Spirit Untamed
Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 4, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
17
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 2, 2021
So many animated films are multi-layered efforts brimming with jokes only the adults will catch, but Spirit Untamed is pure and unbridled family fun, pardon the pun. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussJun 1, 2021
Whatever its weaknesses, contemporary parents who want a nontoxic Western to show their children could hardly find better than “Spirit Untamed.” It takes the idea at the end of genre master John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (“This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend”) and virtually rides off in its own, counter-mythic direction with it. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJun 4, 2021
Spirit Untamed is a sweet film with a moving message about embracing family, heritage and most importantly, yourself, just the way you are, even if that means bravery and recklessness often go hand in hand. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJun 1, 2021
Audiences won’t likely find it Pixar-profound, but it’s not direct-to-DVD forgettable, either — or “My-Little-Pony”-cloying. Plus, it’s got horses. And, if you’re younger than 13, that counts for something. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeAug 1, 2021
Handsome animation adds to the appeal of this sequel to the 2002 animation Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, but this is family entertainment that’s quite niche in its appeal – pony-mad kids will love it, but it may test the patience of parents. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeJul 28, 2021
It’s a sweet, undemanding film that, despite the title, is tamer than a sedated bunny. That said, the four-year-old I watched with spontaneously yelped “this is the best!” 20 minutes in. So really, what do I know? Read full review
60
Paste MagazineAmy AmatangeloJun 2, 2021
What’s missing here is heart. While the message of Spirit Untamed is a good one (some things are worth fighting for; you have to let your children make their own mistakes), it’s hard not to see the movie as an easy money grab. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 1, 2021
Fans of the original film will still find something beautiful underneath, and “Riding Free” acolytes will likely delight in seeing a splashier take on a story they already love. Everyone else, however, might wonder when they can hope to be set free from this story, just like Spirit. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJun 1, 2021
Though it’s nominally liberated from its TV backstory, Spirit Untamed could still have benefited from a little more freedom. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 3, 2021
This is a perfect example of complete and utter mediocrity. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJun 3, 2021
I’d rather put Baby Shark on repeat all day than spend another 90 minutes with this adult horse. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 2, 2021
Spirit Untamed is almost exactly what anybody not nine would expect out of a feature film spun out of an animated TV show. Bland. Passable animation, but not “cutting edge,” not even on the blade. Simplistic story, maudlin “friends” and “teamwork” sentiment, dialogue that sounds generated by a “talk down to the kids” app. Read full review
50
SlashfilmJosh SpiegelJun 1, 2021
Spirit Untamed is inoffensive, which both makes it far more tolerable than most other DreamWorks Animation titles and also not terribly good in and of itself. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 1, 2021
A girl-and-her-horse adventure that never really hits its stride, Spirit Untamed offers undemanding family entertainment alongside some easily digestible life lessons. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariJun 1, 2021
Despite the predictable plot, there are moments of genuine delight – and they all come from the fresh talent. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeJun 1, 2021
Spirit Untamed is beautiful to look at and occasionally genuinely funny. The stunning and detailed animations saturate Lucky’s world with an impressive array of colors, from the crimson apples she feeds Spirit to the pistachio and emerald-green leaves on the swaying trees. Read full review
42
TheWrapYolanda MachadoJun 1, 2021
Spirit Untamed has vivid moments of beauty, but loses its gallop with a facetious storyline about identity as it keeps trying to define itself as an “empowering” film for little girls, missing the mark on both fronts. Read full review
40
EmpireBen TravisJul 30, 2021
It’ll pass the time easily enough for young viewers, but everyone else will wish they were spirited away on a more sophisticated adventure. Read full review
40
The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaJun 3, 2021
With its saucer-eyed, bobblehead-like characters, it’s a version barely distinguishable from the majority of animated children’s movies these days — more like Spirit domesticated. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJun 2, 2021
Unfortunately, the formulaic Spirit Untamed never seems to know which trail it's taking. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 1, 2021
Very little of Spirit Untamed lives up to what the studio is selling. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJun 3, 2021
It’s a harmless animated adventure that will provide a bland diversion to young viewers. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 2, 2021
The scenery of wind-and water-eroded mesas and stone archways is lovely, but the voice performances are largely inert and unremarkable. Other than the risky shenanigans of the PALs, which ought to give any parent pause, so is the film. Read full review
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