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From the very first shot of Spirit Untamed, the animation looks flat and outdated.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
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Avatar%20(2009)
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The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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