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Villain Overview

There are those in Washington who believe the West will never be settled, the Northern Pacific Railroad will never breach Nebraska, a hostile Lakota will never submit to providence. And it is that manner of small thinking that would say this horse could never be broken. Discipline, time and patience, are the three great levelers.
~ The Colonel.

George Armstrong Custer, or better known as The Colonel, is the main antagonist of DreamWorks' 6th full-length animated feature film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (sometimes called Spirit).

He was voiced by James Cromwell, who also played Robert Callaghan in Big Hero 6, Dr. Arthur Arden in American Horror Story: Asylum, Captain Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential, Joseph Campbell in The General's Daughter, William Donahue in Eraser and Warden Hazen in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard.

Personality[]

The Colonel (who is loosely based on the nonfictional colonel George Custer because of similar appearance and behavior) is the commander of a cavalry battalion (presumably the 7th cavalry which is what Custer commanded). Like most Americans who expand the west and his real-life counterpart, he is completely prideful and bigoted towards Native Americans and strongly believes in the ideology of Manifest Destiny, a belief that the United States is destined to colonize the western frontier. He possesses a calm and calculating attitude and rarely loses his patience. However, he’s a relentless horseback rider and a strict disciplinarian, as shown when he denies Spirit food or water for three days after numerous failed attempts at breaking him. He is also shown to be bellicose in battle, as demonstrated when he ambushed a Lakota village, endangering not just the warriors, but the unarmed women and children.

However, the Colonel also appears to have at least some sense of honor and humility if he realizes he has been beaten, as shown after Spirit and Little Creek got away by jumping the Grand Canyon. Realizing he has lost, he tells his men to stand down and depart, even nodding in recognition.

Biography[]

When Spirit is brought to the Colonel's army base by a band of wranglers, he notices the numerous cavalry horses forced to work for the army and tries to flee as the soldiers try to stop him until the Colonel breaks up the scuffle. The Colonel orders his men to bring him to a blacksmith named Murphy for him to be tamed, only for him to get severely beaten by the wild mustang. The Colonel then takes Spirit to the corral and tries to have his soldiers break him, but all attempts fail miserably. The Colonel then orders his men to tie up Spirit and deprive him of any food or water for three days as punishment for his defiance.

During those three days, the Colonel is introduced to a Lakota tribesman named Little Creek, who was caught and arrested by his men for stealing supplies from the base. The Colonel then orders his soldiers to tie up Little Creek to the post and deprive him of any food or water as well. When Spirit's three days were up, the Colonel begins to ride the weakened Spirit as he desperately tries to shake him off, to no avail. As the Colonel proudly boasts about his apparent success, Spirit quickly regains his confidence and manages to throw the Colonel off his back. As the Colonel gets back up, he notices the other cavalry horses cheering for Spirit's victory and orders one of his soldiers to reprimand Spirit as he pulls out his revolver to shoot Spirit. However, Little Creek manages to free himself and stop the Colonel before escaping the fort with Spirit and the other cavalry horses.

The Colonel and his men got more horses and launch a surprise attack on a Lakota village. Ironically, the village he was attacking was where Little Creek resided. Rain (whom Spirit had strong feelings for) comes to Little Creek's aid and runs against the Colonel, but she gets mortally wounded by the Colonel and is swept away by a river. As Little Creek tries to swim to shore, the Colonel raises his gun to kill Little Creek, but Spirit knocks the Colonel off his horse. The Colonel becomes surprised at Spirit's coincidental reappearance, while Spirit runs to rescue Rain.

After Spirit and Rain get swept by a waterfall, the Colonel's soldiers capture Spirit and take him away to a railway station to have him transported to the construction site of the Northern Pacific Railroad, while leaving Rain to die. Upon arriving at the site, however, Spirit destroys the railroad project once he realized that it was going to invade his homeland and escapes the construction site with Little Creek after he came to rescue him in exchange for saving his life.

The Colonel and his cavalry unit accidentally find Spirit and Little Creek in the Grand Canyon the next day after the destruction of the Northern Pacific Railroad. A dangerous chase is ensued and Spirit and Little Creek manage to knock out a few soldiers before being cornered by the cavalry. However, the pair successfully manage to escape their pursuers as Spirit leaps across the canyon, amazing the Colonel. One of his men raises his rifle to shoot at the pair, but the Colonel stops him. Both exchange nods of recognition and the Colonel leaves quietly with his men.

