Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (also known as Spirit) is a 2002 animated Western film about a wild mustang in the American west who is abducted by the U.S. Army and struggles to find freedom.

Directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Written by John Fusco.

Spirit

• [first lines] The story that I want to tell you cannot be found in a book. They say the history of the West was written from the saddle of a horse, but it's never been told from the heart of one, not 'til now. I was born here, in this place that would come to be called the Old West, but to my kind the land was ageless. It had no beginning and no end, no boundary between earth and sky. Like the wind and the buffalo grass, we belonged here. We would always belong here. They say the mustang is the spirit of the West. Whether that West was won or lost in the end, you'll have to decide for yourself, but the story I wanna tell you is true. I was there and I remember. I remember the sun and the sky and the wind calling my name, in a time when wild horses ran free.

• [from teaser] The story that I want to tell you cannot be found in a book. They say the history of the West was written from the saddle of a horse, but it's never been told from the heart of one, not 'til now. I was born here, in this place that would come to be called the Old West, but to my kind the land was ageless. It had no beginning and no end, no boundary between earth and sky. Like the wind and the buffalo grass, we belonged here. We would always belong here. They say the mustang is the spirit of the West. Whether that West was won or lost in the end, you'll have to decide for yourself, but the story I wanna tell you is true. I was there and I remember. I remember the sun and the sky and the wind calling my name, in a time when we ran free. I'll never forget the sound and the feeling of running together, the hoofbeats were many, but our hearts beat as one.

• And so I grew from colt to stallion, as wild and reckless as thunder over the land. Racing with the eagle. Soaring with the wind. Flying? There were times I believed I could.

• Like my father before me, I became leader of the Cimarron herd. And with that honor came responsibility.

• Something new came upon the land one night, something that would change my life forever and so my journey began.

• A wiser horse might have turned and run, but I wanted to know what strange creatures were here.

• I was scared and I didn't know what was gonna happen to me, but at least my mother and the herd were safe.

• I remember the first time I saw a rattler that curled up in my path. This one didn't look like a rattler but I was still thinking: snake.

• My heart galloped through the sky that night, back to my herd, where I belonged and wondered if they missed me as much as I missed them.

• He was called Little Creek, and he seemed different from the rest.

• There was just no end to the strange ways of the two-legged.

• Sometimes a horse has got to do what a horse has got to do, and this was one of those times.

• I wasn't sure what happened back there, but I wasn't about to stop and ask. All I knew was that I was headed home.

• I couldn't believe it! One moment I was free and the next... more ropes.

• I couldn't understand it. She treated this scrawny two-legged like one of our kind, prancing around him like a love struck yearling. It was down-right unnatural.

• Mares.

• Okay, I admit it. She was... charming, in a stubborn, irritating kind of way. So I let her show me her world.

• For the first time in my life, I felt my heart torn two ways.

• I had to hand it to that boy. He just wouldn't give up.

• I knew this was hard for her and that she was scared, but more than anything, I wanted to share my homeland with her.

• I lay beside her that night, hoping, praying, that somehow she would be okay.

• I didn't know why we were brought here, but what I did know was we had to find a way to escape and get back home.

• That was the moment I understood. They were headed to my homeland, and I had to stop them!

• I don't know where he came from or how he got there, but I sure was glad to see him.

• Oh, yes!

• I had been waiting so long to run free, but that goodbye was harder than I ever imagined. I'll never forget that boy, and how we won back our freedom together.

Lakota

• Hey! Come back here! No! Give me back come on! Mustang! No! Mustang! Aw c'mon!

The Colonel

• [Gunshot] What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?

• The Army has dealt with wild horses before. This one will be no different.

• Not the stables.

• The corral. It's time to break that horse.

• Tie this horse to the post. No food or water. Three days.

• A Lakota, not as tall as the Cheyenne, not as fine featured as the Crow.

• Not the stockades, the post. No food or water.

• [from Eli Wages] You see, gentlemen. Any horse can be broken. [hits Spirit with spurs] Move along, mustang. There are those in Washington who believe the West will never be settled. The Northern Pacific Railroad will never breach Nebraska. [directs toward Little Creek] A hostile Lakota... [the clip ends from Eli Wages] ...will never submit to Providence. And it is that manner of small thinking that would said this horse could never be broken. Discipline, time, and patience are the three great levelers.

• [after Spirit throws him, from Scene It? Jr. DVD Game] Soldier, secure that horse!

Little Creek

• Great Mustang, today I will ride you.

• OK, Rain. Let's see if you can teach this mustang some manners.

• I'm never going to ride you, am I? And no one should.

• Oh, Rain. Easy, girl, easy. It'll be OK. [seeing Spirit being taken away by soldiers] You saved my life.

• I knew I would find you.

• [on seeing the large canyon with Spirit ready to jump] Oh no! [Spirit: Oh yes.]

• [to Rain] You will always be in my heart. [takes eagle feather out of her mane]

• [to Spirit] Take care of her, Spirit-who-could-not-be-broken. [embraces him] I will miss you, my friend.

Sgt. Adams

• Corporal, round up some volunteers to, uh, take this animal to the stables.

Murphy

• Let's see how wild he is when I'm done with him.

• Wanna fight do ya?

• Make sure that's good and tight.

Dialogue

Sgt. Adams: [shocked] Murphy, look out!

Man: Watch out!

[the hoof kicks Murphy, groaning, then whinnying laughter]

Sgt. Adams: He’s a wild one.

[he grunts and groans]

Sgt. Adams: You all right, Murph?

[he ties Spirit, then putting the fire out, then nickering]

Murphy: Eh-heh, you… [they both nicker in alarm]

[carries a branding iron towards Spirit, chuckling, then taking the mouth out of the bag, then gasps, then hitting Murphy on the ground, moans]

Sgt. Adams: Murph, are you okay? [the horse whinny] Um, Corporal, round up some volunteers to, uh, take this animals to the stables.

Colonel: Not the stables.

Sgt. Adams: Sir?

Colonel: The corral. It’s time to break that horse.

[he snorts, then the music begins, then locks the gate]

Officer: Make sure it’s good and tight.

[they take everything off of Spirit, then putting it on Spirit, then the men clamor, then opening the gate, then riding on Spirit, then hitting the man, then spinning around, then flying to the ground, then getting up]

Officer: Okay, my turn!

[throws the hat away, then unlocked the gate, then riding, by falling to the ground]

Man: Lousy heap of horse flesh! Come on! Run out of there!

[the horse charges the man, then Colonel, then they all laugh, then walking, then spitting, the moving the gate, then the man gets in]

Man: Hey, we got a rider! [he goes on Spirit, then opening the gate, then jumping in the air, the soldier flying to the man on the ground, then flying with the man again, then flying again, then snorting, then running at the men, then running, then snorting at Colonel, then nickering harshly, then huffs loudly]

Colonel: Sergeant!

Sgt. Adams: Yes, sir.

Colonel: Tie this horse to the post. No food or water. Three days.

Sgt. Adams: Yes, sir.

Cast

• Matt Damon - Spirit
• James Cromwell - The Colonel
• Daniel Studi - Little Creek
• Chopper Bernet - Sgt. Adams
• Jeff LeBeau - Murphy/Railroad Foreman

External Links

• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron quotes at the Internet Movie Database