Spirit- Stallion of the Cimarron

For anyone who hasn't seen the movie, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, it is an animated cartoon about a wild pack of horses set in the times when railroads were being built in the West. The movie follows Spirit through being captured by the US Military, to being an Indian's pet, to being property of the US Railroad. All the while Spirit is just trying to get back home. There is one particular scene that shows the actual building of the railroad, in which hundreds of horses are forced to pull the huge iron locomotive over a mountain. Spirit the hero of the movie obviously escapes from this evil torture and frees all the other horses as well. In the panic that ensues a massive forest fire is started. The movie has a clear theme against the railroad. Common images are of the stupid railroad workers being bested by the amazingly smart horses. This movie reminds me of many others we have talked about that are against man in nature. I think one of the best scenes to show this is when Spirit is on the railroad being transported to the farthest station. Outside the car it is snowing and dark, Sprit's breath can be seen in the cold. He is looking through the railroad car panels and he starts to see his pack forming in the falling snow, and then a magnificent view of the pack running in the wild, on lush green grass, the sun shining down on them is seen through Spirit's eyes. Then as quickly as it came it vanishes and Spirit is back in the bleak cold stock car. If this isn't an anti-railroad scene, I don't know what is. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should!