ZooScope

Category: Language: English

  • Bolt. Dir. Chris Williams, Byron Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2008.

    Bolt. Dir. Chris Williams, Byron Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2008.

    Disney’s 2008 feature, Bolt, follows the television star pup who believes that, through the meticulous production of the show, he has super-powers and faces an archvillain, the green-eyed man. When the plotline demands that he be separated from his owner and co-star, Penny, due to her being kidnapped on the show, Bolt escapes the set…

  • Rio. Dir. by Carlos Saldanha. Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Animation. 2011.

    Rio. Dir. by Carlos Saldanha. Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Animation. 2011.

    Opening with the vibrant celebration of colours and exotic sounds of the Brazilian rainforest, our focus is drawn to a nervous exotic baby macaw bird called Blu who plucks up the courage to attempt his maiden flight. Predictably he tumbles towards the ground, making a soft spongy safe landing, before commotion strikes and an attack…

  • Corpse Bride. Tim Burton. Warner Brothers. 2005.

    Corpse Bride. Tim Burton. Warner Brothers. 2005.

    ‘In the act of othering, what is projected onto the other is all that must be refused in constructing the identity of the self’[1]. Consequently, establishing a human/animal binary often leads to a hierarchical relationship, highlighting the difference between human and non-human ‘other’. Such binary differences are reminiscent of common tropes in gothic literature, with…

  • The Good Dinosaur. Dir. Peter Sohn. Disney Pixar. 2015.

    Are you terrified of big, scary dinosaurs from films such as Jurassic Park? Well, The Good Dinosaur will change that perception. In a world where dinosaurs never became extinct, a timid and friendly dinosaur named Arlo lives on a family farm. This story follows the conventional trope of a young boy who embarks on a…

  • Ant-Man. Dir. Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios. 2015.

    Ant-Man. Dir. Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios. 2015.

    ‘You’ve yet to learn about your greatest allies: the ants. Loyal, brave, and your partners on this job.’ As you’ve undoubtedly predicted from the title, ants play a huge role in Marvel’s Ant-Man[1] (2015). Master burglar Scott Lang, recently released from prison, is determined to cease his criminal ways so he can become a proper…

  • Luca. Dir. Enrico Casarosa. Pixar Animation Studios. 2021

    At what point is a fish-out-of-water no longer a fish? Many films can be described as ‘fish-out-of-water’ stories, but very few take this as literally as Disney Pixar’s Luca. Our eponymous character is a sea monster, living with his family off the coast of the fictional Italian town of Portorosso and spending his days tending to his…

  • Children of Men. Dir. by Alfonso Cuarón. Universal Pictures. 2006.

    Children of Men (2006) dir. by Alfonso Cuarón is a science-fiction action drama that takes place in a Britain in 2027. The world for around 18 years has been infertile, unable to produce children. This dystopian scenario has caused all the worlds countries to collapse with the only surviving nation-state being Britain. Britain has remained…

  • Wolfwalkers. Dir Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. Apple TV+. 2020.

    This wild land must be civilised. Whilst this film’s premise – the child-friendly tale of two young werewolves attempting to end Oliver Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland – may sound bizarre, it proves itself to be one of the most politically and thematically poignant children’s films of 2020. The young protagonist is Robyn, an English Puritan…

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures. 1982

    Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), despite its tearful conclusion in which 10-year-old Elliott is parted from his extra-terrestrial friend aptly named ‘E.T.’, is revered for its thematic sentimentality (popularised by its iconic John Williams score) and stood him in contrast to his contemporary auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who adopted…

  • See Spot Run. Dir. John Whitesell. Village Roadshow Pictures. 2001.

    See Spot Run. Dir. John Whitesell. Village Roadshow Pictures. 2001.

    Agent 11 is one of the most decorated agents in the FBI, but he doesn’t always play by the rules. This time, his vicious attack on mob boss Sonny Talia (Paul Sorvino) has made him the target of a hit.                                                                      When internal corruption leads to his Witness Protection being compromised, he must…