Doo, and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, both of which came out a month after this film? Most likely! However, I do also think that Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron probably also suffered from not getting marketed, and advertised quite nearly as well as it should have been in the end. And sure, people starting to like computer animated films more might have served as a factor as well. And it’s all a shame, because Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron deserves more recognition for the reasons that I mentioned before, and more. There’s heart to this film, which truly shows, the animation of the backgrounds, and characters is outstanding, the songs by Bryan Adams are really good, yet underrated, Matt Damon does great with the voice narration, the score by Hans Zimmer is out of this world, and the film is overall really great. If you haven’t given Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron yet, rent it, watch it on Netflix, or whatever else you want to do to see this film. Trust me when I say that you’ll be glad that you saw it by the time this film is over. And hey, after seeing it, you might find that you want to own your own copy of this film. Again, definitely Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 