Tag: Childrens

  • A Close Shave. Dir. Nick Park. BBC. 1995.

    Following the great success of director Nick Park’s A Grand Day Out in 1990 and 1993’s The Wrong Trousers, eccentric inventor Wallace and his canine companion Gromit returned in 1995 with A Close Shave. The action begins as the duo – now running a window cleaning service – have their breakfast interrupted by Shaun the…

  • The Ugly Dachshund. Dir. Norman Toker . Walt Disney. 1966.

    The Ugly Dachshund (1966), adapted from the 1938 novel by Gladys Bonwyn Stern, begins as Mark Garrison (Dean Jones) frantically prepares to drive to the hospital. This tricks us in to thinking that his wife, Fran Garrison (Suzanne Pleshette), is going to give birth when in fact they are taking their Dachshund Danke to the animal…

  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . Dir. Andrew Adamson. Buena Vista Pictures. 2005.

    In an old house in the midst of the Second World War, entry to the magical world of Narnia is discovered hidden away in a dusty wardrobe behind even dustier coats. Once in this magical land, whose rule by the omniscient lion Aslan has been overthrown, the Pevensie children must help restore Narnia to its former…

  • Watership Down. Dir. Martin Rosen. Cinema International Corporation. 1978.

    Above left: Film Poster             Richard Adams reading Watership Down in 2008 Far from the fluffy, cotton-tailed animals we think rabbits to be, Watership Down (dir. Martin Rosen, 1978) depicts the brutal world of a political and regimented rabbit hierarchy. Chief rabbits dictate from the top of the hierarchy, whilst the military ‘Owsla’ bring down…

  • Robin Hood. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney Productions. 1973.

    Robin Hood, dir. Wolfgang Reitherman (Walt Disney Productions, 1973) Here is the trailer for the ‘foxy’ Robin Hood:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awONp__GGvU This Disney animation of the legend of Robin Hood focuses on the adventures of the eponymous hero as he steals from the rich to give to the poor. Early in the film, with his friend Little John, (Phil Harris)…

  • Homeward Bound . Dir. Duwayne Dunham. Disney. 1993.

    In our society and culture, there are many things that affect the relationships and views we have between ourselves and non-human animals; one major aspect being films that focus on animals. Particularly, in Homeward Bound, an adventure film, the fact that the animals were at the center of the film, that they were given human voices…

  • The Great Mouse Detective. Dir. Ron Clements, Burny Mattison, David Michener, and John Musker. Walt Disney. 1986.

    In the world of the animated feature film The Great Mouse Detective (Clements, Mattison, Michener, and Musker, 1986), Victorian-era London contains a society of talking mice that mirrors the city’s human occupants. When one of these mice, Hiram Flaversham, a single father and toy maker, is kidnapped by a peg-legged bat named Fidget, Flaversham’s daughter Olivia, along…

  • Up. Dir. Peter Docter. Disney Pixar. 2009.

    Pixar’s 2009 film Up tells the astonishing tale of Carl, a 78 year old who wishes to fulfil his and his late wife’s dream of reaching Paradise Falls in South America. From meeting as kids, Ellie and Carl dream of being adventurers, and share a passion for the explorer C.F. Muntz and his ‘Spirit of…

  • Ratatouille. Dir. Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava. Disney Pixar. 2007.

    When Remy the rat (Patton Oswalt) discovers his heightened sense of taste and smell, he develops a passion for cooking: sneaking into a human kitchen and watching cookery programmes. However, when his family is lost he travels into Paris and finds a gourmet kitchen, Gusteau’s. With the help of Linguini (Lou Romano), a hapless garbage…

  • Black Beauty. Dir. Carol Thompson. Warner Bros. 1994.

    Good Places, Make Good Horses Black Beauty (1994), directed by Carol Thompson is a film adaption of the 1877 Anna Sewell children’s novel of the same name. The film follows the life of Victorian black stallion Black Beauty and his companions after he leaves his idyllic first home to serve new owners both kind and…