Spirit DVD Designed for Budding Directors
Author: ENRIQUE RIVERO

Video Store Magazine
erivero@advanstar.com
Posted: November 9, 2002

Budding young Steven Spielbergs can learn a thing or two about movie making from the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron DVD.

Prominent among the features on DreamWorks Home Entertainment’s disc are “Spirit’s Make-a-Movie Studio,” a DVD-ROM feature that lets users take characters, backgrounds, sound effects and music from the animated feature film and combine them into a five-to-six-minute movie.

Based on DreamWorks’ proprietary “Toonshooter” technology for animators, it’s the first time that movie-making software of this sort has been incorporated in a DVD, according to DreamWorks executives.

Users also can record narration and incorporate their own digital pictures in the movie, which they can e-mail to friends and family, who can play the final results on their own computers -- but only if they have a Spirit disc in the DVD-ROM drive.

Executives said it’s just one example of content that’s both family friendly and extends the movie experience to the disc, which streets Nov. 19 in separate widescreen and pan-and-scan editions at a $19.95 minimum advertised price.

Toonshooter is the high-level professional tool that animators use at DreamWorks, said Mark Rowen, who oversees all home video production for DreamWorks and produced the Spirit DVD.

“I really think this separates it pretty well from everything else that’s out there,” Rowen said, adding that it helped that he and the DreamWorks team had such a good film from which to draw inspiration for the DVD’s contents.

“As proud as I am of what we created, the filmmakers … gave us an incredible film to work with,” he said.

While intended to entertain kids, the disc’s contents are also meant to appeal to a wide audience, just as the movie -- with its groundbreaking mix of computer-generated and hand-drawn animation -- is more than just a kids’ film.

“It really appeals to kids and adults equally,” he said. “That’s something we’re really proud of.”

Another feature of the DVD with a more kid-friendly aspect is “Learn to Draw Spirit,” in which animator James Baxter takes users on a step-by-step process drawing the character. Also included are the set-top games “Cimarron Slam” and “Mustang Derby”; nine DVD-ROM games with names such as “Frontier Find,” “Horse Sense” and “Hillside Glide”; and downloadable activities.

The disc also has a “desktop creativity kit” developed in conjunction with computer and related accessory maker Hewlett-Packard that kids can use to make posters for their Make-a-Movie creations and invitations to the premiere, and other Spirit-themed art.

Content that will appeal to adults includes the documentary The Music of Spirit, which looks at composer Hans Zimmer’s collaboration with Bryan Adams; the featurette “The Animation of Spirit”; a commentary track with the directors and producer; and storyboards.