Hard to believe it’s been nearly 20 years since the release of “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”. The movie was a hit and recently 8 seasons of the series “Spirit: Riding Free” have kept the franchise alive on Netflix.
Now comes “Spirit Untamed” – a spin-off of that series – headed for theatres. Remember movie theaters? Yeah, more and more of us are going back lately. For some of us, we’re going to make decisions based on what will look great on a big screen, and this Dreamworks Animation feature is perfect for the cinema.
The film comes out of the chute with brilliant colors and great energy. We are at a rodeo under a big top. Lucky Prescott ( Isabela Merced) lost her mom when she was a toddler. She didn’t know that her late mother, who died when Lucky was a toddler, was a horse-riding stunt performer from Miradero, a small rural town on the edge of the wide-open frontier.
Flash forward to present day. Lucky has spent her childhood until now on the East coast, under the guardianship of her Aunt Cora (Julianne Moore). Lucky is a rebel and in trouble more often than not. Cora decides to take Lucky cross-country by train – a move the two of them are making to live with Lucky’s father, Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal).
What follows is Lucky’s first meeting with Spirit, as well as an initial fish-out-water story when they get to Dad’s sleepy little town. There are also bad guys, setbacks, new friends, and, of course, the developing relationship between girl and horse.
The animation is gorgeous, if not groundbreaking, and the story is genial. I like the single Dad angle, which we don’t see enough of in films for younger viewers. It flows along at a decent pace. And the writers have shown a young girl’s spiritual (no pun intended) growth and lessons learned.
Spirit Untamed | Only in Theatres June 4th | Get Tickets Here | 3 out of 4 Stars | Reviewed by Kyle Osborne
