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SPIRIT UNTAMED Cast Discuss Themes of Bravery, Friendship and Encouragement 

Photo by The Kelly Clarkson Show via Isabela Merced’s Instagram

SPIRIT UNTAMED Cast Discuss Themes of Bravery, Friendship, and Encouragement 

By Movieguide® Staff

In the new family-friendly animated adventure, SPIRIT UNTAMED, a trio of friends named Lucky, Pru and Abigail must face the unknown together.  

Stars Isabela Merced (Lucky), Marsai Martin (Pru) and Mckenna Grace (Abigail) sat down with Movieguide® to discuss how children can learn the themes of bravery, friendship and strength through SPIRIT UNTAMED. 

A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads

SPIRIT UNTAMED is a satisfying, entertaining movie for the whole family, with a strong, uplifting moral worldview. The movie shows that we should love others and treat animals with respect and love. It also promotes responsibility and patience. Lucky and her friends are smart girls who are brave in any circumstance. These are honorable characteristics for young audiences to see. SPIRIT UNTAMED is a fine movie for all ages.

“I love how even though Pru, Abigail and Lucky all have their own different storylines, their own lanes and their own personalities, all of them connect and then they come together and they’re their best friends,” Martin told Movieguide®. “It’s a very sweet experience and an amazing wild ride that these girls are on. It’s them being fearless and it’s them being bold and doing what’s right for not just them, but for their entire town and for Spirit. [It is] an amazing, wholesome movie.”

Another aspect of the movie follows Lucky’s relationship with her father.  

“It is really, really hard for a lot of people out here to be like, ‘Hey, parents, this is what I want to do with my life,'” Merced said. “Or, ‘I know, you want me to go to college, but I want to take a gap year.’ It could be simple things like that. And I think that’s something that a lot of people relate to, especially me.”

She continued: “With dads, it’s a little bit more difficult, because they don’t want you to make the same mistakes they did. And that’s exactly where Jim stands with his daughter in that he just doesn’t want her to get hurt. He doesn’t want to lose her, another wonderful woman in his life.”

Martin plays the character Pru, who first invites Lucky into town after she moves from the city. Martin said she related to the on-screen friendships and the importance of healthy and welcoming friends.

“What I love about the overall story, is this their friendship,” Martin said. “What I love about Pru is that she’s confident, she’s goal driven, she loves what she does, and she’s just very welcoming to Lucky when she first comes into town. I can relate to all those things, just being a part of a very healthy and sweet friendships.”

Grace, who plays the third friend in the trio, said that she used a lot of her real personality in the role. 

“I am very similar to Abigail as in she’s just very energetic and positive. And I mean, I’m sure that you can tell by my personality, I did not have to branch too far out to play her,” Grace told Movieguide®. “But I really did enjoy her positivity.”

Grace added: “I love how throughout the film, she’s always whipping out a ukulele, which is another thing that I love. I play ukulele all the time. It’s my favorite. But I just love how she’s constantly bringing up the other girls and trying to make light of even the scariest situations….”

Director Elaine Bogan noted that she wanted the message of the movie to inspire children to work together. 

“It was really exciting to become part of a project that was celebrating these three brave young women all working together instead of competing against one another to get to where they needed to go,” Bogan told Movieguide®. “It became a story very much about sisterhood and the bond and the friendship, they all grow because they’re trying to achieve something impossible together. It was exciting for me.”

Bogan’s heart for SPIRIT UNTAMED came from her love for horseback riding and the theme of doing what is right. 

“It’s crucial that the heart of the story is something that I feel I can deeply connect and relate to as far as life experience,” Bogan said, “It’s not only the horse, human relationship stuff, but Lucky is this incredible young woman that’s going through a really hard journey, in order to achieve something that she believes in so much. She fights so hard, just because she believes it’s the right thing to do. And I can only hope that one day I will be a character with such strength.”

Bogan added: “I remember being a kid. I was so influenced and so heavily affected by a lot of the animated movies that I watched as a kid and it’s such an honor to potentially even have a small part of paying that back for a young audience today.”

View the full interview below! 


 

 

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.