Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (or simply Spirit) is a 2002 American animated Western film directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, written by John Fusco, from an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced with Mireille Soria.[5] 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.

The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation, combining traditional animation and computer animation. 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, by DreamWorks Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $122 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[6][7] 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 late 1887, 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, while beating up the farrier. The Colonel retaliates by having him tied to a post for three days without food or water to weaken him. Meanwhile, a Lakota man 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 regains his strength and angrily throws the Colonel off, breaking down the corral's wall in the process. Enraged, the Colonel orders his men to kill Spirit; however, Little Creek saves the horse, and the two escape, setting the other captive horses free in the process.

Little Creek and other Lakota people 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 pet mare, Rain, hoping she can discipline him. Spirit falls in love with Rain, while still remaining hesitant to any 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, 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 pretends to pass out, tricking the men into releasing him, then frees the other horses by kicking their chains off the sledge. 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; 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 takes a leap of faith to the other side, with Little Creek on his back, which he succeeds at. Impressed, the Colonel stops his men from shooting at Spirit and Little Creek, gives Spirit 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 tells Spirit to take care of Rain after naming him "Spirit, who could not be broken." Spirit leads Rain back to his herd, reuniting with his mother in the process, and they 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 man 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

Production

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[9] 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.[9] The filmmakers decided early on that the animal characters would not speak English: co-director Kelly Asbury opined that "the minute a horse talks, it's comedy" and that human actors would not be able to make the sounds of horses in a manner that the audience would take seriously.[10] 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.[11] Screenwriter Fusco wrote narration as a guide for the animators, but most of this was not used so as not to anthropomorphize the characters: what little remained in the film is voiced by Matt Damon.[10][12]

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.