Of the many iconic movies DreamWorks has made over the years, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron has remained a beloved classic. The film tells the story of a mustang named Spirit who grows up wild but is captured by horse wranglers. Spirit develops a relationship with a Lakota American Indian named Little Creek, and together, they escape the horse wranglers and attempt to free other captive horses.
Because of its roots in the Wild West, it may seem like DreamWorks Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is based on a true story. It includes various references to American history, such as the U.S. Calvary’s presence in the American West, the Lakota people and their villages, and work on the transcontinental railroad. Although Spirit is an unlikely protagonist in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the story is heartfelt and inspiring, emphasizing ideas of freedom and individuality.
Although Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is not based on a true story, the main character is inspired by a real horse. The horse, whose real name is Donner, was born of two wild horses wrangled in Oregon. Donner is a Kiger Mustang horse, which are known for their unique coloring and relation to America’s first horses brought from Spain in the 17th century. Donner is still alive at the age of 28 and living at Return to Freedom Horse Reserve in central coastal California.
Donner was integral because the animators had never made a horse film like Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron before, so they needed not only inspiration but knowledge. The DreamWorks team spent several years with Donner, using him as a resource to understand horse anatomy and how horses move and behave. In the end, Spirit’s animators were able to use Donner to accurately bring Spirit, and other horses, to life as animations. Now, Spirit helps educate regular people on America’s mustangs.
Another main character that was inspired by real American history was the Colonel. The villain of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was actually based on the notorious Colonel George Armstrong Custer, who fought against Native Americans and took part in the American Civil War. Custer is best remembered for “Custer’s Last Stand,” which occurred at the Battle of Little Big Horn when he tried but failed to take the land of the Lakota American Indians.
Though Custer received fame at the time of his death, he is now seen as a dark figure in the American Indian Wars. It’s no surprise then that DreamWorks’ animated movie villain Colonel would have a similar destructive nature. Although the film is not a true story, the DreamWorks Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron made a significant impact, and its legacy, Donner, is fortunately still around to continue inspiring others.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is clearly influenced by history, but it’s not the only animated movie to bring to life historical facts or tell a true story using the medium of cartoons. While most animated movies — especially those aimed at families and younger viewers — tell fantastical and fictional tales, there are several that instead look to reality for their inspiration.
The most obvious example, of course, is Disney’s Pocahontas. While the 1995 release from The House of Mouse was among their most controversial and perhaps hasn’t aged well, Pocahontas was based on historical events. The real Pocahontas lived during the early 17th century. However, she wasn’t an adult woman when she met John Smith but a child between 10–13 years of age. They also never had a romantic relationship. The real Pocahontas did marry an Englishman, John Rolfe, later in her life — and more surprisingly still, her first husband was the real Kocoum.
Another example of an animated movie that, like Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, uses real life and history for its inspiration is 1997’s Anastasia. Anastasia was the first in-house animated movie from 20th Century Fox and told an incredibly loose interpretation of the story of Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, one of the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, who was famously killed during the Russian Revolution of the early 20th century. This particular animated movie played with the truth incredibly loosely, however, including such plot points as Rasputin returning from the dead as a lich sorcerer.
It’s not only children’s movies that use animation to tell historical stories, either. Films like 1998’s Grave of the Fireflies from Studio Ghibli and the 2007 animated French-Iranian animated feature Persepolis utilized the medium to capture the fear and despair felt in real-life wars and conflicts. There are even feature-length documentaries that use animation as a key tool, such as the 2008 Israeli docudrama Waltz with Bashir, which recreates filmmaker Aril Folman’s experiences during the Lebanon War and other conflicts. So, while Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is notable for blending history and animation, it is far from alone in this regard.