To be fair to the makers of "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," they probably made a wise decision in not having the title character talk.
More likely than not, that would have made the animated stallion look so ridiculous that audiences would have a hard time telling the difference between this film and an episode of the Saturday morning cartoon "My Little Pony."
However, that deliberate decision also hampers the storytelling here and necessitates two innovations that are nearly as bad — the addition of a clunky voice-over narration (delivered lifelessly by actor Matt Damon) and abrasive, tone-setting songs by Bryan Adams.
Still, it is a handsomely animated work — even if its story is suffocatingly treacly and its politically correct version of the American West seems a little too phony for its own good.
Also, it should be noted that, although the film did receive a G rating from the MPAA, the level of on-screen violence and cruelty to horses are such that "Spirit" should have earned a PG.
"Spirit" is a story of a naturally curious mustang stallion. But that curiosity gets the best of the adolescent horse when he decides to check out some noisy intruders.
The intruders turn out to be rustlers who capture our equine hero and sell him to a cruel U.S. Army colonel (voiced by James Cromwell), who attempts to "break" the spirited mustang.
But the horse befriends a fellow captive, Little Creek (voiced by Daniel Studi, son of character actor Wes Studi), a young Lakota warrior, and together they escape captivity.
Rather than setting him free, Little Creek also tries to break and domesticate the mustang, who resists his efforts. Despite that, however, the stallion finds himself drawn to another of the Lakotas' ponies.
"Spirit" boasts several breathtaking sequences, including the opening moments, which tracks the flight of an eagle through several scenic American frontier locations (including some well-known Utah landmarks).
But the animation merely serves up a predictable, maudlin story that swipes heavily from "Bambi" and "The Lion King," yet lacks the emotional resonance of either of those movies.
And it's hard to say which is more heavy-handed here — the "no-duh!" narration or Adams' strident, screechy musical numbers, which carry such subtle titles as "You Can't Take Me" and "Get Off My Back." Ugh!
"Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" is rated G, though it does contains scenes of animated violence (including fights between wild animals, gunfire and sequences of animal cruelty) and some mildly vulgar humor (a flatulence gag). Running time: 82 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com