Category: Article Type: Full
-
Pan’s Labyrinth. Dir. Guillermo del Toro. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2006.
Pan’s Labyrinth (Original Title: El laberinto del fauno) Guillermo del Toro’s visually arresting Pan’s Labyrinth is set in 1944 against the backdrop of post civil-war Spain. It follows the story of the young Ofelia, whose heavily pregnant mother has transported her across the country to live with her fascist stepfather, Captain Vidal, as he carries out Franco’s…
-
The Ugly Dachshund. Dir. Norman Toker . Walt Disney. 1966.
The Ugly Dachshund (1966), adapted from the 1938 novel by Gladys Bonwyn Stern, begins as Mark Garrison (Dean Jones) frantically prepares to drive to the hospital. This tricks us in to thinking that his wife, Fran Garrison (Suzanne Pleshette), is going to give birth when in fact they are taking their Dachshund Danke to the animal…
-
Into The Wild. Dir. Sean Penn. Paramount Vantage. 2007.
It’s 1992, and Christopher McCandless, reborn as Alexander Supertramp, embarks on a ‘rite of passage for a young man in search of meaning,’[1] escaping from the human world and into the Alaskan wilderness. A ‘vagabond loner’[2] who donates his college fund to Oxfam and abandons his worldly goods by the side of the road, Alex forges relationships with the…
-
The Plague Dogs. Dir. Martin Rosen. United Artists. 1982.
Based on Richard Adams’ 1977 novel of the same name, The Plague Dogs[1] follows the story of Rowf and Snitter, who escape from an animal research centre after Rowf’s cage is left unlocked, finding themselves in the heart of the Peak District. The dogs hope to find a master, but every human encounter is hostile. Running out…
-
Never Cry Wolf. Dir. Carrol Ballard. Buena Vista Distribution. 1983.
Carroll Ballard’s 1983 adaptation of Farley Mowat’s 1963 dramatised autobiography Never Cry Wolf is as intricate and astonishingly baffling as it is brilliant. The film tells the story of biologist Tyler and his time in the Canadian arctic where he has volunteered to take part in a scientific study of wolves, largely considered by the…
-
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . Dir. Andrew Adamson. Buena Vista Pictures. 2005.
In an old house in the midst of the Second World War, entry to the magical world of Narnia is discovered hidden away in a dusty wardrobe behind even dustier coats. Once in this magical land, whose rule by the omniscient lion Aslan has been overthrown, the Pevensie children must help restore Narnia to its former…
-
Watership Down. Dir. Martin Rosen. Cinema International Corporation. 1978.
Above left: Film Poster Richard Adams reading Watership Down in 2008 Far from the fluffy, cotton-tailed animals we think rabbits to be, Watership Down (dir. Martin Rosen, 1978) depicts the brutal world of a political and regimented rabbit hierarchy. Chief rabbits dictate from the top of the hierarchy, whilst the military ‘Owsla’ bring down…
-
Robin Hood. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney Productions. 1973.
Robin Hood, dir. Wolfgang Reitherman (Walt Disney Productions, 1973) Here is the trailer for the ‘foxy’ Robin Hood:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awONp__GGvU This Disney animation of the legend of Robin Hood focuses on the adventures of the eponymous hero as he steals from the rich to give to the poor. Early in the film, with his friend Little John, (Phil Harris)…