Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

This article is about the film. For the soundtrack, see Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (soundtrack). For the franchise, see Spirit (franchise).

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay byJohn Fusco
Produced by
Starring
Edited by
Music byBryan Adams
Hans Zimmer
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 21, 2002 (2002-05-21) (Cannes)
  • May 24, 2002 (2002-05-24)
(United States)
Running time
83 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million[3]
Box office$122.6 million[3]

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (also known as Spirit) is a 2002 American animated Western film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by John Fusco, based on an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced the film alongside Mireille Soria.[4] The film combines traditional animation and computer animation.

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. 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, and was a box office disappointment, earning only $122 million on an $80 million budget, but received positive reviews. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[5][6] 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.

  1. ^ a b c "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (U)". British Board of Film Classification. May 17, 2002. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Box Office". BoxOfficeMojo. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  4. ^ "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  5. ^ "The 75th Academy Awards | 2003". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 5, 2014. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  6. ^ Shamsian, Jacob (March 29, 2022). "Every animated movie that's won an Oscar". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2022.