Spirit Riding Free

Found the show first on YouTube as 5 minute shorts, and my youngest daughter (4 yr old) seemed to like it. Then not long after we got Netflix and found it on there, she's got really into it, even my eldest daughter (13) has said she likes it (in fact they are watching happily together right now in a fort in the living room). Although the writing can sometimes be a bit simple or contrived with not too much depth there is still enough going on to keep them entertained. the characters are likeable and strong willed are good role models for young girls.

I came across this show on Netflix. I've never seen the original movie, and neither has my son. It sounds like this is quite different from the movie and should be viewed as a separate show. For me, personally, the show didn't do much. I thought the quality of the animation was sub-par. The story lines seemed a little silly. On the positive side, the stories were reasonably well written and carried you along. The main reason I give this 8 out of 10 stars is because my 6 year old son loved it. I'm sure my son would give it 10 out of 10 stars. He watched all the episodes one after another and never got bored. Through the eyes of an adult, I wouldn't bother, but if you want you children to be entertained, I can say that mine was greatly entertained. It always makes me happy to see my kid happy, so thanks Dreamworks for making my son happy.

I'm not going to deny that this is a great series for children. It teaches young girls that they can solve their own problems without being too dependent on other people; aside from friends. That's something to be admired.

The low rating comes from the title. This animated series has nothing to do with Spirit, the horse. The title of the series is meant for leeching off the success that was of Spirit, the movie. Honestly, if they changed the name of the series to something else - you couldn't even tell that this had anything to do with Spirit. The low rating is due to the disgust of clickbait.

If you're an adult looking for nostalgia - skip this. If you're an adult with children - watch it with them and silently scoff and roll your eyes.

It should be noted while some sources said that the horse is actually Spirit's son, I believe that's far from the case as I don't think we'll ever see the characters from the original film appear on this show. This is definitely meant to be a complete rewrite of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. I can see fans of the film won't be happy about this.

On the other hand, it's a kids show so of course things will be watered down. In this show, Spirit becomes semi-tamed (not completely tamed thankfully). He starts out as a wild horse but forms a connection with the girl Lucky, who still allows Spirit the freedom to go to and from as he pleases. And they never put a saddle or bridle on him.

As someone who loved the original film, you better believe I'm disappointed with the changes made. As far as the show goes though, it's okay. It's about as much as you would expect without getting cringey. Season 1 has a mix of good, meh, and bad episodes. If you're a horse lover, you might like the show good enough. If the writers are willing to take more chances with future seasons, it does have the potential of being a decent kids show.

Perhaps if you've not seen the movie, you would enjoy the Spirit series as much as we do. We like how girls are empowered to be problem solvers even if situations are improbable and often dangerous. Watching the same episodes multiple times does not diminish the excellent characterization. We are thankful the series is continuing.