Category: Language: English
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Crocodile Dundee. Dir. Peter Faiman. Paramount Pictures. 1986
“A city girl like you? You wouldn’t last five minutes, love. This is a man’s country out here.” – Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 action/comedy film, following the character of Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan), nicknamed “Crocodile” after being mauled by a crocodile, an Australian bushman, as he meets his eventual love…
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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…
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The Craft. Dir. Andrew Fleming. Columbia Pictures. 1996.
The Craft is a 1996 supernatural teen horror film, in which animals feature heavily as a representation of the otherness felt by four teenage girls who possess extraordinary powers. The film presents witchcraft and magic as something that is inextricable from nature and animals, in line with Neo-Pagan traditions. This scene is particularly striking, as…
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Willard. Dir. Glen Morgan. New Line Cinema. 2003.
Glen Morgan’s disturbing horror film Willard portrays the life of social misfit Willard Stiles (played by Crispin Glover), and a colony of trained rats who live in the basement of his somewhat derelict mansion. Whilst at first Willard intends to dispose of the rodents, he instead connects with a distinctive white rat whom he names…
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Seven Pounds. Dir. Gabriele Muccino. Sony Pictures. 2003
Seven Pounds is a 2003 drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino which explores the relationship between humans and non-human animals, specifically focusing on the bond between human and dog. The film highlights how through feelings of trust and dependency, combined with overcoming societal stereotypes, both humans and dogs can utilize the time they spend together…
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The Shallows. Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra. Columbia Pictures. 2016.
The Shallows uses the tale of Nancy (Blake Lively), a surfer alone and vulnerable in the picturesque coasts of Mexico only to be aggressively hunted by a great white shark with a taste for skinny blonde models (shock). Since Jaws, sharks have become a symbol of fear – an immediate indication of danger within the cinematic…