Join
Spirit, a wild young mustang, as he sets up on an action-packed
quest against impossible odds to regain his freedom and save his
homeland. In this courageous and thrilling journey across the
majestic wilderness of the American frontier, Spirit forms a
remarkable friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a
relentless squadron of soldiers, and falls for a beautiful mare
named Rain. SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON is a
spectacular tale about discovering the true hero inside of you.
The
animation in SPIRIT is remarkable and simply
awe-inspiring. DreamWorks has shown that it can bring quality
into animated films. The film has class and style all on its
own. Horses streak across the plains with wild thrive, followed
by a camera that is not afraid to move around, into, above, and
between the scenery to deliver some really spectacular motion
shots of the horses. SPIRIT is the kind of encouraging
class animation that Disney once created. This is sincere
good-hearted family entertainment at its best. SPIRIT is
truly a brilliant experience.
The
Video
SPIRIT
appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this
single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced
for 16X9 televisions. The DVD showed positive picture quality.
Sharpness appeared flawless.
The movie
always came across as crisp and well defined, with no signs of
softness. Jagged edges created no concerns, and I detected no
signs of edge enhancement. Print flaws seemed totally absent. At
no point did I perceive any specks, or grit. SPIRIT
contained a very vivid palette, and the tones were terrific from
start to finish. The colors always appeared vibrant and
abundant, and they displayed excellent clarity. Black levels
also appeared wonderfully rich and dense. Overall, SPIRIT
looked very good.
The
Audio
SPIRIT
contains a
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The mix worked very well threw out the
film. Effects created a nice sense of atmosphere, and scenes
when Spirit galloped threw the forest brought noticeable
dimensionality from the rear speakers, and we even got some
decent and accurate split-surround material. Effects sounded
clean and accurate for the most part. They never displayed any
signs of distortion, and they usually boasted decisive dynamics.
Audio and speech came across distinct and natural. The music
sounded bright and clear, and the songs offered fine range and
definition. Ultimately, the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix worked very
well for this film.
The
Extras
- Spirit's
Make-A-Movie Studio: A DVD First! (DVD-ROM)
- Create
Your Own Movie Using Real Backgrounds, Characters, Music and
Sound Effects from the Film! - Record
Your own Narration and Import Your Favorite photos to
Personalize Your Movie!
- DWK:
DreamWorks Kids --This Way to Play! - Learn to
Draw Spirit with DreamWorks Animator --15 Interactive Games and
Activities (DVD-ROM & Set-Top Features)
- The
Animation of Spirit: A Fascinating Look at the
Integration of Hand Drawn 2-D and Computer-Generated 3-D
Animation
- The Songs
of Spirit: Learn How Grammy-Winner Bryan Adams and
Academy Award Winning Composer Hans Zimmer Brought Spirit's
Story to Life through Music
Overall
SPIRIT:
STALLION OF THE CIMARRON provided
an excellent DVD. I thought the DVD offered very good picture
and audio, plus a good portion of extras. SPIRIT is a
frontrunner that belongs in your collection; parents and kids
will love it. This film is highly recommended.
