ZooScope

Tag: Comedy

  • Isle of Dogs. Dir. Wes Anderson. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2018.

    Wes Anderson’s 2018 film Isle of Dogs depicts a dual representation of animals. The film’s plot is largely focused on the escapades of dogs, and for the most part these animals are highly anthropomorphised by Anderson’s direction. On the other hand, the majority of the humour in the film is constructed by Anderson occasionally reversing…

  • How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Dir. Donald Petrie. Paramount Pictures. 2003.

    How to Lose a Guy in 10 days is a romantic comedy about a magazine writer, Andy, who is conducting a social experiment that involves her acting in very cliché forms of crazy to see what it takes to really drive a man away. However, Andy’s target, Ben, is an advertising executive that wants to take…

  • Brigsby Bear. Dir. Dave McCary. Sony Pictures Classics. 2017.

    Brigsby Bear is about a young man named James Pope. James is a fanatic of a show called Brigsby Bear Adventures. James’ world changes one day when the police find him and take him away from his family. He discovers that what he thought were his parents were his kidnappers, and the police reunite him with his…

  • Shrek 2. Dir. Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon. DreamWorks. 2004.

    The second film in the Shrek franchise, Shrek 2 focuses on a pair of ogres, Shrek and Fiona, and their life as newlyweds: it’s time to meet the in-laws. Fiona’s human parents, King Harold and Queen Lilian, are unpleasantly surprised by the fact their daughter and her husband are ogres, and their marriage has a few magical…

  • Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Dir. Adam McKay. DreamWorks Studios. 2004.

    Anchorman, starring Will Ferrell as the eponymous Ron Burgundy, is a tongue-in-cheek comedy that parodies 1970s American culture through its extremely self-conscious, gross-out style. The absurdity of Ron’s character is epitomized by the heavily exaggerated ‘man’s best friend’ relationship he has with his dog Baxter, whose most significant moment in the film comes when he…

  • Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot. Dir. Dearbhla Walsh. Red Arrow International. 2015.

    Slow and steady wins the race……… Dearbhla Walsh’s 2015 television film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot depicts the tale of two elderly neighbours, Mrs. Silver (Judi Dench) and Mr. Hoppy (Dustin Hoffman), as they progress towards a romantic relationship. The main obstacle to this relationship is Mrs. Silver’s infatuation with her pet tortoise, Alfie, and her…

  • Zootopia. Dir. Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2016.

    Dreams can be powerful things; and to Judy Hopps, no dream is greater than becoming Zootopia’s first rabbit police officer. After years of chasing her goal however, Judy discovers that maybe her dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Finding herself in a world dominated by bigger, stronger animals; Judy faces discrimination as she…

  • Zootopia. Dir. Byron Howard and Rich Moore. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2016.

    Zootopia [1] presents a story about the first rabbit police officer teaming up with a fox confidence trickster to stop their city descending into anarchy. The film is a modern take on a classic animal fable, using Aesopian tropes of animals representing certain personalities alongside a technology rich, modern setting.

  • Pom Poko. Dir. Isao Takahata. Toho. 1994.

    Pom Poko[1] is a film that follows the tanuki of Tama Hills trying to halt development of their woodland through their folkloric transformation powers. In terms of how it shows the animal; the film establishes the idea that animal-human relationships are characterised by a conflict of two worlds that are equally alien to each other.…

  • The Wild. Dir. Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams. Buena Vista Pictures. 2006.

    The Wild YouTube video of the film’s theatrical trailer: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE3mEgqqlCM> ‘Start spreading the newspaper.’ Disney’s 2006 animation, The Wild, by first-time director and ex-special effects artist Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, is a family comedy film centred on a group of zoo animals: Samson the lion, Bridget the giraffe, Nigel the koala and Larry the anaconda. Along with their…