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Labyrinth. Dir Jim Henson. Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures, FilmFlex, EMI Films. 1986.
Teaching a Teen, Canine Companions, and the First CGI Animal in Movie History The last Jim Henson release, Labyrinth, a cinema flop but since a cult classic, follows a teenage Jennifer Connelly (Sarah) trying to rescue her baby brother from David Bowie (Jareth) by making her way through a Labyrinth “where everything seems possible and…
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The Edge. Dir. Lee Tamahori. 20th Century Studios.1997
A classic tale of attempting to survive against the odds, The Edge (1997), follows erudite billionaire Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins),duplicitous photographer Robert Green (Alec Baldwin) and personal assistant Stephen (Harold Perrineau) as they trek through the wilderness pursued by a bear (Bart the Bear). The men are part of a larger group, including Charles’ model…
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My Octopus Teacher. Dir. Pippa Ehrlich & James Reed. Netflix. 2020
‘A lot of people say an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize that we’re very similar in a lot of ways.’ There is a popular saying among marine biologists that ‘we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about…
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Watchers. Dir. Jon Hess. Universal Pictures, Alliance Releasing. 1988.
How are human-animal relationships redefined when the lines dividing their respective humanity and animality are warped for scientific advancements? Director Jon Hess explores these altered dynamics within the 1988 science fiction horror film Watchers. When a devastating fire rips through the Banodyne Research Laboratories, the ongoing chaos is manipulated into an escape by two genetically-engineered…
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Storm Boy. Dir. Shawn Seet. Sony Pictures. 2019.
Introduction Storm Boy (2019) is an Australian film adapted from the 1964 children’s novel of the same name by Colin Thiele, explores the extraordinary bond between a young boy named Michael and his relationship with pelicans. The story unfolds with an adult Michael being troubled by the impending business deal in the company he founded.…
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The Rat Catcher. Dir. Wes Anderson. Netflix. 2023.
September 2023 saw Wes Anderson’s return to the works of Roald Dahl with the cinematising of The Rat Catcher. In true Andersonian fashion the film foregrounds aesthetic and framing in order to focus our attention on the visual/character design of The Ratcatcher. Anderson uses animalisation to represent the rat via a human and aided by…
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Snakes on a Plane. Dir. David R Ellis. New Line Cinema. 2006.
‘At 30,000 feet, snakes aren’t the deadliest thing on this plane.’ From the taglines to the soundtrack, Ellis’ 2006 action-horror film depicts a sensationalised binary between humankind and snakes. Whilst the cold-blooded creatures are undeniably presented as hostile antagonists driven by instinct, the abundance of human violence amplifies the capacity of humankind to commit unnecessary…
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Nomadland. Chloe Zhao. Searchlight Pictures. 2020.
Chloe Zhao’s 2021 feature film Nomadland explores the conditions of the American landscape, nomadic experiences and estranged relationships of belonging amidst continuously unstable socio-political and economic conditions of the 21st century. Zhao blends a naturalist style of filmmaking with observational realism to explore the stories of nomads living in rural America, employing non-actors to play…
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The Hunger Games. Dir. by Gary Ross (Lionsgate Films, 2012)
The Hunger Games (2012), directed by Gary Ross, sets up the mockingjay as a unifying symbol of rebellion and resistance against the dystopian ruling of the Capitol. Ross uses this sequence to establish the mockingjay as a balancing force between interpersonal relations and political solidarity. The human-animal connection between the protagonist, Katniss, and the mockingjay…
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Blue Valentine. Dir. Derek Cianfrance. 2010.
Derek Cianfrance’s 2011 feature film, Blue Valentine, explores the instability of the family unit in the rural American suburbs. The almost immediate death of the family dog Megan underpins this instability as her absence becomes symbolic of marital collapse. Through two temporally separated narratives, the film observes the story of Dean, Cindy, and their daughter,…
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