Tag: Bear(s)
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IRIS. Dir. Albert Maysles. Magnolia Pictures. 2014.
There are few people who wouldn’t be intrigued by Iris Apfel. The nonagenarian fashion icon with statement eyewear, accessories hanging like Christmas decorations, and a unique outlook on life. It is no wonder then why legendary documentarian Albert Maylses focuses on her as subject of his penultimate documentary film, IRIS (2014). Plunging us deep into her creative…
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The Jungle Book. Dir. Wolgang Reitherman. Walt Disney. 1967.
The Jungle Book (1967) Dir, by Wolfgang Reitherman Disney’s The Jungle Book is a film of young boy trying to prove he can survive in the jungle whilst being persuaded by a cast of animals to return to human life. Mowgli is defiant that he belongs in the jungle but the inherently conservative, and ultimately racist, message…
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The Revenant . Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. 20th Century Fox . 2015.
While much of The Revenant’s plot focuses on the quarrels of men and the seeking of revenge, the bear attack scene makes us forget this for a moment. González Iñárritu instead creates a scene that feels authentic using an undramatised style. In doing this he presents the bear not as a monster but as an animal defending…
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Wir sind im Zoo. Dir. Bruno Kleberg. Progress Film-Verleih. 1953.
We are at the zoo is an 1953 Film about a class of pioneers visiting the Leipziger Zoo in the German Democratic Republic. On their visit the class is being accompanied by an Off-Speaker, who comments on the action and introduces the animals while the pioneers walk through the park. In most cases this is…
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Monsters, Inc. Dir. Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich. Buena Vista Pictures. 2001.
Lovable monsters like Sully and Mike of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc (Docter, Silverman and Unkrich, 2001) manage to make the monster world not so scary. Despite their initial employment as professional children ‘scarers’ for the Monsters Inc. corporation that uses scream- energy to power Monstropolis (the film’s monster-inhabited society), the pair prove themselves to be more…
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Shrek. Dir. Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson. DreamWorks Pictures. 2001.
Shrek (2001) is a film that invests in the fairytale tropes found in literature to create humour. Characters are typecast and stereotypes are flung at the audience in the beginning scenes of the movie. This is important for establishing the roles of animals in the film, because most of them, being objects of fairytale discourse, are…
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The Jungle Book. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney. 1967.
The Jungle Book (1967) Walt Disney Synopsis Having been raised by a pack of wolves, with a black panther and a bear as your two closest companions, you would think you would have no troubles, but for Mowgli this is untrue. The Jungle Book is a Disney adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name, following…
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Tangled. Dir. Nathan Greno and Bryon Howard. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2010.
A modern twist on the traditional fairytale story of Rapunzel, Tangled is an edgy take on a timeless classic. Disney’s 50th animated family film is a fantasy, fairytale, romance, comedy and musical. Set in a fantasy kingdom far-far away, the King and Queen’s baby daughter Rapunzel is stolen by the evil Mother Gothel, who wants to use…
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We Bought a Zoo. Dir. Cameron Crowe. 20th Century Fox. 2011.
We Bought a Zoo is a film loosely based on a memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee which describes his purchase and restoration of the failing Dartmoor Wildlife Park – subsequently renamed Dartmoor Zoological Park – in preparation for its reopening. In the film, the death of Benjamin’s wife has led to a…