DreamWorks' Spirit Actually Had a Real-Life Prototype

It has it all: beautiful scenery, sympathetic characters, true friendship and strong desire to get justice. Needless to say, the movie really touched many hearts over the years.

How many of us were crying in the theater when watching it for the first time?

The DreamWorks classic tells the story of a young mustang named Spirit. He grows up, but unfortunately gets into a trap and gets captured by wranglers.

Although being in captivity, he still manages to find a friend. That's how we got to know a Lakota American Indian boy named Little Creek. After all, it was him who helped Spirit escape from wranglers farm.

This is a Western movie, with a lot of historical remarks and names, so it would be only natural for it to be based on a real story.

Well, that is not quite true; the story itself never happened, but a certain part of it was definitely inspired by real life.

It turns out that Spirit's character was inspired by the real Kiger Mustang named Donner. He was born from two horses wrangled in Oregon.

So the animators spent some time with him, trying to understand his manners and behavior, so he would be realistic.

Eventually, he turned out to be the prototype of the most iconic horse in animation. Looks like the animators did their job very well after all!

Although the film wasn't based on a true story, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron definitely made an impact. And good to know that Donner is still alive to enjoy his legacy!