Spirit Untamed

First of all, this TV-quality feature is not a sequel to Dreamworks’ 2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. There’s a mustang of the same name and general description, but really, that’s it. Rather, Untamed is a theatrical version of a Dreamworks pre-tween TV series called Spirit Riding Free that’s been running on Netflix since 2017. The TV show’s game-quality animation is excruciating for adult viewers but apparently attracts enough children’s eyes to carry on for more than 50 episodes — and to spawn this slightly improved theatrical release.

Untamed focuses not on Spirit, who no longer has his own voiceover, but on Lucky Prescott, a Mexican-American tween girl who comes to the desert border town of Miradero to live with her father, Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal). There she makes friends with the adventurous Pru and the spunky Abigail, and the three girls befriend Spirit and his herd, who are in danger of being sold into servitude by nasty bandits. (Walton Goggins voices the villain, while Julianne Moore and Andre Braugher chime in for other characters.)

Young fans of the Netflix series, who are really the only audience for this film, will recognize the early plot line as repeating the TV show’s setup. The rest of the movie plays out as you might imagine, with galloping chases through the desert, well-meaning fathers offering advice, a smattering of visual gags, and brave little girls and their equine friends spending a lot of time bonding.

Whatever you think of the 2002 Spirit, with its meandering narrative and on-the-nose narration by Matt Damon, it was beautifully animated in that artful blend of richly detailed hand drawings and kinetic CG that’s unique to animated features of the 1990s and early 2000s. Spirit Untamed, in contrast, wasn’t even animated by DreamWorks, but by a contract production company called Jellyfish Pictures. Judging by the U.K. firm’s online promotional reel, which includes a fine How to Train Your Dragon short and some impressive live-action special effects, Untamed is not their best work. It’s not as unbearable as the Netflix show, but it’s still lower-resolution renders of characters that look like Bratz dolls and plastic ponies come to life.

There’s no point, really, in bringing theatrical film standards to bear in judging a product intended for a young audience with different expectations. Spirit Untamed does the job of turning Spirit Riding Free into a feature, which is best viewed (if at all) on a home screen. That way, parents can leave the room while their little ones enjoy.

Grade: D. Rated PG, but suitable for all ages. In theaters now.

(Photo: Dreamworks)