Rating: 
Summary: A wild and beautiful adventure film for the whole family
Review: "The story I am about to tell you cannot be found in any history book..." The opening words of Spirit, stallion of the Cimmaron, set the tone for a beautiful journey through a wild, Western America of 140 years ago. Spirit is a young mustang stallion who is defined by his swift grace and freedom to run along the Great Plains and canyons. He is captured and enslaved by Calvary troops at a local fort, where the Captain is determined to break him into a trophy riding horse. Through an unexpected partnership with a Dakota brave, who is also a fellow prisoner there, Spirit escapes, only to be returned to captivity among the Native Americans. But there he meets Rain, a mare that challenges him to care about others beyond his herd - including the "two-feet" who wants not to break him, but to claim friendship. This film was like a cool drink of spring water among the soda pop offerings in feature animation of the last few years: simple, refreshing, and perfectly necessary. Instead of the usual wisecracking banter that has come to dominate this genre (and, oddly, is way over the heads of the intended younger audience), we follow the story with a simple narrative provided by Spirit's voice, which is never actually spoken in the film's dialog. The horses all communicate with natural equine noises of whinnying, neighing, snorts, etc. and through easily readable facial expressions and body language. In this way, Spirit's struggle to reconcile his desire for freedom verses newfound love is heartbreakingly obvious to us. And Spirit himself is transformed into a metaphor for pure joy during a gallop. Don't worry, SSotC is no slouch when it comes to action (it is amazing to me that the film's artists could so seamlessly combine the several adrenaline-packed chase sequences through such realistic - and gorgeous - scenery). I knew it had passed the "boy-friendly" litmus test when my four-year-old son was inspired to jump up and run circles around the coffee table shouting "Run Horses, run!" The animation itself is neither overly cartoony nor tediously detailed, but elegant and convincing for both action and emotion. SSotC is destined to become a family favorite because it really does have something for every member of the family to appreciate; drama, thrills, and a celebration of our shared American heritage.
Rating:
Summary: Soaring Spirit
Review: A triumphant tribute to the divine equine spirit, executed with passionate artistry and technical excellence. Oscars upon Oscars upon Oscars to the team from Dreamworks for their groundbreaking fusion of traditional and computerized animation techniques. The beautiful backdrops and environmental effects will transport you into the boundless big-sky country of the old west. Everything feels so real in this film that it barely seems like 'animation' at all, in the traditional sense. The exceptionally well studied horse characters have subtle elements of charicature added to them which give the characters an ability to pass on their thoughts and emotions to us without saying a word. There are times when the equine communication is so clearly emoted that you can almost hear the individual words of the unspoken dialog. The story itself is a desperate action-romance where Spirit struggles to capture and retain the three loves of his life: his mare, his herd and his homeland. Folks have said Spirit is unoriginal and predictable and, well, it'll be no surprise to you that he faces challenges, experiences loss, has a dark night of the soul, acheives a new determination and eventually rises to conquor his situation and bring us a happy ending. But that's not the point. Spirit doesn't have the plot of 'Usual Suspects' or an episode of 'Alias', it's not meant to. Its a story of a classical Hero character in the Wild West tradition. As a horse, Spirits motivations are simple, and the storyline follows that. The bad guys are 'mean' but not evil and there's nothing here to frighten your young ones. There's no terrible cruelty or violence just edge-of-the-seat action, soulful and beautiful scenes accompanied by emotive (if not exactly unfamiliar) songs by Bryan Adams, and passionately felt depictions of the spectalular vistas that compose the classical old west. The DVD comes in with variety of languages and subtitles and some really neat extras. There's a fascinating voice commentary by the directors, short programmes about the music composition and the artistic skills and techology involved which really makes clear just what a miracle this movie is. There's also a fantastic art tutorial with James Barter the lead animator. He'll show you exactly how the horses of Spirit are drawn. Kids and horse-fans with an artistic streak will *love* this, its really useful. If you have suitably equipped player or DVDROM there's also a feature that'll let you build your own short Spirit films from cut'n'paste animation segments and backdrops. In short, I cannot recommend Spirit highly enough. Its simple story and the open-faced motivations of its characters will not suit you if you're looking for a movie to keep you guessing or challenge you intellectually but I'm convinced that its incredible beauty and the state-of-the-art techiques of its construction will have it recorded forever as a significant peice of animation history. Just remember, after you give this to your kids, they *are* going to be asking for a pony for Xmas ;) Alli
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN "THE LION KING!"
Review: This is the best animated film to come out in a long time. It's funny, exciting, and very well-written, with great animation and a great musical score from Hans Zimmer, as well as some A+ songs from Bryan Adams. A great film for kids and adults. Well worth the time for family. Grade: A+
Rating:
Summary: This One's Got Spirit
Review: When I saw a preview for this movie, it bugged me that the horses had eyebrows. I've been a horse lover my entire life, and that just bothered me! When I sat down in that cushy theatre seat, I was expecting to see horses dance, sing and talk like most animated movies. Boy was I wrong. The music is beautifully done, so subtle and moving that sometimes you forget there is music. The way the story is told, from the view point of Spirit WITHOUT him talking, is done so artistically and sensitively! It has great morals and lessons that we all can learn from. Not to give up in the face of doubt, not to let society change us from who we are. It's a beautifully mastered film and will be cherished for years to come!
Rating:
Summary: Sure to be a family favorite for years to come!
