Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by |
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Screenplay by | John Fusco |
Produced by | |
Starring |
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Edited by |
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Music by | Hans Zimmer |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 83 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
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.