This lovely animated horse adventure for kids is a spin-off from the 2020 animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and, is loosely based on the subsequent Netflix series Spirit Riding Free.
Set in the 19th century, it follows young Fortuna “Lucky” Prescott (Merced), who has been raised by her grandfather and aunt Cora (Moore) in the city following the death of her mother. When Cora takes a reluctant Lucky back to the western town of Miradero, where she was born, to stay with her estranged father Jim (Gyllenhaal) she meets a wild mustang she names Spirit at a local corral.
While she and Spirit form a bond, there are nasty horse wranglers hiding in the bushes who want to take him and the mustang herd to the coast and sell them. It is up to Lucky and her new friends Pru and Abigail to save them before they can steal Spirit and his family away.
It’s refreshing to have a Wild West story led by girls, and younger kids will be enchanted by the story of Spirit, even if they haven’t seen the original movie or series. The animation is bright and colourful, the story is filled with fun and adventure, and while the girls and the horses are sometimes in danger, there is nothing too scary here for younger viewers.
A sweet story with nice vocal turns from the leads that is a treat for horse fans.
Is Spirit: Untamed suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
Spirit is captured and in danger in parts of the movie, which may upset younger viewers. At one point he is also injured, and Lucky is also occasionally in danger.
Very young viewers may be upset by the prologue in which we learn that Lucky’s mother died in a riding accident.
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