Spirit Untamed – Movie Review

Those that have been following my blog for a while would be aware that I used to attend preview screening and events that were hosted by BAFTA. I have just updated my membership as not only were the events great but they were often followed by Q and A sessions with the cast and crew and occasionally free drinks after the screenings. I’m fact one of the greatest things I have ever done was walking the red carpet at the BAFTA Cymru awards that were hosted at St David’s Hall (my blog of this event can be found at https://rhysreviews.com/2019/10/15/bafta-cymru-awards-blog/) but at Rhys Reviews, we have taken a big step up since then! Not only have we grown in our number of followers and viewers but also the clientele of the people we work with! We were lucky enough to be sent a preview screening of the new Dreamwork’s film “Spirit Untamed” and despite not being hosted in a fancy venue (due to the current global situation) and instead took place in my bedroom. However, I felt so incredibly special as my name was watermarked on the recording (for copyright issues) which wasn’t quite what I meant when I said I want my name in a film but it’s close enough!

Spirit Untamed is a dream works animated film set to be released in theatres on the 4th of June for one day only! The cast in this recording are voice-overs but include a star-studded cast. Isabela Merced provides the voice of the lead character Fortuna and is probably most well known for playing the role of Dora in the 2019 live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon series (which I also previously reviewed which is available at https://rhysreviews.com/2019/09/04/dora-and-the-lost-city-of-gold-movie-review/) and also includes Jake Gyllenhaal who we all know as the iconic films such as Brokeback Mountain, Nightcrawler and South Paw who plays Jim Prescott who is Fortuna’s father in the film! Lucian Perez was my favourite performance in the film as they provided the voice of Snipes Stone who provides many hilarious moments throughout! Snipes is a very young person is a swindler type character who was always looking out to make some money by flogging some sort of business who I looked forward to seeing every time he was on the screen. This was a wonderfully entertaining character with the vocal acting being excellent throughout and it is clear that Lucian is a very talented performer with a great future ahead of them!

This film fits with the super high-quality animation that we have come to expect from DreamWorks and documents the story of Fortuna as she travels from upper-class city life to country living. The show opens with an aristocratic style event being ruined by Fortuna and a lively, chaotic squirrel and spends some time living with her father in a rural setting. These contrasts of situations are what provides many of the comedic moments without being stereotypical or offensive but instead an honest reflection. While at the farmland, Fortuna forms an unlikely friendship after an unexpected meeting (which is how all the best friendship usually starts) but this friendship is with a horse called Spirit! The films explore the ideas of rodeo culture and the treatment of animals which explored in a clever way that feels appropriate for the younger audience whiteout being overwhelming! This whole film is crammed full of adventure, musical interludes/short songs and tells the story of friends coming together to save the lives of the animal kind which makes it perfect for younger viewers. Additionally, the film overall is only an hour and a half long with means it can keep the state toon of young children while being entertaining and fun!

Overall Spirit Untamed is one of those films where parents and children can enjoy on different levels but equally can enjoy as together! It is the high quality the DreamWorks is known for and is perfect for a young audience. I would rate this films 5 out of 5 stars and would strongly recommend that to families with young people to go out and catch this film in theatres on the June 4th as it will be the perfect way to get back into theatres as they have begun to open back up after a year of being closed!