Highlight: Spirit; Stallion of the Cimarron

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is not your typical animation film. Firstly; the protagonist doesn’t really talk. Secondly; though the film has been touted as a musical, none of the characters actually sing. Both of these are major reasons why I love this movie so much.

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is a breathtaking (and I mean that in every sense of the word) journey through North America, during the time when the Wild West was really wild (think cowboys and herds of buffalo!). Even though it is animation, you’ll really feel like you’re there, running on the plains of North America, right beside Spirit.

What drew me to this movie was that Matt Damon (excuse me while I squeal for a moment) was voicing Spirit. Actually, he does not voice his character in the traditional sense but provides a retrospective narrative.

I love the artwork in this movie. It is a mixture of traditional hand drawn artwork and computer animation. They are blended together so perfectly that I couldn’t tell what was hand drawn and what was CGI. And the attention to detail! Wow. You won’t believe it.

The movie begins with a young foal being born in long grasses. We watch him grow up; watch the adventures and antics he gets up to as he grows up. I fell in love with Spirit during this time, and it is hard not to. He is brave, mischievous, clever, and, most of all, curious. It is this curiosity that brings him into trouble, actually.

Most of the movie is about Spirit’s encounters with man. He meets the first of our species when he investigates a strange fire. This strange fire turns out to be a campfire and he is then captured by a bunch of cowboys. When the cowboys sell Spirit to the US army, we finally meet his nemesis for the movie: the Colonel. The Colonel is, obviously, a colonel in the army and actually breaks Spirit for a moment (just a moment!).

Soon after we are introduced to the Colonel, we are also introduced to Little Creek. Little Creek is from the Native American tribe, the Lakota, who ends up becoming Spirit’s ally.

Without giving too much away (I want you to watch the movie to find out what happens next), I can tell you Spirit finds love and earns respect from an unexpected quarter.

One of the things I love most in this movie is the soundtrack. The songs were written by Bryan Adams and the music by Hans Zimmer, two old dogs in the business. The creators of the movie describe it as a musical and, boy, does it deliver. Even though none of the characters break into song (think “Prince of Egypt” and “Mulan”), the soundtrack is just as powerful, sometimes even more powerful than, if they did just sing.

One particular scene – and song – that stuck in my mind and just struck (as in ding!) my heartstrings is when Spirit is captured by the US army after escaping them with Little Creek’s help. In this scene, he is unsure if his love is alive and he is depressed enough to refuse food. He is in a train, the kind with a locomotive engine and wooden carriages (like in “Zorro”), and he looks out the slats to see winter has set and there is snow billowing around outside.

This is where sight and sound combine to give you a moment that is heartbreaking in its intensity. The song is called Sound the Bugle, with Bryan Adams on vocals. His husky, slightly raspy voice suits the song to a T. The song starts out slow, sad, and then builds and builds and builds until it becomes an inspirational melody that leaves your heart bursting.

While the song is building, Spirit is looking out at the land, coated in winter, and he begins to, well, for lack of a better term, hallucinate. He sees, in the snow fall, the image of his herd, led by his mother, running through the plains of his homeland. At this moment, the song’s lyrics change, from depressing to inspirational and, even now, after watching this movie for the umpteenth time, give me the tingles.

It’s not just this song that’s great. The whole soundtrack, even the instrumental parts (which I normally don’t like) are good. No, not just good. Really good. If you’re anything like me, heck even if you’re nothing like me, I think you’ll still run out to buy the soundtrack. It’s just. That. Good.

Now, if you think this is sounds like some fan girl rambling on about her favourite movie: you’re right. I loved this movie when I first watched it and I love it still, as I sit here and watch it again while I write this. It has all the elements of a good story; a determined, courageous hero against impossible odds; an enemy that seems to always appear just when you think the hero has won; a love that is touching and sweet; and a mission to save a much loved and much missed homeland.

The main characters may be horses instead of humans but they touch you all the same. Spirit, especially, has such human expressions that you can’t help but identify with him. You can tell exactly what he’s thinking from his expressions, even without the benefit of Matt Damon’s admittedly brilliant narration (well, that’s my opinion anyway). Even without the benefit of a cinematic experience, I was blown away, wowed, and any other synonym you can think of for awestruck, by this movie.

So, if you have some spare time – actually, even if you don’t have some spare time, make some. This movie is a must see. Some might think its concept is a little adult for young viewers but who says animation is only for young viewers?

Watch it, and then watch it again and again and again. You can watch it as often as you like and, believe me, you’ll never get sick of it.