| Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron |
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| Genre: | Animation - Family |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Rating: | G |
| Length: | 1 Hour 23 Minutes |
| Cast: | Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook, Matt Damon, James Cromwell |
| Credits: | nominated 2003 best animated feature |
One of the best animated films of 2002, Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron is a stirring western saga told not from the perspective of a feisty mustang. Matt Damon is the voice of the hero who grows "from colt to stallion, racing with the eagle, soaring with the wind." Spirit's idyllic life as the leader of his herd is shattered when the U.S. Army captures him, and the defiant horse finds himself locked in a battle of wills with the fort's stern Colonel (voiced by James Cromwell, the kindly farmer from Babe). Spirit refuses to be broken, and will let no man ride him until he meets a kindred soul, a Lakota brave named Little Creek. Things are better for Spirit on Little Creek's reservation, but the stallion's unquenchable longing for his home and herd lead him and the mare he loves to even greater adventures. Some of the film's bravura set pieces -- an eagle's flight over a majestic landscape that rivals the opening of The Lion King, a spectacular train wreck, and a cliff-leaping escape - will set the hearts of animation buffs and horse lovers galloping. Bryan Adams supplies power ballads full of empowering messages that underscore the G-rated film's politically correct tone, but Spirit does contain scenes of emotional upheaval and mistreatment that may disturb young foals. Donald Liebenson
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