Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (or simply Spirit) is a 2002 American animated Western film directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, written by John Fusco, from an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced with Mireille Soria. Set in the Old West in the late 19th century, the film follows Spirit, a Kiger mustang stallion (voiced by Matt Damon as a narrator), who is captured during the American Indian Wars by the United States Cavalry; he is eventually freed by a Lakota man named Little Creek with whom he bonds, as well as a mare named Rain. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation, combining traditional animation and computer animation. In contrast to the anthropomorphic style of animal characters in other animated features, Spirit and his fellow horses communicate with each other through non-linguistic sounds and body language (albeit with many human facial expressions and reactions). Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was released in theaters on May 24, 2002, by DreamWorks Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $122 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film also launched a media franchise completely using computer animation, with a Netflix spin-off television series Spirit Riding Free premiering on May 5, 2017, followed by a spin-off of the original film, titled Spirit Untamed, released on June 4, 2021.