Category: Article Type: Zoom
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The Lion King. Dir. Jon Favreau. Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment. 2019.
‘There’s a stampede, in the pride lands’, Zazu’s memorable line is word-for-word identical to the 1994 animation. But where the animation focused on a simple plot, Jon Favreau’s recreation with CGI animals creates depth by building more of the animals’ characterisation into the story, I will question how this creates problems with humanising certain animals…
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The Little Prince. Dir. Mark Osborne. Paramount Pictures. 2015
The Little Prince uses the animated medium of a children’s film to reconfigure the representation of the snake. A ‘common trope’ also applied here, is to present snakes as a certain bringer of death. The image of a reptile being posed as ‘cold-hearted aggressor’ is familiar as it goes back to Adam and Eve –…
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The Platform (El Hoyo). Dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. Festival Films & Netflix. 2019
In the twisted dystopian science fiction movie “The Platform,” inmates of a vertically piled up prison, with two inmates on each floor, fight for bare survival due to the lack of food for the entire population. An extensive buffet of the finest hearty and sweet food travels, from top to bottom through the middle of…
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The Prince of Egypt. Dir. Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells, Steve Hickner. DreamWorks Pictures. 1998.
Following the life of Moses, The Prince of Egypt tells an adaption of the story of the Book of Exodus. In the opening scene of this animated musical, the audience are introduced to Ancient Egyptian culture as a significant importance is placed on their religion through the enormous statues of their gods. These gods, specifically…
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The Mask. Dir. Charles Russell. New Line Cinema. 1994.
This scene in the film The Mask shows the protagonist Stanley in prison after being caught by police when in his Mask character. This short clip from the film allows us to truly see first-hand the love that Milo has for his owner, as well as the intelligence that he has. The pet- relationship that…
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How to Train Your Dragon. Dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders. Paramount Pictures. 2010.
Despite the movie’s title, How to Train Your Dragon does not present ‘trained’ dragons. The title insinuates the shift from foe to friend is a means of ‘training’ a dragon, when this is actually achieved through the development of a mutual understanding of the other. The film’s false equation of this mutual agreement reduces the…
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A Cure for Wellness. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Regency Enterprises. (2016)
Gore Verbinski’s A Cure for Wellness uses the symbolic imagery of eels in this psychological horror film. The scenes in which they feature are some of the most perturbed, which disgusts both the audience and our protagonist, Lockhart. The horror comes as a result of psychoanalytic concern about sexuality; the marrying of sexual desire and…
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Storks. Dir. Doug Sweetland, Nicolas Stoller. Warner Bros.Pictures. 2016.
Anthropomorphism and stereotypes are often utilized in children’s animation since they cater to a broad audience. The film Storks uses anthropomorphic animals in order to create vivid and lively characters with human characteristics whom the audience can relate to. Moreover, integrating well-known stereotypes in the storyline can evoke empathy or disdain for real animals, such…