By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
“Spirit Untamed” is an adventurous and fun, family film which should especially resonate with little girls who love horses.
Directed by Elaine Bogan (“3 Below: Tales of Arcadia”) and Ennio Torresan (“The Boss Baby”), “Spirit Untamed” is a spin-off of the movie “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” (2002) and based on its Netflix animated television series “Spirit Riding Free” from screenwriters Aury Wallington and Kristin Hahn.
In addition to the film’s talented voice cast which features: Isabela Merced (“Dora And the Lost City of Gold”), Julianne Moore (TV’s “Lisey’s Story”), Jake Gyllenhaal (“The Sisters Brothers”), McKenna Grace (TV’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”), Marsai Martin (“Paw Patrol: The Movie”), Walton Goggins (TV’s “Invincible”), and Andre Braugher (TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), the movie also boasts an impressive soundtrack and score from Award-winning composer
Amie Doherty (“The High Note” and “Here and Now).
N2Entertainment.net recently interviewed Doherty who is DreamWorks Animation’s first female composer to score a feature film. Her other credits include: the Emmy-nominated documentary “Light in the Water” and the DreamWorks animated short “Marooned” which earned her “Best Score” at the 2019 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Doherty has also contributed orchestrating and conducting tracks on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica album. She’s collaborated with 50 Cent at Radio City Music Hall for the “Power” Season 5 premiere as well as lent her talents to the television series “Fargo,” “Altered Carbon” and “Picard, Star Trek: Discovery” among others.
Check out my interview with Amie Doherty
Click here to listen with Passcode: F^sk7m?%
Now back to the movie. “Spirit Untamed” is a simple, light-hearted, and touching story about friendship, courage, and acceptance.
It’s no surprise that “Lucky” Prescott, (Merced), loves horses. It runs in her family. Her mother was a revered and famous rider in a little, old town called Miradero, but was killed during a riding accident when Lucky was just a baby. Her father Jim (Gyllenhaal) felt Lucky’s Aunt Cora (Moore) could do a better job raising Lucky.
But even Aunt Cora can’t rein in Lucky’s rebellious streak, and she heads back to dear old dad. The folks in this town remember and respect Lucky’s mother and they see a lot of her spunk and tenacity in Lucky.
So, when Lucky sees a gorgeous mustang that’s about to be captured by a group of rustlers and their menacing ringleader, Hendricks (Goggins) she and her fearless, newbie friends Pru (Martin) and Abigail (Grace) band together to stop the cowboys. In the process Lucky forms an amazing bond with her four-legged friend that she names Spirit. They head out on a wild and wooly adventure all while channeling her mother’s fearlessness and pride.
“Spirit Untamed” is vibrant and the characters are funny and likeable particularly Pru’s dad who is voiced by Andre Braugher. The movie clocks in at a brisk 87 minutes which is just long enough for all those catchy pop tunes to leave a lasting impression.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"SPIRIT UNTAMED"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
