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Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

tomatometer

69

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 126
Fresh: 87 | Rotten: 39

A visually stunning film that may be too predictable and politically correct for adults, but should serve children well.

78

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 7

A visually stunning film that may be too predictable and politically correct for adults, but should serve children well.

audience

72

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 57,716

My Rating

Movie Info

Screenwriter John Fusco returns to the Western themes of his previous films Young Guns and Thunderheart with this animated children's adventure from Dreamworks. Matt Damon supplies the voice of Spirit, a wild Mustang stallion living free in the Old West of the late 19th century, where he's captured by human horse traders and sold to a cavalry regiment at a frontier outpost. There, a cruel colonel (voice of James Cromwell) nearly succeeds in breaking the willful horse, but not quite. Spirit

G,

Drama, Animation, Kids & Family

,

John Fusco

Nov 19, 2002

$73.2M

DreamWorks SKG - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (128) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (87) | Rotten (39) | DVD (15)

There's nothing thrilling or new about the work here, but accomplished it is.

June 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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Spirit is smarter than your average cartoon because it doesn't try to joke around with a host of annoying talking animals.

December 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Denver Post
Denver Post
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There's not much of a story, the whole thing's a bit superficial, and there's little to laugh at, but it's still a refreshing change from the norm.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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An exciting and exquisitely rendered film in which the horse goes through as many adventures and perils as Indiana Jones on a good day.

November 4, 2002 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A welcome family film that extols noble values and offers first-class animation.

July 20, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
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As animation increasingly emphasizes the computer and the cool, this is a film that takes a stand in favor of tradition and warmth.

May 24, 2002
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Many kids will like this mustang tale.

December 28, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment (1)
Common Sense Media

This is an original, enjoyable and sweet movie that will please adults and kids alike...

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

Spirit: Stallion Of the Cimmaron, which and is technically Dreamworks' first animated film since the monster CGI hit Shrek, as a hand-drawn film has quite a bit to live up to, but succeeds admirably at finding the heart that is often missing from technica

July 2, 2008 Full Review Source: IGN Movies
IGN Movies

Gorgeous and plenty exciting, but overcooked with corny narration and an endless barrage of Bryan Adams songs telling us how to feel at every moment.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

There are genuine moments of beauty in Spirit -- visually and emotionally speaking -- but ultimately they aren't worth the price of suffering through the extraneous material that too often sullies the picture.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment (1)
Film Threat

A welcome, entertaining, and fun ride.

February 1, 2004 Full Review Source: FilmStew.com

...[a] genuinely thrilling movie that's appropriate for all ages.

August 1, 2003 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
Reel Film Reviews

It dares to do things a bit differently, and it does them generally quite well.

July 28, 2003 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

A worthy, if dull addition to the studio's animated works.

April 16, 2003 Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | Comment (1)

Sappy and manipulative; it's further weighed down by an overloaded, over-politically-correct script.

March 23, 2003 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comment (1)
Window to the Movies

...A bland but pleasing animated horse story...

February 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Quips Online
Film Quips Online

I really wish I liked Spirit better.

January 7, 2003 Full Review Source: Hot Button | Comment (1)
Hot Button

The film meant well in its horse tale about freedom, but wasn't able to reach the heart because it was too overbearing.

December 25, 2002 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comments (2)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The only, and I repeat only, problem in this film is Bryan Adams. Fantastic character animation.

December 7, 2002 Full Review

Audience Reviews for Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron

I really feel this film was lost potential. what I mean by that is that this film has one extremely fatal fault. It's the fact that the main character has a narration but doesn't talk. Now I like it that this film has a non-talking animal for once, but what is the point of giving him a narrative then if he isn't gonna talk? you already have him convey emotions well without dialogue with his facial expressions. But even then, they humanize the horse way too much, to the point that it just becomes distracting and I would've wanted him to talk. I feel that might've been what they originally had planned but scrapped it for some reason. Also the film is really also not all that interesting, the neighing gets old REALLY fast, and it's not very engaging. Many characters aren't interesting, and the music sounds far too, well, 80s sounding that it just feels off for this kind of film. The only thing I really like about the film is the villain played by James Cromwell, who plays a great bastard but actually has his limits, and I do like how the villain isn't killed off, in fact the villain knows he's beat and gives up, which I don't see in a lot of films. Other than that, it's just a bore. It has too many distracting features, characters aren't interesting, and it isn't well paced at all. I think more kids would be bored with Spirit than find it really funny or engaging. While it isnt the worst Dreamworks has done, it's not their best.
February 7, 2013
michael e.
Michael Edwards

Super Reviewer

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

I loved this movie when I first saw it and It would be great too see a sequel. It has some of the best, most well crafted animation techniques i've evr seen in an animated film. Its heartwarming and in it's dark moments it might even make you cry.
August 16, 2011
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

    1. Spirit: For the first time in my life, I felt my heart torn two ways.
    – Submitted by Jenna L (5 months ago)
    1. Little Creek: I'm never going to ride you, am I? And no one ever should. You can go. It's okay, go. Go on, get out of here! Go home.
    – Submitted by Jenna L (5 months ago)
    1. Little Creek: Take care of her, Spirit who could not be broken.
    – Submitted by MarieBella C (7 months ago)
    1. Spirit: [about finally be letting free by Little Creek] I had been waiting so long to run free, but that goodbye was harder than I ever imagined. I'll never forget that boy and how we won back our freedom together.
    – Submitted by MarieBella C (7 months ago)
    1. Spirit: I couldn't believe it. One minute I was free and the next: More ropes.
    – Submitted by MarieBella C (7 months ago)
    1. Spirit: [first seeing the Colonel] I remember the first time I saw a rattler curled up in my path. This one didn't look like a rattler, but I was still thinkin' 'snake'.
    – Submitted by MarieBella C (7 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Spirit - Der wilde Mustang (DE)
  • Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron (UK)
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