Spirit Untamed (Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Dreamworks / Universal
Release Date: August 31, 2021
Rating: PG
Film: 2.5/5

Plot
Spirit Untamed is a story of adventure, family and friendship. Free-spirited Lucky Prescott moves to Miradero to join her estranged father. She is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy town until she discovers a unique tie to her late mother who was a fearless horse-riding stunt performer. She quickly forms a bond with a wild mustang named Spirit and makes two new pals who love horses as much as she does. When a heartless wrangler plans to capture Spirit and his herd, Lucky and her friends set off on an epic journey to rescue the horse who has given her an unbreakable connection to her mother’s legacy.

My Thoughts
As my kids have become adults and have left the home the thought of watching animated movies has somewhat lost their appeal. Occasionally one comes along and surprises me, but that definitely wasn’t the case here. From the outset, both my wife and I were somewhat bored with the pedestrian and highly predictable story, but we decided to stick with it given its short runtime.

There are certain aspects of the story that we liked, such as the relationship between the three girls, but overall, we didn’t find it that compelling and I wouldn’t qualify it as one of Dreamworks better films. In fact, it ranks in the bottom half of their offerings.

I can’t say I was overly impressed with the animation. The backgrounds looked like matte paintings, which may have been intentional, and I didn’t find the depth and detail to be on the level of what we see from Pixar. That being said, it didn’t look horrible, just above-average. The same could be said for the audio track, which is serviceable, but wasn’t one that I’d use in any demos.


Video 4/5

Audio 4/5 (DTS-HD MA 7.1)

Special Features:
• Finding Your Spirit
• Home on the Ragne
• Snack Time—S’Mores
• Deleted/Extended Scenes with Intros
• Behind the Voices—The Cast
• Cowgirls Rule
• Drawing Spirit
• How To…
• Sing-Alongs
• Audio Commentary
• Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Code




Conclusion
This is a title that’s geared towards a younger audience, which is probably why my wife and I found it somewhat boring and predictable. Kids will probably enjoy it a lot more and there are some good messages in the screenplay, but I have to see it has a “Been there, done that” type of vibe.

Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner