A beautifully animated film about the conquest of the American West, from the point of view of the wild Mustang, who is captured and trained by the US Army, put to work building the railroad, fights back, and escapes. A young Native American man who is also captured by the army and escapes with him serves as a foil, but the story is about Spirit, not the Lakota community, which is otherwise absent. Of course it's more difficult to root against the laying of the transcontinental railroad given that it already happened more than a century ago (and also seems less devastating then, say, multiple concrete roads and highways). So the key symbolic action is when the general who has been pursuing Spirit and his Native American rider lets them go after they have jumped across the Grand Canyon, giving them a look and a nod of respect. That is the message of the film - that the old ways of the "West" be respected. But the railroad was built in any case.
Sienna's rating: 8 stars Sebastian's rating: 6 stars Paul's rating: 7 stars
Sienna pointed out that Seb probably didn't like this movie very much, despite his love of horses, because the animals didn't communicate with each other in English (though Spirit does have an interior monologue). An interesting idea, but unconfirmed!
Sienna's rating: 8 stars Sebastian's rating: 6 stars Paul's rating: 7 stars
Sienna pointed out that Seb probably didn't like this movie very much, despite his love of horses, because the animals didn't communicate with each other in English (though Spirit does have an interior monologue). An interesting idea, but unconfirmed!