Spirit: Untamed (2021) Review

Spirit: Untamed is a film released this year which aims to be a kind of remake or reboot from what I have read since this has been my only contact with Spirit, meaning I haven´t watched the 2002 film so there will be no comparison between versions. This movie has been directed by Elaine Bogan, produced by DreamWorks and distributed by Universal Pictures, it's supposed to be based on a spin off tv show from the same universe, you can watch it on Netflix but if you ask me, this feels more like an excuse to try to start over Spirit.

Spirit: Untamed tells us the story of a girl who lost her mother in an accident while riding a horse, so this girl lives apart from her father for a time, living with her aunt and grandfather, as time passes, the girl and the aunt has to live with the girl's father and form family ties that were lost with the passing of time, the protagonist will discover her love and passion for horses too, especially for Spirit with which she will form a bond of friendship through the film.

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Spirit: Untamed is a film made entirely in CGI, it has a nice animation style but nothing outstanding, it is also important to emphasize that it is a family film, it doesn´t take itself too seriously but it is not something that ruined the experience for me, I must also add that this movie has some songs, it is not saturated by them so it doesn´t end up being a problem, although it is clear that they put songs to make it even more enjoyable for children.

The truth is that Spirit: Untamed is that kind of film that once you finish you doubt to watch it again, don´t get me wrong, it seemed like a decent product to me but it doesn´t have something that is really remarkable or characteristic, I mean, all the characters are boring without some kind of charisma, the plot is what you might expect and generally speaking Spirit: Untamed seemed like a decent movie to me, good to kill time but lacking substance or remarkable features, this was a missed opportunity to remake or reboot Spirit.

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The Good:

• Good CGI animation, it shows there was an effort in this section, details such as lighting looks very good and the character design is decent.

• The chemistry between the protagonists, despite not being the best, is credible and helps to empathize with their situation.

• Decent pacing, this helps the film to have a constant development, thanks to this it doesn´t feel too boring.

The Bad:

• The main villan is an one dimensional character, it doesn´t have any motivations and he´s boring.

• Every character in this film is boring, they don´t matter to the plot and they don´t have any kind of depth with exception of the protagonist

• The familiar tone that the film possesses turns out to be more of a limitation for the topics that the film tries to bring to the table.

• The plot is generic, being more of the same that we have already watcher in other movies.

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