On May 24, DreamWorks Pictures, the studio that brought the world Chicken Run and Shrek, will release a film that takes animation on a new high-stakes ride. More than four years in the making by 300 artists, animators, and technicians, that film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, tells the story of a wild mustang in the Old West, the leader of a herd of horses who fights for reedom―his freedom and that of his herd. Here's the risk: Unlike last year's box office busting animated features, Spirit is not a comedy and it isn't a 3D animation. Filmed in wide-screen Cinemascope, Spirit tells a dramatic story using traditional 2D animation, ,but with a 3D twist. DreamWorks calls the new look a "bold move to reinvigorate a movie-making tradition" and a "ground-breaking reinvention of traditional animation." What's more unusual is that in this film, there's very little dialog. The art and animation tell the story. "This isn't 'The Stallion King,'" laughs Kelly Asbury, co-director (with Lorna Cook), referring to Disney's popular animated film, The Lion King. "There are no talking, singing horses and animals. We have a few human characters who deliver key moments of dialog, and Matt Damon narrates as Spirit recollecting his story, but there's no lip movement [for horses], and the narration is sparse."
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