Taglines: The spirit of the Wild West lives on.
Spirit (Matt Damon) is a young stallion who leads the Cimarron herd. He enjoys his freedom, as when he races with an eagle, but he also remembers his responsibilities, as when he saves two foals from being attacked by a cougar. One night he sees a campfire in the distance and goes to investigate, despite his mother wanting him to stay.
When he reaches the camp, horses tied nearby encourage him to leave, but he wants to know who’s there. His nosing causes the men to wake up and chase him, eventually catching him as his mother and herd watch from a nearby cliff. His mother tries to go to him, but he urges her and the herd to flee, which they do.
Spirit is taken to an army fort, where he defies all their efforts to brand, shoe, and break him. He and a Colonel (James Cromwell) have taken an instant dislike to each other, so the Colonel orders Spirit to be tied to a post for three days with no food or water. While he is tied, a young Lakota brave named Little Creek (Daniel Studi) is brought in and tied to another post.
That night, his friends throw him a dagger, which he conceals from the soldiers as they file out at dawn on the third day. The Colonel himself attempts to ride Spirit, who, despite his best efforts, cannot throw him and appears to give up, exhausted. The Colonel is very pleased with himself and rides Spirit around the corral, boasting. But Spirit is merely regaining his strength and, in a final show of defiance, grabs the reins, breaks the saddle, and tosses the Colonel off his back.
The Colonel is furious and attempts to shoot Spirit, but Little Creek cuts himself free and shoves the gun away. The two then escape, taking all the other horses with them in the process. Once free, Little Creek calls his own horse, a beautiful paint mare named Rain, and jumps onto her. Spirit is momentarily distracted and is caught again, this time by the Lakota.
At the Lakota’s camp, Spirit is puzzled by Rain and Little Creek’s relationship, wondering why a horse would ever accept a human. After a failed attempt to ride Spirit, Little Creek ties Spirit and Rain together and lets them loose. Spirit thinks he’s free and starts to run off but Rain stands firm. He relents and lets her show him around her world, falling for her in the process, but still longing to be free.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Directed by: Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook
Starring: Matt Damon, James Cromwell, Daniel Studi, Chopper Bernet, Jeff LeBeau, John Rubano, Matt Levin, Richard McGonagle, Meredith Wells, Charles Napier, Zahn McClarnon
Screenplay by: John Fusco
Production Design by: Kathy Altieri
Cinematography by: Kathy Altieri
Film Editing by: Clare De Chenu, Nick Fletcher
Art Direction by: Luc Desmarchelier, Robert W. Lukas
Special Effects: Vincent A. Villanueva, Robert Edward Crawford, Charlie Kranz
Music by: Bryan Adams, Steve Jablonsky
MPAA Rating: G for all audience.
Distributed by: DreamWorks Animation
Release Date: May 24, 2002
Views: 200