Review: This is truly a one-of-a-kind animated feature from " DreamWorks", the company that made such animated wonders like " Prince of Egypt", "Chicken Run", " Shrek", and " Antz". This is the story of a wild horse named Spirit who was captured by soldiers and wants to protect his land from them. This is such an amazing and fascinating animated movie that features no talking animals, but only the people talk; Matt Damon narrates as the title character as well. The animation is unique, the computer graphics are realistic that it puts you right in the movie, and the soundtrack by Bryan Adams is the best soundtrack I have heard this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Unconventional but very artistic
Review: The animation, stunning landscapes, beautiful skies and amazingly well done water sequences makes this movie a joy to watch. The animators get a 5 plus for the very beautiful job they did in this film. The problem I have with this movie is the bit unconventional way that the story is told. The main character, Spirit, does not have any talking dialogue with the other characters, rather he narrates throughout the movie. He does make horse noises and gestures to other animals and to some of the human characters, and while these bits of sign language, body language and horse sounds are easily understood by the adult audience, I don't think they are as captivating to the younger viewers as simple dialogue could have been. The animators did a wonderful job in conveying information through facial gestures and body language, and like the Sea Witch says in The Little Mermaid "never under estimate the power of "body language"" it is true that a ton of information is conveyed. However, in movies such as The Little Mermaid the other characters continued to dialogue so that some of the story is still be told by a seagull, a crab and others. In this movie the interactions between Spirit and the beautiful mare he meets are limited because they never actually speak to each other, in fact Spirit never actually "talks" to anyone except to the audience as a narrator. I think the makers of Spirit took a big gamble when deciding to limit the dialogue to the couple of human characters in this movie, which in fact isn't much dialogue, because most of the talking is in monologue form and really simply mirrors Spirits narration. I applaud the artistic achievement in this film, but I also recognize that many of the younger viewers are going to be a little left behind while watching and may not be as engaged as they might have. There are some interesting bonus features on the DVD, and a young girl or boy interested in drawing animated characters should enjoy the clips on drawing an horse. I give a recommendation on this one to anyone enjoying well drawn animation and to the age group of probably 7 to 11 (give or take) assuming those children enjoy horses.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good overall, but it does have some inaccuracies
Review: I loved the movie when I saw it in the theater & I had to get the video, as a horse nut some things did hit me as inaccurate to real horses though, the scene where he's drinking water as a foal for one, horses don't lap like dogs do they suck the water up into their mouths like humans do. The time frame when he's in the Indian village is odd since they roached his mane at the Army post & it grows back in the village so you aren't sure just how long he was there for, several months or over a year since it would take a year or 2 for a horses mane to grow out again. A sequel to the movie would be neat.
Rating: 
Summary: Can I Sue? *OR* A Godawful Waste of Time
Review: If I could, I would sue the heck out of the studio for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. Could this poor horse possibly HAVE any more bad luck? We've got a wrenching "Spirit taken from his Mommy" scene. We've got the Evil White Men torturing the horse by denying it water in summer heat. We've got the horse crying and missing his family. We've got the Nice Indians being tormented. We've got the moment when you think Spirit's girlfriend-horse is killed. In addition to the excessive drama, we have fun for the adults, too! We've got Bryan Adams singing every three and a half seconds, which could make any adult cry. We've got awful PC revisionist history, which could make any adult feel ill. I would rather be poked in the eye with a hot sharp stick than watch this movie again. I need to sue the studio for the hour and a half of my life that I can never get back. Buy the Lion King instead. Trust me.
Rating:
Summary: It is educational
Review: The movie is of course for children, it is also suitable for adult. The story is touching and can lead you to emotional journey.
Rating: 
Summary: spiritless saga
Review: "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" breaks with tradition a bit by having its animal characters be less anthropomorphic in nature than is customary in most feature length animated films. Indeed, except for an occasional voiceover on the part of the main character, the horses in this film never speak (only the human characters do). In many ways, one respects this effort to keep the film more true to life, but the decision to take this approach ultimately ends up ruining the film for the adult audience (not being a five-year-old myself, I will not endeavor to say one way or the other how this film will play with that member of the audience). For a film aimed at children, it is striking to discover just how humorless most of "Spirit" turns out to be. There are no singing teakettles or furry little wiseacres to provide the comic relief we often need to get us through some of these films. Without the wit that made "Toy Story 2" and "Shrek" as much fun for adults as they were for kids, "Spirit" leaves its adult audience high and dry, stuck with a story that is as old as the hills, with nothing but a few good action scenes to keep us from falling asleep. The problem is that, when the main character is essentially unable to communicate with anyone else directly - having to rely almost exclusively on soulful glances to convey all his emotions - the conflict and drama of the story tend to dry up. And the conflict itself is so simplistic that one wonders if the filmmakers expect their audience ever to have seen a movie before (for many in its young audience, this may well be the case). We're introduced to Spirit and the rest of his herd living free and undisturbed in the great Far West, when into the picture come the evil, dastardly white settlers who want only to corral the horses and use them as beasts of burden (I hate to quibble over historical realities here, but weren't horses extinct on the North American continent until the Europeans brought them back over?). Of course, even though the whites are all uniformly brutish in their treatment of the horses, the Native Americans are portrayed as loving and respectful towards Spirit and his brethren and spiritually at one with them. The PC meter runs dangerously high at times in this film. In terms of animation, "Spirit" has a certain elegance in its backgrounds and colors, and its action scenes are executed with a fine fluidity and flair. The first fifteen minutes or so, before the arrival of the humans, offers promise that the film will take flight as a charming adventure tale. When the men make their appearance, however, the movie becomes confined and static, with Spirit having to endure hardships, for what feels like ages, tied to a post. After that, the film never recovers that sense of wide-ranging openness it has at the beginning. There isn't much else to say about "Spirit," except, perhaps, to note that the Hans Zimmer score (crooned by the lugubrious Bryan Adams) is both maudlin and undistinguished. "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" may be fine for horse-loving children under the age of eight. The rest of us, however, might prefer to find an animated film that engages both the mind and the funny bone and leave "Spirit" for the kiddies.
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