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by Frank Wilkins
There was a day when watching a children's animated feature meant I had to submit to a couple of hours of Barney's First Movie, or Thomas the Tank Engine, but as my child grows up, so do the movies he likes to watch. These days I actually look forward to the next animated feature, whether it be an offering from Disney or SKG Dreamworks. I mean who didn't love Tarzan, Shrek or Monsters, Inc. But I must admit that going to see Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron did not pique my interest in the least. I'm a guy and guys don't like horses. It's not that I don't really like horses, it's just that I don't know much about them, but I do know that horses can't fly.

The movie opens with an awesome scene of open countryside and a herd of horses running wildly across the western plain. The first thing I notice is that the animation is not what I expected. With the success of Shrek and other 3D computer animated features, I figured we'd never see another 2D cell animation movie again. Besides, wouldn't that be like using old technology? As the wild stallions rumble across the screen, we see a stunning eagle's eye view of action as we zoom alongside and over and through the herd. 2D or not, that was cool stuff! Upon further examination I noticed that the movie is actually a combination of 2D cell animation and 3D Computer graphics. It seems the backgrounds and landscape are computer generated and the horses and people are traditional cell animation. This was really noticeable by means of near photographic realism in the raging river scene and the train scenes. The illustration of the horses is flawless. All the movements and characteristics looked real and accurate right down to the flaring nostrils and heaving chests as they run. We notice something very unusual about the animals in this movie though…none of them speak. They don't have too. We know exactly what they are saying to each other. Although the body movements and facial mannerisms are overly exaggerated and even human-like, they tell us all we need to know without speaking a word of language of the two-leg.

We join the herd as a mare is giving birth to a young foal that will eventually grow up to become Spirit. We watch him become the leader and protector of the herd. However, with the privileges of being the leader, also comes the responsibility. Curiosity gets the better of him as he goes to inspect the strange presence of humans in his territory. He is captured by the humans, and here is where we start getting our messages about nature that we've seen many times before. The white man moves westward and encroaches on the home of the Indians and horses. Spirit is taken to a military encampment where he is corralled and saddled, but he can't be ridden and wild horses should not be tamed. He is befriended by an Indian who is also held captive in the fortress, they escape and their adventure begins.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is not anything that we haven't seen before. It kind of fits a formula and is as predictable as any other children's movie, but it has a genuine heart and spews forth good messages. It is perfectly safe and very entertaining for children of all ages, and there is not a single bad word in it. There are some scenes depicting the soldiers as bad men shooting guns, but it is definitely not over done. We go on an adventure that touches all of the human emotions from laughter, to sadness, to anger and I even shed a tear or two. In the end, all is well as a children's movie should be and I am here to tell you that horses indeed can fly!

Frank Wilkins

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Complete Cast:

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