During these visits, the real-life Spirit helps the sanctuary spread an important message about what’s currently happening to the country’s wild horses and what the public can do to help.
With Spirit’s claim to fame, he attracts crowds of fans to his sanctuary home. He’s grown to be an important part of the wild horse sanctuary, and he’s helping educate the public about his breed and ways humans can protect all of America’s wild horses. From a young age he learned to be comfortable around people, but those who know him best say he has spunk and spirit similar to that of his fictional character. He lives on Return to Freedom’s headquarter facility in Santa Barbara County on 300 acres of pristine California pasture. He engages youth around the world to learn more about America’s mustangs and every horse’s need for freedom and protection. While he lives at the sanctuary and loves interacting with people, Spirit is a prominent ambassador for wild horses. Like his animated character, the real-life Spirit is part of the fight to help wild horses maintain their natural habitats and freedom. In fact, he recently celebrated his 25th birthday!
It’s been almost two decades since Spirit posed for animators, but the beautiful mustang we all love still serves as an advocate for Kiger mustangs and all of America’s wild horses.
Spirit movie movie#
When the movie was finished, DreamWorks chose Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary to be Spirit’s permanent home. With Spirit’s help, animators created an accurate equine character that looks and moves just like their live model. They watched how his muscles moved when he ran and how his face changed with his mood. His wide-set eyes and thick, wavy, multi-colored tail and mane became the inspiration for the animated horse that is still stealing hearts all these years later.īefore the 2002 movie made it to the big screen, animators spent countless hours observing Spirit. Born to a stallion and mare that had been captured by the BLM in Oregon, Spirit was (and still is) a beautiful example of the Kiger mustang breed. His name was Donner, but these days, that real-life mustang goes by a different name: Spirit.ĭreamWorks selected the now-named Spirit when he was a colt. After a search, they found a Kiger mustang with beautiful conformation, coloring, and strength.
They needed a real-life horse that would serve as inspiration and example. They needed artistry that could tell a story without dialogue and evoke emotions with each movement. Achieving that goal would take more than clever animation. Producers thought it was important to deliver a film that inspired viewers while melding the worlds of animation and real life. The horses don’t talk, and generalized events including the expansion of the railroad are based on fact, not fiction. Unlike other animated movies, Spirit is based on reality as much as possible. You might have every line memorized, but did you know there is a real-life Spirit that inspired the fictional character? It’s been 18 years since the original animated movie made its debut. The artistry, story line, and killer soundtrack work together to make a horse movie worth watching over and over. It follows a wild mustang as he fights for his freedom and that of his herd. An inspiring story of survival, strength, friendship, and freedom, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is an all-time favorite movie for horse lovers of all ages.
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