Spirit: L'étalon des plaines

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.

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.

In a time when Hollywood is making money by showing our weaknesses, despair, crime, drugs, and war, along comes this film which reminds us the concept of the "Indomitable Spirit". If you are feeling beaten down, this movie will free your mind and set you soaring. We all know how tough life can be, sometime we need to be reminded that persistence and courage will get us through. That's what this film did for me and I hope it will for you.

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.

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