Hey folks, Harry here... I was just talking to Cartuna about this film today and lo-n-behold look what pops up but a review of the test screening of the flick. This is Dreamworks' bold cinemascope traditional animated experiment. I had the chance to talk to a person involved in this film quite some time ago and got very excited by what little they would say, but reading this... Well... it got me jones up... Here ya go....
I saw Spirit Last nite.. Complete surprise... I was expecting a boring P.O.S.. I had no hope for this Flic....
Im glad to be wrong.. This is the BEST animated feature from DW(excluding Shrek). This is a big risk to do to break from typical formulaic "disneyesque" films... It truly strives for the highest artistry.. Its stylized without being overly cartoony... It has some of the most beautiful horses Ive ever seen in animation . They really made the horse a character thru some of the best character animnation Ive ever seen.. They remained truthful to a horse's actions and behaviors yet still making it act.. It wasnt your typical overdone disney stuff. I was just impressed with the restraint that DW used.. And the horses dont TALK.. They just whine and make horse noise.. The only time you hear the horse talk its thru the Narrator who is the "voice" of the horse...Thats probably my only problem with the show...the narrator is the first person and I think it should be told more as an outside observer...
The human characters work well too... They look much more realistic than the typical Disney offering...I think one of the villans is very remniscient or actually is Custer...
The art direction is STUNNING... I really felt I was watching an Animated NC Wyeth or Remington painting... The direction made this feel more like an epic western than a cartoon... The direction was just awesome.. The horse chase scenes were excellently staged...
The story ... I wont go into Spoilers, but Ill give you the gist of it..
Its about a wild horse named Spirit , who one day goes to far from his group of horses, and encounters a bunch of Soldiers and gets captured.. The rest of the movie tells the story of his escape and his will not to be broken by humans and his dream to go back to the wild...
It could have gone really corny but I found I actually cared for Spirit.. This movie definately doesnt pull punches either .. It doesnt show the "white man" in such a positve light.. Its very truthful to that.. It actually shows the native americans as the "good" guys and much more in touch with the horses that live with them.. This film almost reminded me of dances with wolves....
I think DW has another winner.. Whatever Katzenberg has done, he should continue doing.. I applaud the entire DW animation team that has worked on the film.. Its one of the best animated FILMs that Ive seen next to Iron GIant... .. Well I think they nailed it... I think this will do well in the Box Office too...
I cant wait till the finished product....The animators at DW should be proud....
Escaflowne....
