Is Spirit Riding Free on Netflix worth watching?

Spirit: Riding Free | First release:  May 5, 2017 | Last release: April 5, 2019

A big city girl finds friends and adventure in DreamWorks’ Spirit: Riding Free on Netflix, DVD, and anywhere else they wanted to cash in on this show.

Spirit: Riding Free Plot

Spirit: Riding Free on Netflix follows the story of Lucky, a big city girl, who meets a wild stallion too headstrong to be broken. She first encounters the stallion while moving to a small train stop town on the frontier called Miradero.

Of course, Lucky witnesses the horse’s capture and <spoiler alert> sets him free. This is only after naming him Spirit. And, <second spoiler alert> of course Spirit chooses to come back to be her horse.

So moving…

Lucky also meets Pru and Abigail, two local girls adept at riding who will teach her about frontier living and riding horses throughout the first part of the series.

Sure, they think she is a stuck up bitch at first because her grandfather owns the railroad company, but they get over that pretty quickly in the first episode when Lucky saves their lives. Funny how that works.

Over the course of eight seasons, Lucky, Pru, Abigail, Spirit, and some other supporting cast members go on many adventures on the frontier. Some are relatable to young viewers.

For example, Spirit tackles issues such as annoying brothers, mixed family issues, becoming a big sister, dealing with other kids at school, and so on.

Other issues are not as relatable but still fun for young viewers. For instance, at one point, Lucky joins a travelling circus. They also stop bandits and go on a rescue mission or two.

Things to consider when watching Spirit

• Where is Abigail’s mom and/or dad? Seriously, if they are shown at all, it is in passing. The show introduces Pru’s parents. It introduces Lucky’s parents. Is there absence the reason why Abigail needs to constantly watch her brother? Are they actually orphans?
• There is one odd plot hole in Spirit (maybe more), but this one is a bit of a stretch. In the second or third episode of the series, Lucky learns about a special ride that most of the kids and adults go on each year. Problem is, Lucky is not advanced enough to do this ride as she just learned to ride a horse like a day or two a go. To add insult to injury, Snips, the annoying little brother of the show, is going because he’s been riding his ass for years. The entire episode focuses on her as she tries, fails, tries again, fails, and long story short hurts Spirit because – shocker – she’s not ready because it takes years of practice. Fast forward one or two seasons. Lucky is now a circus freak performer who stands and jumps on the bareback of Spirit. What? I mean, what, a year passed by, maybe? Now she can do tricks on a horse. How is that even possible?

Where do I know that voice?

Darcy Rose Byrnes voices Maricela in Spirit and Princess Amber in Sofia the First.

Katey Sagal voiced Butch LePray and also starred as Peggy Bundy in Married with Children in the 80’s.

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