Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (also known as Spirit) is a 2002 American animated Western film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by John Fusco, based on an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced the film alongside Mireille Soria. The film combines traditional animation and computer animation.

Set in the Old West in the late 19th century, the film follows Spirit, a Kiger mustang stallion (voiced by Matt Damon as a narrator), who is captured during the American Indian Wars by the United States Cavalry; he is eventually freed by a Lakota man named Little Creek with whom he bonds, as well as a mare named Rain. In contrast to the anthropomorphic style of animal characters in other animated features, Spirit and his fellow horses communicate with each other through non-linguistic sounds and body language (albeit with many human facial expressions and reactions).

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was released in theaters on May 24, 2002, and was a box office disappointment, earning only $122 million on an $80 million budget, but received positive reviews. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film also launched a media franchise completely using computer animation, with a Netflix spin-off television series Spirit Riding Free premiering on May 5, 2017, followed by a spin-off of the original film, titled Spirit Untamed, released on June 4, 2021.

Plot
In the late 19th-century American West, a Kiger mustang colt, Spirit, is born to a herd of wild horses; he grows into a stallion, and assumes the leadership of the herd. One night, upon following a strange light near his herd, Spirit finds horses tied to a log and their wranglers sleeping around a campfire. The men awaken, and, after a chase, capture Spirit and take him to a US cavalry fort.

The senior officer of the fort, the Colonel, orders Spirit to be broken; however, Spirit defies all attempts. The Colonel retaliates by having him tied to a post for three days without food or water. Meanwhile, a Lakota Indian named Little Creek is also brought into the fort and held captive; his friends toss a knife over the wall for him, which he uses to secretly cut his bonds.

After three days, Spirit is weak enough that the Colonel temporarily subdues him, boasting that any wild horse can eventually be tamed. Seeing the other captive horses' disappointment, Spirit gets a second wind and throws the Colonel off. Angered, the humiliated Colonel attempts to shoot Spirit in the head; however, Little Creek saves the horse, and the two escape, setting the other captive horses free in the process.

Little Creek and his fellow Lakotas lasso Spirit and return to their village; there, Little Creek unsuccessfully attempts to tame Spirit with kindness. Little Creek ties the other end of Spirit's lead rope to his own pet mare, Rain, hoping she can discipline him. Spirit eventually falls in love with Rain, despite not understanding her attachment to humans. He and Little Creek gradually come to respect each other; realizing that Spirit is not meant to be domesticated, Little Creek sets him free.

Spirit starts back towards his herd, and tries to convince Rain to come with him. They notice the Colonel and his men charging to attack the Lakota village in retaliation for their stolen horses, and return to help. During the confrontation, the Colonel shoots Rain and she falls into a river; he is about to shoot Little Creek, but Spirit knocks the Colonel off his horse, deflecting the shot and saving Little Creek's life. Trying to rescue Rain, Spirit leaps into the river, but they both plummet over a waterfall. Once out of the water, Spirit stays by Rain's side, only for the cavalry to recapture him and leave her for dead. Little Creek tends to Rain; realizing that Spirit saved his life, he sets out in pursuit of the cavalry.

Spirit is put in a train with other captured horses from the village, and becomes disheartened; however, he has a vision of his herd running free across their homeland, strengthening him again. Spirit and many other horses are then forced to work on the transcontinental railroad, sledging a steam locomotive through the woods. After noticing that the railroad will pass right through his homeland, Spirit tricks the men; releasing himself and the other horses. The unattached locomotive tumbles backwards down a hill, crashes into another locomotive in a station below, and starts a fire which sets the surrounding forest ablaze. Spirit is trapped when a loose chain around his neck snags on a fallen tree, but Little Creek arrives and cuts him free; and together they escape by jumping into a ravine.

The next morning, the Colonel and his cavalry find Spirit and Little Creek. A chase ensues through the Grand Canyon; eventually, though seemingly trapped at the edge of a wide gorge, Spirit makes a tremendous leap to the other side, with Little Creek on his back. Impressed, the Colonel stops his men from shooting at Spirit and Little Creek, gives the stallion a nod of respect, and calls off the pursuit. After celebrating their freedom, Spirit and Little Creek return to the Lakotas, meeting up with Rain, who has recovered. Little Creek sets the two horses free, and they return to Spirit's herd and run free across the plains.

Cast

 * Matt Damon as Spirit, a Kiger mustang horse.
 * James Cromwell as The Colonel, leader of a cavalry of soldiers.
 * Daniel Studi as Little Creek, a Lakota Indian whom Spirit befriends.
 * Chopper Bernet as Sgt. Adams, a cavalry sergeant.
 * Jeff LeBeau as Murphy, the first soldier who tries to break Spirit.
 * Jeff LeBeau also voices a Railroad Foreman.
 * Richard McGonagle as Bill, a wrangler.
 * Matt Levin as Joe, one of the wranglers.
 * Adam Paul as Pete, one of the wranglers.
 * Robert Cait as Jake, one of the wranglers.
 * Charles Napier as Roy, one of the wranglers.
 * Zahn McClarnon as Little Creek's Friend.
 * Michael Horse as Little Creek's Friend.
 * Donald Fullilove as Train Pull Foreman.

