This sequel to the 2002 film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron may please very young children, but it is a much lesser beast
The 2002 family animation Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron told the tale of a noble stallion’s battle to stay free in the 19th-century old west. Now comes a sequel in which the truly wild creature is not a horse but a 12-year-old girl with a stubborn streak. She is Lucky (voiced by Isabela Merced), whom little kids may recognise from the
Netflix spin-off series. This film is a sort-of origin story to the show, an account of how Lucky and Spirit the stallion meet. It’s a sweet, undemanding film that, despite the title, is tamer than a sedated bunny. That said, the four-year-old I watched with spontaneously yelped “this is the best!” 20 minutes in. So really, what do I know?
Lucky is travelling on a train when she first claps eyes on Spirit galloping across the prairie with his herd. After years living with her grandpa – and wreaking havoc on his plans to become governor, with her unladylike ways – Lucky is travelling out west to live with her widowed dad, Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal), who runs the family railroad business. She spies Spirit again in the town’s corral, captured by a vicious wrangler who is attempting to break him. Where the wrangler fails with brute force, Lucky succeeds with a good heart and a bucket of apples.