Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron DVD Review:


The Movie

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.

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