Development
Writer John Fusco, best known for his work in the Western and Native American genres (such as the films Young Guns and Young Guns II), was hired by DreamWorks Animation to create an original screenplay based on an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg. Fusco began by writing and submitting a novel to the studio and then adapted his own work into a screenplay format. He remained on the project as the main writer over the course of four years, working closely with Katzenberg, the directors, and artists.

Animation and design
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was made over the course of four years using a conscious blend of traditional hand-drawn animation and computer animation. James Baxter said that the animation was the most difficult piece of production he worked on for a movie: "I literally spent the first few weeks with my door shut, telling everyone, 'Go away; I've got to concentrate.' It was quite daunting because when I first started to draw horses, I suddenly realized how little I knew." The team at DreamWorks, under his guidance, used a horse named "Donner" as the model for Spirit and brought the horse to the animation studio in Glendale, California for the animators to study. Sound designer Tim Chau was dispatched to stables outside Los Angeles to record the sounds of real horses; the final product features real hoof beats and horse vocals that were used to express their vocalizations in the film. None of the animal characters in the film speak English beyond occasional reflective narration from the protagonist mustang, voiced by Matt Damon in the film. Many of the animators who worked on Spirit would later work on Shrek 2, as their influence can be seen for the character Donkey. The production team, consisting of Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook, Mireille Soria, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathy Altieri, Luc Desmarchelier, Ron Lukas, and story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen took a trip to the western United States to view scenic places they could use as inspiration for locations in the film. The homeland of the mustangs and Lakotas is based on Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and the Teton mountain range; the cavalry outpost was also based on Monument Valley. Additional animation and fine line services were provided by Anvil Studios, Bardel Entertainment and Stardust Pictures.

Music
The instrumental score was composed by Hans Zimmer with songs by Bryan Adams in both the English and French versions of the album. The opening theme song for the film, "Here I Am" was written by Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters, and Hans Zimmer. It was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Another song, not included in the film itself (although it can be heard in the ending credits), is "Don't Let Go", which is sung by Bryan Adams with Sarah McLachlan on harmonies and piano. It was written by Bryan Adams, Gavin Greenaway, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and Gretchen Peters. Many of the songs and arrangements were set in the American West, with themes based on love, landscapes, brotherhood, struggles, and journeys. Garth Brooks was originally supposed to write and record songs for the film but the deal fell through.

Release
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was released in theaters on May 24, 2002.

Home media
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was released on VHS and DVD on November 19, 2002. It was re-released on DVD on May 18, 2010. The film was released on Blu-ray by Paramount Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on May 13, 2014.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron holds an overall approval rating of 69% based on 127 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A visually stunning film that may be too predictable and politically correct for adults, but should serve children well." Review aggregator Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and said in his review, "Uncluttered by comic supporting characters and cute sidekicks, Spirit is more pure and direct than most of the stories we see in animation – a fable I suspect younger viewers will strongly identify with." Leonard Maltin of Hot Ticket called it "one of the most beautiful and exciting animated features ever made". Clay Smith of Access Hollywood considered the film "An Instant Classic". Jason Solomons described the film as "a crudely drawn DreamWorks animation about a horse that saves the West by bucking a US Army General". USA Today's Claudia Puig gave it 3 stars out of 4, writing that the filmmakers' "most significant achievement is fashioning a movie that will touch the hearts of both children and adults, as well as bring audiences to the edge of their seats." Dave Kehr of the New York Times criticized the way in which the film portrayed Spirit and Little Creek as "pure cliches" and suggested that the film could have benefited from a comic relief character. The film was screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Rain was the first animated horse to receive an honorary registration certificate from the American Paint Horse Association (APHA).

Box office
When the film opened on Memorial Day Weekend 2002, the film earned $17,770,036 on the Friday-Sunday period, and $23,213,736 through the four-day weekend for a $6,998 average from 3,317 theaters. The film overall opened in fourth place behind Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man, and Insomnia. In its second weekend, the film retreated 36% to $11,303,814 for a $3,362 average from expanding to 3,362 theaters and finishing in fifth place for the weekend. In its third weekend, the film decreased 18% to $9,303,808 for a $2,767 average from 3,362 theaters. The film closed on September 12, 2002, after earning $73,280,117 in the United States and Canada with an additional $49,283,422 overseas for a worldwide total of $122,563,539, against an $80 million budget.

Video games
Two video games based on the film were released on October 28, 2002, by THQ: the PC game Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron — Forever Free and the Game Boy Advance game Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron — Search for Homeland.

A third game "Lucky's Big Adventure" was released in 2021 based on the "Untamed" film sequel below.

 Book series 

Shortly after the movie, a book series called “Spirit of the West” was released by writer Kathleen Duey; telling the story of Spirit's family lineage and herd.

Spin-off television series
A computer-animated spin-off television series based on the film, titled Spirit Riding Free, premiered on Netflix on May 5, 2017. The series follows all the daring adventures when Spirit, who is the offspring of the original, meets a girl named Lucky whose courage matches his own.

Spin-off film
A computer-animated film, titled Spirit Untamed, was released on June 4, 2021, by Universal Pictures. It is a film adaptation of the spin-off series Spirit Riding Free as well as a spin-off of the original film.