The most important part of understanding Spirit, is knowing the story! The following is an overview of it as a whole. Warning - Spoilers
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is the story of a Mustang stallion named Spirit and his encounters with the "two-leggeds" (humans). Its told in story-telling fashion, as Matt Damon (as Spirit) narrates the story. Its starts out when Spirit is born and we see the more amusing parts of his foal-hood, like encounters with buffalo and icicles. He grows into a stallion and becomes the Cimarron herd leader. We see he is a very responsible leader when he saves a colt from a mountain lion (he didn't seriously hurt it, he just scared it off). But we also see a downfall to him, he is very curious. One night he sees a fire in the distance (only he doesn't know its a fire) and runs off to find out what it is. When he gets there, he sees four army horses and they warn him to leave but he doesn't and begins to check out the camp. He ends up waking the soldiers and after a very grueling chase, they catch him with ropes. He struggles a lot and can't believe he's being taken from his home, but it all turns out to be useless.
He gets taken to the army fort when they cut his mane and tail and shod (add horseshoes) his hooves. Almost every soldier in the camp try to break (train to saddle and bridle) him after a stirring rendition of "Get Off My Back", none prevail. The Colonel (the main bad guy in the story) says Spirit is to be tied to a post for three days without food or water. The Colonel is not a nice guy and believes in force. On the second day, a young Lakota Indian named Little Creek is brought in after being caught around the food stores. Little Creek is tied to a post too under orders of the Colonel. He immediately sees Spirit for what he is, a wild Mustang who would never be caught dead being ridden, and thinks of a plan to escape while Spirit describes him as "the strangest two-legged I ever met". The next day, the Colonel decides to try Spirit out for himself. He manages to stay on as Spirit goes through an intricate dance of bucking, rearing, twisting, and turning. Finally, Spirit is worn out and can't fight anymore. He lets Colonel walk him around the ring and Colonel gets very arrogant and says "See gentlemen, that's how you break a horse" or something like that. But Spirit isn't done yet, all he needed was a little rest time. He grabs the rein in his mouth and yanks as hard as he can and rears and bucks and eventually the Colonel is thrown. This ticks the Colonel off and he threatens to shoot Spirit and almost does but Little Creek breaks free of his bonds and knocks the gun out of the Colonel's hand. He then jumps back and forth off Spirit's sides while the stallion runs and they release all the horses and break free of the fort. When they are free, Little Creek calls Rain, his paint mare whom Spirit takes a liking to at first sight, and Little Creek's buddies tie more ropes around Spirit.
They lead him to the Lakota village where Spirit is put in a corral. The next day he sees Rain and Little Creek playing and he can't understand why. Later, Little Creek tries to ride him with less then successful results (he chases Little Creek out of the corral and whinnies at him but then Rain comes up and whinnies back and he stunned). After that, Little Creek decides to take it slow and let Rain show him how everything is done by tying the two horses together and letting them roam the village. After a beautiful musical number, Spirit finally sees what the Lakotas are all about (how they are different from the soldiers) but still won't let Little Creek ride him. Little Creek realizes Spirit was never meant to be ridden and he lets him go. Spirit is glad to leave but he wants to take Rain with him. At first it seems like Rain will go but then the soldiers come and attack the Lakota and she leaves to be with Little Creek. Spirit runs after her and when he finds her, it's a showdown between Little Creek and the Colonel. The Colonel shoots Rain and would have shot Little Creek too if Spirit hadn't rammed into him but never the less, both fell into the river. Little Creek manages to grab onto a rock but it looks like there is no hope for Rain until Spirit leaps into the water to save her. However, the current is to swift and they both get carried over the water fall. At the bottom, Rain got washed ashore and Spirit sees her and sees she is very badly injured. He lays next to her to help keep her warm but the soldiers come and once again - he is caught. He is very reluctant to leave her and struggles a lot until one of the soldiers looks at her and says she's all but dead. At that, Spirit gives up entirely and follows them. Behind a rock, watching the whole thing, was Little Creek and he vows to free Spirit (well - sorta vows. You can see it in his stance).
Spirit gets taken to a train station where he is loaded onto a box car meant for livestock. There he sees three of the Lakota horses and they look at him hopefully, wondering what kind of plan he has cooked up. Spirit has none however and does nothing but escape to a corner and stares out the cracks in the boards. In the swirling snow, he sees his home and he is reminded of the freedom he once felt and wants to feel again. This gives him courage and hope, and he all but winks at the other three horses. They are ecstatic.
They arrive at a shipping yard where they are building the Trans-Continental Railroad, the one where they connect the Pacific to the Atlantic in one huge railway that stretches across America. All the horses there get hooked up to a sled-type device that is caring a steamer engine. Spirit pulls with the rest of the horses but gets furious when a man whips one of the Lakota horses. They have to pull it up a big hill with no breaks and when they reach the top, Spirit sees that they are trying to build this railway to his home. He plays dead and the men break him loose of the chains but he winks at the other horses and they can't help but wonder what's up. When they drag him away, he suddenly jumps up and surprises everyone. He breaks the chains on the horses so that the sled begins to fall back down the hill, rolling instead of sliding, and Spirit ends up in front of it. He races down the hill and dodges most of the obstacles and gets a chain around his neck. He evades the steamer but it causes a huge fire and then he has to run to evade the fire. After a few seconds he gets caught on all sides by the fire except for forward, which is blocked by a tree stump. He leaps over the tree stump but the chain gets caught in it and it seems like it's the end for Spirit but who should appear but Little Creek? Little Creek gets him free and they outrun the fire by leaping over the side of a cliff into a river. Spirit looses consciousness or something but he wakes up again on a grassy shore with a pile of apples by him. Little Creek is at the river edge getting a drink and Spirit comes up and knocks him into the river. They play a moment but then, guess who shows up? The Colonel!
He chases after them and one of his men shoots at Little Creek and just nicks him but Spirit lets Little Creek ride him and they flee to a canyon. After a long chase, Little Creek and Spirit finally get trapped on top of a canyon wall. Spirit runs the length of the wall and leaps over the canyon and has a less than perfect landing on the other side. The Colonel and his men (only two out of four remaining) can't believe it. One pulls out his gun but the Colonel tells him to put it away. He nods to Spirit, acknowledging his strength over himself, and Spirit nods back. The Colonel and his men leave and Spirit and Little Creek burst out laughing. They go back to the Lakota village where the villagers are slowly rebuilding things. Little Creek whistles for Rain and Spirit can't believe she's alive. They have a joyful reunion and Little Creek decides to let Rain go. They all say goodbye (very heartfelt and moving) and Rain and Spirit run off to find Spirit's herd. The entire herd is overjoyed to see Spirit's safe return and to meet the new mare. They run to a grazing ground and Spirit and Rain nuzzle and the movie ends. What a great story.
Disclaimer
I do not own Spirit, its characters, images, ect, the credit goes to DreamWorks and all of those nice people. I do, however, own Freedom, and this layout belongs to Bunny, the creator of Freedom. All other credit is given where it is due. Created: May 24, 2002.
