A tale that could not be broken...

Today, I watched a movie that I haven't seen in a long, long time. One of those old videos you've got lurking around your house, that you think, "one rainy day I'll sit down, get nice and warm, and watch a few of these old greats..." This is one of those ones. It's called Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

It's a kid's animated movie, and one of those few animated movies about animals that don't either make them human-like or make them talk (though there are some stand-outs in the latter category), though the main character is narrated. But even that is fairly sparse, and it relies a lot on being able to tell the story through what is happening, the music and the emotion, much more than dialogue, which is minimal. And it does it exceptionally.

Spirit is the story of a leader of a group of wild horses (funnily enough, from the Cimarron), back just before it became the USA. One night he spots a strange light and goes to investigate, and discovers humans, whom he hasn't seen before. They manage to capture him (but not without a decent chase scene) and take him to a US army camp, where they try (and fail) to break him. He escapes with the help of a native American who was also captive there, who takes him back to his camp, where he meets Rain - one of their horses. The Indian attempts to ride him (with no success), but Rain shows Spirit the Indian camp, and her way of life. He is, of course, extremely attracted to her. And, in the close-ups on her eyes, she seems to be wearing make-up. Bit strange, but anyway. The Indian realises he will never ride the horse and sets him free. But before he can get very far, the camp is attacked. Rain is shot, and in trying to save her, both Spirit and her go over a waterfall. Spirit is then captured again and used to help pull a train up a mountain, after tunnelling is unsuccessful. When he realises that this will bring them to his homeland, he breaks free, and causes some pretty serious damage to the train. Or, rather, lets gravity cause some damage to it. The Indian finds him again, and together they try to gain their freedom.

Despite its lack of dialogue, the film still gallops its way through ideas of freedom, home, control, friendship, love (of course), and teamwork. The music also complements the film spectacularly, creating some amazing moments. This is one of those epics, those stories that you'll never forget, and that you'll say, "What, you never watched Spirit?" to other people.

Watch it. Really. It's...yeah. Good.