Spirit - Der wilde Mustang

If only ALL animation was this great. This film is classic because it is strong is two simple aspects: Story and Character. The characters in this film are beautifully personified. I felt for all of the characters, and human-animal relationship in the movie works perfectly. The beautiful animation and 3-D computer animation hasn't worked better in any other film. This is a great movie for kids, and for adults who want a classic hero's journey. 8 of 10.

It's said that when Disney first contemplated Dinosaur (2000), the idea was to have the giant lizards play out non-speaking roles and that this was eventually abandoned, principally through a fear of alienating a junior audience. Asbury and Cook's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron reverses that decision, takes the braver choice and leaves the equine main characters mute - though still subject to some restrained first person narration by Matt Damon. `They say that the history of the west was written from the saddle of a horse - but it's never been told from the heart of one' he says and, right from the start, it is clear that this will be a Western with a different perspective. Animated Westerns are rare enough (the last one I can easily recall is Fievel Goes West (1991)) and those told from an animal's viewpoint even scarcer. Spirit is refreshing in that it carries off a combination of these two challenges effectively, if inevitably somewhat simplistically.

The stallion Spirit's indomitable nature is what shapes the narrative, and is his most defining characteristic. His craving for freedom and independence remain uppermost, even when eventually tempered by the relationships eventually established with the mare Rain and the Indian Little Creek. Strictly speaking, one might argue that Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is less of a Western than a nature film, in which pastoral ideals loom more important than the rigours of life at the frontier. As such, it plays more like a cross between the pony paean of Champion the Wonder Horse, and the pantheism of The Indian Fighter, than as a regular film of the genre. The traditional Western often centres around the establishment of civilisation, the drive West, the homestead movement, and so on. The scene in which Spirit wrecks the locomotive, checking the advance of the railroad, is at odds with a genre world view which, typically, has seen the iron way's coming as a tremendous advance.

Spirit seeks to keep the wilderness pristine, a place apart from the footfall of white men, where foals can be brought up in peace and security. Of course, his halt of railroad expansion can only be a temporary one, but it is good enough in the meantime. It is as well that he acts when and how he does too, for his friends the Indians are blissfully unaware of events, and seem unable to act with similar determination. A far cry from the marauding savages frequently presented by the Western in its heyday, the tribe here are a peaceful people, somewhat enervated by the need to have a strong animal lead and presumably the claims of political correctness. Little Creek is the exception (although still open-mouthed at the stallion's continued rebelliousness at the fort), even if his amazingly timely and successful trudge to find Spirit down the tracks strains belief.

First time co directors Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook have had some involvement with successful animated projects in the past, such as Prince of Egypt, Toy Story, and Little Mermaid. They've clearly learned from their experience. Hans Zimmer's stirring score (which echoes his triumphant Gladiator music at times) and Byan Adam's throaty warbling helps them along, and the story of Spirit runs like clockwork, displaying none of the cutesy parochialism which mars some of Disney's work. With no horse dialogue to slow matters down, much is conveyed through meaningful neighs and equine expressions, surprisingly effective in communication.

Some viewers have praised the quality of the animation, and while it is done effectively enough much of the figure drawing has a stripped-down quality which leads to a certain TV blandness (more noticeable in the pan-and-scan video version). The most effective animation occurs during the dramatic destruction of the railroad, but even here there's a suspicion that, had a little more care been spent on light and shade (for instance), the results would have been even more impressive. Least effective of all is the scene on the train, when the despondent Spirit sees his family and friends imagined in falling snowflakes, as the graphic visualisation is disappointingly unsubtle. It's at times like this that the soundtrack proves its worth, carrying the reader over such less effective patches with some emotional charge.

When all is said and done of course, it's the target audience which matters the most. The two junior ladies in my household have watched Spirit repeatedly since it arrived at Christmas and would give the film a big four thumbs up. No doubt the successful reception of the feature on the big screen may encourage a sequel (the antipathy between Spirit and The Colonel has been left unresolved, for instance) and in my home, at least, the result of Spirit and Rain beginning a family would be eagerly awaited.

SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, the new animated feature from Dreamworks, is an honest-to-God western. Some of you may be forgiven for thinking it was just a horse movie, a distinct and definable genre in its own right (e.g. MY FRIEND FLICKA), but I assure you this is a real, bonafide western, complete with cavalry, Indians, Monument Valley and the building of the transcontinental railroad. It's a familiar saga (to western fans) but told here from the point-of-view of a wild horse. It just may be the only western that children in today's audience will get to see on the big screen. (And it's perfectly suitable for even the smallest children.)

The movie has three selling points for people who are appalled at how childish and inane animated features in the U.S. have been over the last decade or so:

1) It's got a serious story. 2) The horses don't talk. 3) The horses don't sing.

The latter two functions are served by Spirit's first-person narration, voiced by Matt Damon and told in the past tense as a reminiscence, and several songs on the soundtrack written and performed by Bryan Adams. Neither of these elements were particularly necessary and the movie would have been better without them, although they aren't fatal. Hans Zimmer's excellent music score does a far more effective job in conveying, in dramatic and emotional terms, what the songs belabor. But, thankfully, aside from Damon, there are no other celebrity voices.

