ZooScope

Tag: HAR: Animal Agency

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

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

    The woods are getting smaller every day. At the core of 2020’s Wolfwalkers is a fable about environmental degradation:  the mounting destruction of the natural world, and the subjugation of those who live in tune with it. From its very beginning, the film seeks to examine and even disrupt the human/animal boundary in a unique…

  • Togo. Dir. Ericson Core. Walt Disney Studios. 2019

    In Togo (2019)[1], directed by Ericson Core, the eponymous canine hero recovers from a potentially devastating injury, portrayed as being due to Togo’s incredible relationship with trainer Seppala. Core utilises the emotional score composed by Mark Isham, as well as focusing on the ‘love story between a man and his dog’[2]. This sequence cements the…

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. 1968.

    As with the majority of Stanley Kubrick’s filmography (we’ll mutually agree to exclude Fear and Desire from this conversation), 2001: A Space Odyssey has been subjected to extensive film analysis and criticism. This article will explore the implications of the film’s perpetuation of sociologically-constructed human-animal boundaries in order to articulate the commonality of violence across…

  • Penguin Bloom. Dir. Glendyn Ivin. Netflix, Inc. 2021.

    Penguin Bloom. Dir. Glendyn Ivin. Netflix, Inc. 2021.

    Inspired by true events, Penguin Bloom tells the story of Sam Bloom, a mother and wife who became paralysed after a serious accident.  As she struggles through a difficult recovery, a small miracle occurs, a magpie called Penguin enters the Bloom family, changing the course of their lives forever. This scruffy looking creature builds an…

  • The One and Only Ivan. Dir. Thea Sharrock. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2020.

    As the name of the film suggests, The One and Only Ivan showcases the individuality of animals and their much-like human personas, highlighting the injustice of their captivity. Standing out from Disney’s animated catalogue, the use of CGI (computer-generated) animals encourages the audience to interpret the unexaggerated personality of the animal protagonist by presenting them…

  • The Lion King. Dir. Jon Favreau. Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview entertainment. 2019.

    Jon Favreau’s 2019 recreation of The Lion King is something David Attenborough would be proud of, or is it? Disney seems to have a habit of reproducing the same stories, and after 25 years that’s just what they did with their animated animal take on Hamlet. Favreau’s CGI Lion King tells the story of a…

  • Pocahontas. Dir. Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel. The Walt Disney Company. 1995.

    In Pocahontas, the animosity between Meeko, the Native American raccoon and Percy, the English pug is a microcosm of the conflict between the Native and English humans. The animals are comic foils, providing family-friendly slapstick relief from human violence. However, the inclusion of animals adds meaning beyond just comedic value. The animals and humans both…

  • Paulie. Dir. John Roberts. Dreamworks Pictures. 1998

    Paulie. Dir. John Roberts. Dreamworks Pictures. 1998

    Paulie is a  blue crowned conure, trapped in a small cage within a Research Institute. When he befriends Misha the janitor, Misha realises that Paulie can do more than talk- Paulie understands! Paulie is a family film that uses comedy and lighthearted fun to discuss the issues it presents. Paulie’s ideal life is to return…

  • Come and See. Dir. Elem Klimov. Belarusfilm.1985.

    Life Elem Klimov’s 1985 pernicious masterpiece Come and See leaves viewers in a state of abject horror. The film depicts the atrocities commited by the Nazi regime in Byelorussia during the Second World War, following Florya on his path from innocence to experience. The cow is introduced to us halfway through the narrative working as…

  • Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Dir. Jim Stenstrum. Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. 1998.

    Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island[1] is subversive both in terms of subverting what you’d expect from a typical Scooby outing (substituting criminals in masks with genuine monsters) and subverting ideas of what it truly means to be villainous. Immortal werecats Simone and Lena (fig. 1) sacrificed their souls to their cat god to exact revenge against…