Movie Review: 'Spirit Untamed' Will Entertain the Kids

Your kids, especially young girls, will love Spirit Untamed. This story of a spirited horse and the spirited young girl who befriends him is pure kiddie fare. This is the definition of a babysitter movie, the kind of safe, inoffensive, and wholly unmemorable movie that is perfect for putting on the TV while you go and do chores in another room. There is nothing wrong with Spirit Untamed as an at home presentation for children, though parents might not want to spend the money to see it in a theater.

Spirit Untamed tells the story of plucky young heroine, Lucky (Isabela Merced), who has a reputation in her family for being a lovable troublemaker. Lucky has managed to find trouble in even the most innocuous situations, though never with any malice or intent. Her latest mixed up mistake found Lucky chasing a squirrel around her house which led to her destroying the rollout party for her grandfather’s run for Governor.

This incident gets Lucky shipped out west to live with her father, Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal). Jim gave up his daughter to his sister, Cora (Julianne Moore), and his father following the death of Lucky’s mother. Now that she’s older however, and more capable of taking care of herself, Lucky’s grandfather feels she could benefit from living with her dad, especially as his race for Governor continues.

Aunt Cora takes Lucky out west on the train and they arrive in the small town of Miradero in the midst of a rodeo. Lucky has grown up hearing about how her mother was a legend of the rodeo and riding horses. Unfortunately, her mom died in a horse riding accident which has made Jim very wary of horse riding. Regardless of dad’s reservations, Lucky is immediately drawn to the rodeo and especially to horses.

On the train ride to Miradero, Lucky encountered a group of wild horses, one of which was clearly the leader of the others. Lucky names this horse Spirit. Once in Miradero, Lucky reunites with Spirit as Spirit is rounded up by evil rustlers led by the slimy villain, Hendricks (Walton Goggins). Lucky uses the opportunity to connect with Spirit and develop a relationship with the wild stallion. This works with the help of two new friends, horse riders, Pru Grainger (Marsai Martin) and Abigail Stone (McKenna Grace).

Pru and Abigail teach Lucky about how to get a horse to trust you and when Spirit and his family get rounded up to be sold by the rustlers, Pru and Abigail jump on their special horses to ride with Lucky to the rescue of the wild horses. All the while, Lucky remains at odds with Jim as he worries about her safety on a horse. Lucky must also hide what she’s doing from both Jim and Aunt Cora while trying to learn about and live up to the legend of her mother.

That description took a lot more finesse than it might seem. The story beats of Spirit Untamed are rather limited and I didn’t want to spoil anything, even as this simpleminded story can’t really be spoiled. The story of Spirit Untamed is as uncomplicated as possible. The film is aimed at a pre-teen crowd that likely hasn’t seen many movies. On that front, I can say that Spirit Untamed is strong enough for the intended audience. If you are not a pre-teen girl however, Spirit Untamed is a bit of a chore.

The name Spirit might sound familiar to you if you are a fan of animated movies. Spirit Untamed is connected, very loosely, to the 2002 Dreamworks animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. That film featured the voice of Matt Damon as the horse who longs to run free in the west and must outrun the encroachment of humans on the frontier to find his place leading a group of wild stallions. Why they decided to continue this story is unknown, Spirit has stayed alive in a series of television shows but if Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron has a cult following that justifies a sequel nearly 20 years later, I am unaware of it.

The animation of Spirit Untamed is nothing special. The coloring is pleasant, the character designs are competent, and the story hits the basic notes of uplifting, positive, and uncomplicated children's media. It’s fine, there is really nothing terribly wrong with Spirit Untamed. I’m not the audience intended for this movie and while I would prefer children’s media to enrich the audience and impart a larger message or strive to show kids something incredible, there is plenty of room in the media landscape for movies like Spirit Untamed, a movie intended to occupy the attention of young children for 81 minutes.

If the notion of a movie babysitter is something that bothers you, I understand. In a perfect world, were I a parent to a young child, I would want to do something more than leave them in front of a TV for 81 minutes. This isn't a perfect world however and some parents need a break. Some parents need an hour and twenty minutes of peace from the rigors of being a parent and I will not condemn any parent who uses a movie like Spirit Untamed as a way to keep the kids occupied for a little while.