Spirited Away

Voiced by Matt Damon, 'Spirit' follows a wild Mustang stallion, living free in the Old West. He's captured by horse traders and sold to a cavalry regiment at a frontier outpost. There, a cruel colonel (voice of James Cromwell and somewhat resembling Colonel Mustard) nearly succeeds in breaking the willful horse. Spirit escapes in the company of a captive Native American, Little Creek (voice of Daniel Studi) that tries to possess the magnificent animal by more humane means, but Spirit refuses to bend to human will even when he makes the acquaintance of Little Creek's fiercely loyal mare, Rain. After he saves Little Creek's life in an Army raid, Spirit believes that the gravely injured Rain has died after a tumble over a waterfall. Despondent, the horse is captured again by humans, enslaved this time for work in a pack team on the transcontinental railroad. Still strong, Spirit manages to escape for a reunion with Little Creek, Rain, and his long-lost herd.

One of the things I loved the most about Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was that it differs from other examples of its genre in that the horse do not speak or sing; only Spirit's voice is heard as voice-over narration. I am not lame for loving this movie. The first time I saw it, only saw the very end scene with the horse running with the eagle and I was inspired. I saw to the middle again about a year and half later, but only saw to where Rain dies and I was crushed! Then, I saw it at the Robinson and my little 5 year old heart was all a-flutter. I love horses. They are the most magical animals... ever. I don't know why I love them so much. They are so graceful and strong and natural. They symbolize and embody everything I love about the old west, Native American culture, and the ideas I harbor about the unsettle North American continent. Ever since I was a little kid and learned about Native Americans I have been fascinated by their culture and the land's unsettled appeal. I mean, it was a completely foreign concept that the buildings and world as I knew it didn't always look like that. That fields and trees were expansive without buildings anywhere. I also grew up by a creek with lots of parks, so I have always loved and had huge nostalgia and respect for nature. As much of a Texan as I claim to be, I really don't have much history with Westerns, but I loved Spirit and Pocahontas and other Native American children's tales. They just speak to a very innocent, natural part of me. I love horses. I love the way they show the little mare with almost dog like qualities of playfulness.