- “Adventure awaits.”
- ―Tagline
Spirit Untamed[1] is a CGI-animated adventure comedy film that is a sequel/spin-off to the 2002 traditionally-animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, as well as being a CGI reboot of the Netflix series, Spirit Riding Free. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was directed by Elaine Bogan and co-directed by Ennio Torresan in their feature film directorial debuts and written by the show’s creator Aury Wallington. It was released on June 4, 2021. The film
The film received mixed reviews from critics, with many deeming it inferior to its predecessor, and was a box office disappointment, grossing $38 million worldwide against its $30 million budget.
Plot
Years after Milagro Navarro-Prescott performed her trademark act in the circus until an accident claims her life during one of her performances, her living young daughter, Fortuna "Lucky" Navarro-Prescott, has been living with her aunt Cora and grandfather James in the city.
Lucky and Cora head to the town of Miradero where they will stay with Lucky's father Jim for the summer, whom Lucky has not really known of after the incident with Milagro. Upon arriving in Miradero, the pair meet local young riders Pru Granger and Abigail Stone.
Lucky goes to a corral where she sees a Kiger Mustang, the same one she saw during her train trip from earlier, trying to be manhandled by a man named Hendricks. Lucky tells Jim and Cora about the horse, thinking he can be her new friend, but Jim does not want Lucky going near the horses after what happened to Milagro. Nonetheless, Pru and Abigail help Lucky win over the trust of the horse, whom she names Spirit. After a while, Spirit trusts Lucky enough to eat an apple she offers him, as well as allowing her to pet him.
Lucky attempts to ride Spirit but he escapes from the corral and runs away, while Lucky is saved by Pru and Abigail after almost falling off a cliff. Jim scolds Lucky for disobeying him making Lucky think he has given up on her. She sneaks out at night through the forest where she finds Spirit and his herd together, but are interrupted by Hendricks and his men, who capture all the horses but Spirit and take them in by train. Knowing Hendricks and his men are wranglers, Spirit joins Lucky for his help as they enlist Pru and Abigail with their horses to embark on a journey to try and cut the wranglers off on their path by beating them to Heck Mountain. During the trip, Lucky and Spirit's relationship starts to build up as they progress along.
One morning however, Lucky wakes up and sees that the wranglers' train has made it to its stop earlier than expected, Spirit goes off on his own and is taken in by the wranglers. Determined to save Spirit, Lucky and her friends follow the train to the docks where the wranglers are boarding the horses onto a boat to be auctioned off to be worked to death. The girls arrive too late to stop the boat but Lucky manages to save Spirit and get onboard. Lucky and Spirit free the other horses and subdue the wranglers, with Spirit knocking Hendricks off the boat. Jim, Cora, and Pru's father Al show up to get the girls; and Hendricks and the other wranglers are arrested.
On their way back to Miradero, Lucky feels that she has to let Spirit go so that he can stay with his herd, and she can return home. Lucky and Cora decide instead to stay in Miradero, as Spirit is seen riding through the fields with his herd.
Cast
- Isabela Merced as Lucky Prescott[2]
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Jim Prescott
- Julianne Moore as Cora Prescott
- Marsai Martin as Pru Granger
- Mckenna Grace as Abigail Stone
- Walton Goggins as Hendricks
- Andre Braugher as Al Granger
- Eiza González as Milagro Navarro
- Lucian Perez as Snips Stone.
Development
In October 2019, DreamWorks Animation announced that a feature film based on the Spirit Riding Free series was in development, with Elaine Bogan serving as director and Ennio Torresan serving as co-director from a script by series creator Aury Wallington, and produced by Karen Foster. The film will be produced on a lower budget and be made by a different animation studio outside of DreamWorks, similar to Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (It also took the latter's previous title as the cheapest Dreamworks animated film at a budget of $30 million). The film was scheduled for a release on May 14, 2021, but due to the ongoing pandemic, it was delayed to its June 4th release.[3]
Production
In May 2020, production was done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] In November 2020, the film was delayed to its current release date on June 4th, 2021.[5]
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Trivia
- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is DreamWorks' eighth film to become a franchise, after The Prince of Egypt, Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and The Croods.
- This also has the longest gap for a DreamWorks Animation sequel with the original coming out 19 years ago. Beating The Croods: A New Age.
- This is the seventh DreamWorks Animation film to have a female protagonist, after Chicken Run, Monsters vs. Aliens, The Croods, Trolls, Trolls World Tour, and Abominable.
- This is first theatrical film based on a DreamWorks Animation TV series, not counting Penguins of Madagascar (since that film's plot is unrelated to that of the TV series of the same name).
- This is the fourth DreamWorks Animation sequel not to have its music score composed by the same composer as its predecessor after Penguins of Madagascar (which had its music score composed by Lorne Balfe), Trolls World Tour (which had its music score composed by Theodore Shapiro), and The Croods: A New Age (which had its music score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh); Hans Zimmer composed the music score for the first film while Amie Doherty takes over for this film.
- It is also the seventh DreamWorks Animation film not to be composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Henry Jackman, Lorne Balfe, Steve Mazzaro, or Theodore Shapiro, as Amie Doherty takes over as the film's composer; the first three being 2005's Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (which was composed by Julian Nott), 2012's Rise of the Guardians (which was composed by Alexandre Desplat), 2013's The Croods (which was composed by Alan Silvestri), and 2014's Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 2016's Trolls (which was composed by Christophe Beck), and 2020's The Croods: A New Age (which was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh).
- It is also the second time a composer's first major animated feature was from Dreamworks Animation, the first being Henry Jackman and his score for Monsters vs. Aliens.
- This is the first Spirit film to be rated PG by the MPA, unlike Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was rated G, making it the first DreamWorks Animation sequel not to be designated the same MPA rating as its predecessor.
- This is the third time none of the original voice cast from a TV series returns to reprise their respective roles in a computer-animated film based on a TV series after Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Sony Pictures Animation's Smurfs: The Lost Village.
- This is the first theatrical film based on a Netflix original TV series.
- This is the third animated film to retell the events of a TV series after Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! and Warner Animation Group's Scoob!.
- Thus, not counting Paramount Animation/Nickelodeon Movies' The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (which shares its continuity with the main series, despite SpongeBob first meeting Squidward, Sandy, and Gary the Snail as kids back at Camp Coral), it is also the ninth animated film based on a TV series to take place in an alternate timeline after Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Penguins of Madagascar, Sony Pictures Animation's Smurfs: The Lost Village, Warner Animation Group's The Lego Ninjago Movie, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, and Warner Animation Group's Scoob!.
- It is DreamWorks Animation's first reboot of its own media, due to the film retelling the events of Spirit Riding Free (including its first episode).
- This is the second DreamWorks Animation spin-off film to take place after the events of its predecessor after Penguins of Madagascar.
- The fourth animated sequel to be rated PG by the MPA, unlike the previous installments which were rated G, after Rugrats Go Wild, Finding Dory and Sherlock Gnomes.
