MESSY MEDIA

Messy Media Amity Bradford

THE ULTIMATE HORSE GIRL MOVIE REVIEW

“The story that I want to tell you cannot be found in a book. They say the history of the West was written from the saddle of a horse, but it’s never been told from the heart of one, not till now”. Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron is a 2002 animated adventure film that follows the life journey of Spirit, a wild stallion captured during the American Indian War by the United States Cavalry. During this time, Spirit meets a Native American called Little Creek, who he befriends and escapes the Cavalry camp after a battle of wills with the Colonel. Together, Spirit and Little Creek work to outsmart and outrun the United States Cavalry in an iconic canyon chase, complete with an impressive leap to freedom. This film has a rotten tomato rating of 70% and was nominated for Best Animated Feature in the 2003 Academy Awards.

As none of the animals in the film speak aloud, facial expressions, body language and the occasional neigh serve as the only horse communication. The film is told from Spirits perspective, with his inner thoughts are narrated by the one and only, Matt Damon. The dialogue is not complex (although I can’t imagine a horse having extremely complicated thoughts) and appropriate for all viewers with a G rating. I would argue Damon’s work in this film is arguably his best voiceover work. However, given that his role is primarily voice acting, it does not take away from the fact that this film is a cinematic masterpiece. This film captures the landscape’s seasonal beauty and dynamic natural elements of water, earth, and fire. The traditional handdrawn 2D graphics in this film are phenomenal, especially for the early 2000s.

The soundtrack of Spirit is insane, by far my favourite element of the entire film. Canadian musician Bryan Adams and award-winning German film score producer Hans Zimmer work to produce an iconic, fifteen-track movie score. The music resonates beautifully with every theme and emotion that the storyline conveys. This musical cohesion allows the journey of emotions in Spirit as you watch the movie.

There is an unmistakable theme of loyalty and the need to return home to protect your loved ones. This is an admirable trait for a horse with eyebrows; however, this sense of loyalty and family gets Spirit into more trouble than he initially imagined. Spirit eventually learns through his ‘romance’ with Rain (a horse, lol) that it is okay to trust humans and that he actually needs Little Creek’s help to escape. The realisation of this mutually beneficial relationship and eventual trust sees Spirit develop a special bond with Little Creek. I only have one issue with this movie as the sceptic in me questions the logistic of Spirits giant leap of faith. How did Spirit jump 200 meters of open-air to the other side of the canyon with such a little run-up? How did he do it with Little Creek on his back? Is he actually Pegasus from Hercules reincarnate? I guess we’ll never know.

This movie offers a lot to appreciate; the sweeping vistas of the American West, majestic canyons, herds of buffalo migrating over the great plains, wild horses breaking across riverbeds and more. This is a visually stunning film that may be too predictable and politically correct for adults. However, it should serve children well as it is only 86 minutes long. This is a perfect movie to watch if you’re babysitting, want to listen to a killer soundtrack or are a horse girl at heart.