This is one of the best animated movies of the last decade. The whole setting is gorgeous, the plot is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, and the characters are excellently made. It's about a mustang stallion, a wild horse in the U.S. for people who don't know. Who gets caught by the U.S. Army during it's invasion of the West. It shows the truth of the brutality of most cowboys back then on breaking horses and mustangs to get them to work for them. It also shows the kindness of humanity in other ways when Spirit, the mustang gets caught by Native Americans and they try to gentle the horse using their own ways. I won't go into full details because of spoilers, but it's heartbreaking to see what the stallion goes through and uplifting despite all that happens, he still stands for what he believes in: being free. There's no dialogue between the horses. They communicate with nickers, whinnies and snorts. Spirit does do an inner monologue from time to time, but it's not at all imposing in my opinion. The characters develop over time and it's a development that you can enjoy and cheer for. Being a horse person, I have read about the breaking of horses over time, and sadly this is accurate. Most younger kids probably won't understand fully the significance of what's happening, but I'd still recommend it for any age.
I agree, great movie. I've always loved horses and so I was completely pumped to see this movie when it first came out. The story, music, and animation are all wonderful. The struggles Spirit deals with are heartbreaking, but inspirational. Movies like these always make me wish I had lived in America in a time before it was all "civilized". I actually was surprised the horses didn't have dialogue when I was first watching, but was glad they didn't by the end of it (just seemed "right" to minimize the dialogue to Spirit's narration). Wonderful movie. And like you've said Sara, eye opening to the realities of taming nature in early America.
That movie is so bittersweet through the whole thing. I haven't seen it in years but I remember how sad it was throughout. I loved his kind, forgiving nature despite what he went through. It kind of reminds me of what some people have to go through in life and how they can choose to act versus how they should act. I don't like watching it only because it's so sad, but now I feel like watching it.
Its one of my favorites from Dreamworks. The atmosphere is not sugar coated and it is brutal. It shows the pain of both wildlife and Indian had shared while the Americans take over. It is honestly really sad to see this to be shaded over by its other movies, seeing in my personal opinion this is one of their best.
This movie is from the few ones that I couldn't watch. I tried watching it like 3 or 4 times, but it was pretty boring to me. But I did buy the OST disc though.
I used to be scared of this movie when I was 5 or 4. I've just re-watched it, I can't believe it got such a low rating on Rotten Tomatos. This movie was freaking perfect - story, animation, characters, the works. It was moving and exciting and incredibily gripping. Though for some reason, it was kinda a let down, but I don't know why. The music was excellent. Might be going over the top. It was excellent, I think.
