Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002

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I went in to Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, sure that I would see Dances With Wolves, kiddy-sized - but came out feeling as if I had seen a reworking of Roots. For the horsey-set. THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron is the story of a wild horse in the wild west, told from the viewpoint of the Cimarron stallion, Spirit (Spirit's "thoughts" are voiced by Matt Damon, but none of the animals actually talk). As White encroachers were wont to do, a group of Army soldiers capture Spirit and present him to the mean ol' Cavalry Colonel (James Cromwell), who sets out to break Spirit's spirit and go on to run rampant over the rest of the west. This, of course, includes the Native Americans (or as the Colonel called them, the "hostiles"), one of whom - Little Creek (Daniel Studi) - is captured by the Colonel's men. And treated, pretty much, like an animal. But they don't call him "Spirit" for nothing... THE UPSHOT With its "G" rating, the story in Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron is understandably toned down, considering what probably really happened to horses - and Native Americans - back in the day. Still, I could not help but to feel a strong sense of deja vu in watching the Roots-reminiscent scenes in Spirit. Spirit running free through his land, reminded me of Kunta Kinte running free through his. The "capture" scene immediately put me in mind of Kunta's capture; the "breaking" scene, a kinder gentler version of Kunta's horrific beatdown. And the bridling together of Spirit and Little Creek's horse, Rain, to enable "one of his own" to help tame the spirited stallion? Kunta and Fiddler, redux. Unfortunately, Kunta didn't have a Little Creek to give him a taste of freedom. And of course, the Roots version of Kunta's "smithy" led to more dire consequences for Kunta's "hooves". On a lighter note, the animation in Spirit is superb; the "active" backgrounds alone are worth the trip to the theater. Though both traditional and computer animation were used, the film seemed light on the computer mix, which somehow gave it a warmer, more alive feeling all around. Even the scenes where computers were obviously used to enhance certain effects (the "rapids" scene, for example) were not so overdone that they take you out of the moment. Spirit may not make you forget Shrek or Monsters, Inc., but it really doesn't have to; Spirit has wonderful imagery and strong action all its own, framed by a great score by Hans Zimmer. Besides, this flick has something the other two doesn't have: surprisingly easily translatable, non-English, horse-speak. And speaking of horses "speaking", props to whatever it was that led the folks behind Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron to not make the animals actually sing or talk. That made all the difference in the world; heck, it even made Bryan "Remember 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'?" Adams' singing, bearable. BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron is a beautifully drawn and told tale of the old west, full of charm and - dare I say it? - spirit. SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON:   back to top And that's the way I see it. Rose "Bams" Cooper 3BlackChicks Review™ Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com    ICQ: 7760005 http://www.3blackchicks.com/