Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
"A captured mustang remains determined to return to his herd no matter what."
- IMDB
My top 3 movies of all time – sorcerer's stone, spirited away...... and stallion of the cimarron herd. A live action fantasy, an anime, and a cartoon, I think I cover all bases lol.
Spirit and Shrek were the only DreamWorks films I really watched as a Disney snob child. I remember on a few different occasions choosing to rent it at Blockbuster. The film has since been such a symbol in my life and I have also found new ways to appreciate it over the years as its own art form. Looking back.... I’m so grateful that I've always had this movie in my back pocket through every stage of life I've been through so far.
The music. It’s powerful. I've seen this movie a hundred times and have yet to be desensitized to the emotions the music produces.
Music is the center of everything I love about this movie. Of course you got Hans Zimmer who just doesn’t miss. Bryan Adams was behind the songs and I am obsessed with every one. Who is this guy? I never actually bothered to research who Bryan is but I’m sure he’s a music legend of some kind that I just don’t know. Anyways, you thought Phil Collins ate in Tarzan and Brother Bear, but I give you Adams in Spirit. And yes.... I have the songs memorized.
Alright, now here’s the part where I talk about symbolism for 10 minutes.
The start of the film we see Spirit as a little youngling running around with the herd in the wilds of the west. This is such an amazing symbolism for childhood innocence. As children, we have no care and most of us have that same free spirit to go out and explore. The wonders of nature is wonderful to all, but there’s nothing that beats child discovery and all kids are just in awe of everything new. Imagine your child self playing in the snow or coming across a wildebeest near a waterfall. Spirit’s childhood wonderment transcends species and animation, like we were all baby Spirit at some point in our life.
The eagle – the great symbol of freedom. I don’t even have to break this down too much, especially if you’re American. But the eagle is shown numerous times through the film. It’s there when Spirit talks about how free he feels when he runs as fast as the wind. The eagle is there when Spirit loses his freedom and is taken to horse prison. The eagle is there when Spirit is at the Lakota camp as Spirit wonders what he should do and where does he want to go.
Home. We all have one or we once had one. There’s a place in your past, present, or future that gives you the feeling of home. Whether it’s a place or a group of people, you belong somewhere – even if you’ve been lost for a long time. We all have a place to go back to. This was such an important theme for me as our family made 2 huge moves over the years. This concept and the movie’s use of it was always so healing.
There is also a huge theme about nature, the freedom of nature, and preserving nature. The white man steal horses and are tearing down the forests for a railroad. We’re a destructive species. Spirit is nature fighting back and we love to see it.
But before any triumphs – capture. Man, that storm scene was beautiful animation. Spirit's somber journey montage as Bryan Adams sings in the background was just too good. The montage was just an excuse for the animators to depict the beauty of the wild West American scenery and they sure did a good job.
The stockades is a place of breaking spirit – literally. Here we see Spirit display immense perseverance – another theme that has been quite important to me over the years, specifically as an adult. It’s a lawless land. Hostility of men against nature, animals, and other men is represented through this whole film and it just solidifies my general hate for the human race.
Ya boi Little Creek. When you watch this movie, your sexual orientation is Native American Men and you’d be lying if you said differently. It’s just really sexy watching Natives fight back against the White Man. Love to see it. It’s also always fun to analyze the connection Natives have to nature. Little Creek shared the same spirit with this crazy horse he was imprisoned with at the stockades, so it was only right for him to bestow the name, Spirit, to this horse later.
If you didn’t have a crush on Little Creek, then you had a crush on Rain. There is absolutely no room for debate here.
The Lakota village sequence is my favorite part of the film. Exploring the village allows a moment of appreciation to Native Americans and their culture. Protect them at all costs. Spirit experiences the innocence of children and the kindness that man is capable of. There’s a sense of connection and love as Spirit and Rain wander around together with the most beautiful score in the background. Sprit sees the eagle once more and it is a call for home, a bittersweet moment for Spirit.
The village is attacked. Surprise, surprise – it's the White Man again. Animals saving humans is an actual thing that happens from time to time. Spirit saving Little Creek is just such a testament to the connection he has made. But as Spirit and Rain fall down the waterfall, we see Spirit reach his lowest point. This next sequence is all about depression and loneliness as Sound the Bugle makes us all cry. Sprit is craving home more than ever and feels such a loss for all that he has left behind. I know this sequence has made me sob in the past as I’ve felt the same a few times before.
After a lot of drama and action, Spirit does that ridiculous jump across the canyon and the evil cowboy is like “fine, I’ll stop hunting you.” Sure, the White Man wins in the end, but on this day – Nature prevails, Native Americans prevail, freedom prevails. It’s such a satisfying moment of happiness as the two ride once more across the beautiful American countryside with Bryan Adams once again making us cry with his voice.
"Spirit - who could not be broken." This ending bro. I’m just so hardwired to sob in this scene. The music, the voice acting, and the moment itself is just too much. "but that goodbye was harder than i ever imagined." Goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. They always seem so final, and sometimes they are. That’s where the emotional damage comes in. But then Spirit returns home and we’ve come full circle with that concept of having somewhere or someone to return to. We will always have the memory of home when we are away from it. That’s something nothing or anyone can take away. Smile because it happened.
This film has always been such a beacon of hope during times in my life when I’ve felt lost. Literally my whole life well into adulthood. Powerful stories can transcend time like that. Spirit will always be in my heart..... And so will the horse girl phase of my life that I’m reliving in the Sims right now...
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★