Set in the 19th century, the spin-off to 2002’s Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and recent Netflix series Spirit Riding Free follows the adventures of Fortuna “Lucky” Prescott (voiced by Isabela Merced).
After ruining her grandfather’s political campaign, Lucky moves to the small rural village of Miradero where she tries to reconnect with her distant, overprotective, widowed father Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal), but mostly bonds with Spirit the horse.
When a visiting horse wrangler Hendricks (Walton Goggins) and his evil posse plan to steal Spirit and his herd, Lucky takes it upon herself to protect the animals. Even though this only hurts her relationship with Jim even further, she pairs up with her new friends Pru (Marsai Martin) and Abigail (McKenna Grace) to try and keep the horses safe.
With the vocal talents of Merced, Gyllenhaal and Goggins, as well as Oscar-winner Julianne Moore, Andre Braugher and Eiza Gonzalez, you can’t help but go into Spirit Untamed with a little bit of expectation.
It doesn’t take long for that to disappear.
From the very first shot of Spirit Untamed, the animation looks flat and outdated. Composer Amie Doherty’s pedestrian and maudlin music quickly suggests the cartoon Western will probably be lacking any semblance of originality. Something that’s confirmed when Aury Wallington and Kristin Hahn are unable to breathe much life into the film with their script, as it explores the same themes as most other animated films that are primarily aimed at children, and plods along the predictable plot path you can see coming from miles away.
Even its esteemed cast are unable to bring much gravitas or presence to their characters. Gyllenhaal and Moore are anonymous, although Merced brings the required emotion and drives Spirit Untamed along. It is Goggins who comes the closest to excelling, especially as the look of his villain syncs up perfectly with his exuberant, slightly over the top, but still undeniably captivating vocal efforts.
Spirit Untamed has a few other positives, too. Elaine Bogan, making her feature film directorial debut, manages to make the film better than the sum of its underwhelming parts. She brings an energy and pace to the story and finds various inventive shots that immediately get the emotions and mindsets of the characters across. Most impressively, she also manages to make the film surprisingly humorous, too.
It’s also refreshing to see a female-driven story set in the Wild West. Bogan, Wallington and Hahn are able to use this setting and backdrop to deliver several moments that children will find heartening and inspiring. That’s particularly true of the scenes with Lucky, Pru and Abigail, who make for an engaging trio. It’s just a shame that we don’t get to see more of them together.
Ultimately though, despite Bogan’s best efforts, Spirit Untamed can’t help but come across as lightweight.
After the last 25 years of animation excellence from the likes of Pixar, Disney and Warner Bros, audiences of all ages now want a much more layered, evocative and emotional experience when they watch a film from the genre.
Merely being something that parents can put on to entertain their children is no longer enough. Spirit Untamed should just about keep its younger viewers occupied for 87 minutes. Adults, on the other hand, will no doubt find it too cheesy and formulaic to invest in.
Spirit Untamed is in UAE cinemas from Thursday
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Hugo Lebouc (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
2pm Handicap (TB) Dh 84,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Karaginsky, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Sadeedd, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
3pm Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner Blue Sovereign, Clement Lecoeuvre, Erwan Charpy.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Bladesmith, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 68,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