The other big selling point is the artwork. The background art and western landscapes are stunning and offer a mix of painted scenes and computer-created scenery, although everything seems computer enhanced in one way or another. Most importantly, the film gives us a chance to savor the backgrounds. The characters don't zip around in constant frenetic motion the way they do in Disney movies. Although there are several chase scenes, the characters are just as likely to pause and connect with each other in movements reflecting naturalistic behavior. There are moments of gentleness, tenderness, curiosity, and discovery, so we get to see the space the characters are in and get to connect with it ourselves. There's a real palpable sense of environment and geography, of time and place, something rarely found in American animated features.

The character design is also well-done. The human characters all have solid, expressive, recognizable faces, strongly differentiated from each other. The horses are well designed also, looking like horses, but anthropomorphised enough to give them recognizable emotional responses. No character, human or animal, is exaggerated for cartoon effect.

I normally have problems with digital animation and computer created imagery and SPIRIT is, for the most part, computer created, although it replicates the look of traditional 2-D animation. Still, if this is the wave of the future, then SPIRIT shows us how it should be done. This is digital animation at the best I've ever seen it (including the Japanese anime features I've seen in the last few years). And combined with a good story and clean concept that doesn't patronize its audience, it's created what I think is the finest American animated feature since BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991). If there is any significant flaw in SPIRIT, aside from the songs, it's that the story falls short of greatness, undercut by the lack of a sufficiently emotional payoff. Still, it's a better story than any I've seen in an American animated production since at least THE LION KING. Some viewers may quibble about the politically correct aspects of the story (cavalry=bad, Indians=good), but there is a moment near the end that balances things out in an intelligent, dramatic way.

SPIRIT may suffer at the boxoffice because it doesn't have the all-important lowest-common-denominator touches that have so cheapened the animated genre but attracted audiences looking for easy laughs (e.g. celebrity voices doing hyperactive genies, show-tune-singing meerkats and jive-talking jackasses). But it should give a measure of hope to that small, passionate segment of the audience that cares about animation as a medium capable in its own right of great storytelling and cinematic artistry.

Whether it is the best Dreamworks movie is up for debate, but it is a long way from being their worst. Along with The Prince of Egypt, one of the most powerful, evocative and stirring animated films I have seen along with Watership Down, Spirit:Stallion of the Cimarron has to be Dreamworks's most ambitious film to date. It is also visually stunning, and do I think it is underrated? Yes, I do. I am going to do something I have not before in my earlier reviews, I am going to talk about each element of the film and talk about them in sufficient enough detail(or at least I will try to):

ANIMATION: My goodness! The animation in this film is absolutely stunning! No, no, can I change that to gorgeous? I cannot count the amount of times I sat there awed at the audaciousness of the backgrounds, the vibrancy of the colours and the swiftness of the character movements especially on Spirit himself. I know I have raved about how amazing the animation was in Prince of Egypt and Over the Hedge, but seriously the sheer beauty of the animation here makes this for me the most beautiful visually of the Dreamworks movies.

MUSIC: For this movie, I have read reviews not only on IMDb but also from critics that the songs and score here sucked. Can I be obliged to disagree? I admit at 17 I prefer classical music, but the songs from Bryan Adams I thought were lovely. They had nice melodies and meaningful lyrics that do try to convey a message, Here I am was amazing. I also liked the orchestration. Hans Zimmer has done better work, and I admit the sounds used in the orchestration were unusual they were somewhat effective as well.

STORY: When criticising this film, this is the element that gets bashed most. Critics complain that the story is slow, lacklustre and not compelling enough. Okay, it isn't the most fast moving story or one driven by humour and excitement, though there is evidence of both. This film for many reasons is somewhat more mature and ambitious than most of the other Dreamworks films, I think the only other Dreamworks movie that surpasses it in terms of ambition and maturity is (predictably) The Prince of Egypt. The story here is driven by themes of love, courage, following your heart and freedom and they are explored acceptably. Admittedly, it wasn't always as in-depth as it could've been, but some scenes like the scene with the train really did have an impact on me, and the romance between Spirit and Rain was cute. I wanted Spirit to succeed, even when it looked impossible.

SCRIPT: I liked the maturity and heart of the script here. And I also liked the fact it was delivered in the perspective of Spirit, I like films that are told through the perspective of a character from the film, it offers a whole new perspective on things. Spirit isn't the first film to be told in the perspective of a character, Black Beauty and Watership Down are prime examples and the Rankin'/Bass special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had a snowman telling the story. That said, the script is very reflective and beautifully written.

VOICES: Very little to complain about here. Matt Damon was a nice choice for Spirit/The Narrator. I have also heard complaints that Damon was bland and dragged the movie down, and I also do disagree with that. I have heard much worse voice acting, and as far as I am concerned(not trying to sound opinionated) but Damon did a good job. And I liked the character of Spirit, he was brave, handsome and loving, quite possibly my favourite character. Daniel Studi was appealing as Little Creek, and James Cromwell plays the mean Colonel with crusty demeanour.

In conclusion, this is an underrated film, that deserves more praise. It isn't one hundred percent perfect, but I do think there are worse animated movies out there, that are nowhere near as ambitious, as well animated or as brave as Spirit:Stallion of the Cimarron. It isn't easy taking on ambitious projects, and I applaud ANY film that tries. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I liked this movie a lot. The animation was well done and the romance was cute. I liked most of Bryan Adams' songs and the Hans Zimmer score was excellent. What a lot of people don't realize is how well it relates to the Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now themes (what happens when so-called "civilization" invades someone elses home, what does it mean to be "civilized" etc.). The opening scenery and music were very stirring. The film is a lament to an America that was once beautiful.