Quotes[]

The Colonel: What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?
Sergeant Adams: We got us a crazy one here, sir.
Soldier: Real mustang, Colonel.
The Colonel: Really? The Army has dealt with wild horses before. This one will be no different. [Spirit bites his staff.] Induct this animal, Sergeant.
Sergeant Adams: Yes, sir.
~ The Colonel ordering his soldiers to have Spirit tamed by Murphy.
Sergeant Adams: Uh, Corporal, round up some volunteers to take this animal to the stables.
The Colonel: Not the stables.
Sergeant Adams: Sir?
The Colonel: The corral. It's time to break that horse.
~ The Colonel ordering his soldiers to break Spirit after Murphy's failed attempts to tame him.
The Colonel: Sergeant!
Sergeant Adams: Yes, sir.
The Colonel: Tie this horse to the post. No food or water. Three days.
Sergeant Adams: Yes, sir.
~ The Colonel ordering his soldiers to deprive Spirit of any food or water for three days.
Sergeant Adams: We got a hostile! Bring him back this way!
The Colonel: Well, what do we have here?
Sergeant Adams: We caught him by the supply wagons, sir.
The Colonel: Ah, a Lakota. Not as tall as the Cheyenne, not as fine-featured as the Crow. Take him away, gentlemen. Show him our best.
Sergeant Adams: Corporal, take him to the stockades.
The Colonel: Not the stockades. The post. No food or water.
~ The Colonel imprisoning Little Creek.
Sergeant Adams: With the Colonel permission, sir. Incoming patrol reports hostiles headed north.
The Colonel: Ah.
Sergeant Adams: The railroad has expressed concern, sir. They've requested additional patrols.
The Colonel: How long has it been, Sergeant?
Sergeant Adams: Sir?
The Colonel: The mustang. How long has it been tied?
Sergeant Adams: Three days, sir.
The Colonel: Good. Fetch my crop and spurs.
~ The Colonel ordering Sergeant Adams to prepare him to break Spirit.
You can break easy or you can break hard, mustang! No! Back up! Back up! Back up! Come on! Ha ha! Come on! Come on! Come on, mustang! Ha! Ha ha! HA!
~ The Colonel riding Spirit in an attempt to break him.
You see, gentlemen, any horse can be broken. Move along, mustang.
~ The Colonel boasting about his apparent success in breaking Spirit.
Mustang?
~ The Colonel noticing Spirit regain his wild nature.
Soldier, secure that horse!
~ The Colonel trying to kill Spirit after failing to break him.
I don't believe it.
~ The Colonel surprised to see Spirit and Little Creek at the Grand Canyon.

Trivia[]

  • His real name "George Armstrong Custer" is never mentioned in the film.
  • During the scene where Spirit gets captured by the Colonel's soldiers to be transported to the railway construction site, several horses from Little Creek's tribe are also seen being imported, showing that the Colonel deliberately captured the horses to weaken the strength of the Lakota in addition to using them for assisting in the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
  • Original concept art shows the Colonel riding Spirit as his mount after successfully taming and branding him as a cavalry horse as well as abusing him.
  • The Colonel's horse's name is Granite.
  • In real life, during the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Custer and the 7th Cavalry attacked Sitting Bull's village, but were overwhelmed by thousands of Lakota warriors and killed in the battle, making it one of the most significant military defeats the U.S. suffered during the Sioux wars, which would eventually lead to the infamous Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 in retaliation for Custer's defeat.
  • The scene where the Colonel attacks Little Creek's village was likely inspired by the Battle of Washita River in 1868, in which Custer led an attack on a Cheyenne camp under Black Kettle and killed approximately 150 natives before capturing 53 women and children. In addition, Custer and his soldiers raped the female hostages, with Custer expressing how "Indian women rape easy".

Navigation[]

           Spirit Riding Free logo.svg Villains

Movies
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002): The Colonel | The Colonel's Cavalry | Wranglers
Spirit Untamed (2021): Hendricks | Wranglers

Television
Butch LePray | Butch LePray's accomplices | Caroline | Eliza Moreno | Harlan Grayson | Jo | Julian Prescott | Wolves | Mountain Lion | Rooster | Rose Pendleton | Samuel Hayes

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