Despite their
super senses the horses didn't know there was an eagle above
their heads
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A brave attempt
to make animation grow up. It might just prove too much for the
kids it's aimed at.
Nigel Bell
Spirit is being sold on the basis that it's from the same stable
which brought us Shrek.
But this is
no Shrek. This is a return to classic animation and in 2002
that might not be enough to pull in the audiences.
The Plot
Spirit is leader of a heard of horses which roam the Cimarron
plains.
His curiosity
gets the better of him when he investigates a strange light in the
distance.
It turns out
to be a campfire and this fine horse is captured by soldiers.
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| Hi there
cute mane |
He defies all
attempts to break him and eventually escapes the army stronghold,
taking another captive - the Red Indian Little Creek (Studi) - with
him.
But Spirit resists
Little Creek's attempts at friendship and is allowed to leave for
home.
He takes with
him a new found horsey friend (you know it's a girl because of the
big eyes and fluttering eyelashes), but quickly returns to the Indian
village when he finds the soldiers attacking it.
Caught yet again,
Spirit must somehow stop a planned railroad development which would
lead to the destruction of his homeland.
The verdict
The first thing you notice about this film is the central characters
don't speak. There's plenty of neighing and rubbing of heads but
no Disney-style chit chat.
The story is
told in voice-over form by Matt Damon. He voices Spirit's thoughts.
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| Spirit
wasn't sure about the methods his Red Indian chum had adopted
to make him run faster |
It's a brave
move. The humans speak, but with the exception of Little Creek and
a US colonel (Cromwell) there's not much dialogue.
The question
is - will children's interest be held?
I have my doubts.
Certainly the first two thirds of the film is taken up with neighing,
then a lot of horses galloping across the plains to various Bryan
Adams songs.
It's all right
to an extent, but after the fourth Adams song it also becomes too
much.
Also, unlike
recent animated movies, there's not much humour in Spirit to keep
the adults interested.
If you can hang
in there, there's a decent climax.
There are also
good animation touches - when the horses get swept along a river,
when they pull a locomotive up a hill - but it might not be enough
to guarantee a long cinema presence.
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