A new chapter in the Spirit franchise sees the wild mustang who starred in DreamWorks’ Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron 20 years ago modernised to draw in a new audience. Spirit Untamed is, in my opinion, a beautiful extension of the Netflix series Spirit Riding Free that my 9yo daughter and her friends have fallen in love with. Connecting the two not only with the series cast but also with the explosive moment when 12yo Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced) and her future steed make eye contact as he races past the train bringing Lucky to the small town of Miradero, creates a comforting familiarity that enables the audience to settle in and enjoy the ride.
Rebellious and unbridled as the wild horse she soon befriends, Lucky has been shipped off from her Grandfather’s mansion to return to her roots and her sweet but entirely inexperienced father, Jim (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal). Accompanied by her aunt Cora (Julianne Moore), a character I thoroughly enjoyed thanks to Moore’s deadpan comedic timing; Lucky wastes no time in asserting her complete disinterest in parental authority. Blatantly ignoring her father’s wishes for her to stay away from horses, we learn early on in the narrative that Lucky’s own mother died during a horse riding performance with the local circus troupe.
While true that the Spirit universe seems to exist in and of itself without much in the way of geographical or time specificity, it gets away with it by distracting with pithy dialogue, a lively pace and endearing characters. A disconnected relationship between Lucky and her dad is touched on but it feels as though the screen writers preferred not to dig too deep, focusing instead on moving the audience’s attention to the bond between girl and horse.
A sinister presence in the sleepy Western town becomes apparent as wanted posters show up in town bearing the face of a villainous horse wrangler. Arriving in town at the same time as Lucky, the wrangler and his gang also have their sights set on Spirit and his herd and once they capture the stallion there begins a race of sorts as both the wrangler and his crew as well as Lucky try to tame the wild Spirit.
Enter the quick-witted Pru Granger (Marsai Martin) and charismatic Abigail Stone (McKenna Grace) who befriend Lucky and teach her that the key to ‘breaking’ a horse, even one as wilful as Spirit, is calm, confidence and crunchy apples! It is the dynamic between the three girls that really stands out throughout the film as the trio embark on an extraordinary adventure to rescue Spirit’s family from being smuggled away and lost forever. Coming up against an impossible terrain, a race against time and the evil wranglers, can Lucky, Pru and Abigail prevail?
Spirit Untamed will have you covering your eyes and gripping the edges of your seat one minute and laughing out loud the next. I loved this movie just as much as my Spirit-loving daughter and her friend. One I intend on adding to our family film collection to enjoy over and over again.
Spirit Untamed is due out in Australian cinemas from 12 June 2021.
Rated PG, 1 hour and 27 minutes