Spirit - Espírito Selvagem

Many kids will like this mustang tale.

There's nothing thrilling or new about the work here, but accomplished it is.

Spirit is smarter than your average cartoon because it doesn't try to joke around with a host of annoying talking animals.

An exciting and exquisitely rendered film in which the horse goes through as many adventures and perils as Indiana Jones on a good day.

A welcome family film that extols noble values and offers first-class animation.

A slight and obvious effort, even for one whose target demographic is likely still in the single digits, age-wise.

As animation increasingly emphasizes the computer and the cool, this is a film that takes a stand in favor of tradition and warmth.

The movie's big action scenes ... make you forget you're even watching animation.

A ripping yarn with memorable characters.

A movie that will touch the hearts of both children and adults, as well as bring audiences to the edge of their seats.

Adams' hoarse anthems become a betrayal of this horse opera's true potential; fortunately, there is enough fine achievement here to make the film worth seeing.

A mishmash that is sometimes moving, sometimes absurd and most of the time just oddly off balance.

A cartoon that's truly cinematic in scope, and a story that's compelling and heartfelt -- even if the heart belongs to a big, four-legged herbivore.

Not quite as miraculous as its DreamWorks makers would have you believe, but it more than adequately fills the eyes and stirs the emotions.

Spirit combines the hand-drawn artfulness of 2-D with computer-generated 3-D backdrops and effects so seamlessly that it's hard to tell what was done by man, what by mouse.

Uncluttered by comic supporting characters and cute sidekicks, Spirit is more pure and direct than most of the stories we see in animation -- a fable I suspect younger viewers will strongly identify with.

A boring, wincingly cute and nauseatingly politically correct cartoon guaranteed to drive anyone much over age 4 screaming from the theater.

Many kids will enjoy this traditionally animated story, but parents may find it overlong even at a running time of less than 90 minutes.

For decades we've marveled at Disney's rendering of water, snow, flames and shadows in a hand-drawn animated world. Prepare to marvel again.