Tag: Dogs

  • Seven Psychopaths. Dir. Martin McDonaugh. CBS Films. 2011.

    Callum HowkinsMonday 16 January 2017 At the core of its various subplots, Seven Psychopaths revolves around a situation in which a trio of criminals steal dogs in order to claim the reward money offered by the owners. It becomes apparent that the animal is a vital part of this film, serving as a framing device for the…

  • 102 Dalmatians. Dir. Kevin Lima. Walt Disney Pictures. 2000.

    Feathers Amongst the Furs: The Revival of Power Dynamic in 102 Dalmatians The visuals of the original 1961 animation and the 1996 live-action adaption have become iconic to those familiar with the story of 101 Dalmatians. The sea of black spots dispersed across endless white furs. The gangly, striking screen presence of the archetypal villain,…

  • Beauty and the Beast . Dir. Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise. Buena Vista Pictures. 1991.

    Ostensibly, the transformation of a dog into a footstool in Beauty and the Beast operates as a humorous pun.[1] Visually, it works: Sultan in footstool form is around the right size, his tassels stand in for a head and tail and his decorated legs make convincing paws. Furthermore, the transformation of a dog into a footstool plays on…

  • Lolita. Dir. Adrian Lyne. The Samuel Goldwyn Company. 1997.

    ‘Lolita’ (dir. By Adrian Lyne, 1997) is based Vladimir Nabokov’s novel of the same name. It follows the story of Humbert Humbert and his twelve year old step daughter Dolores or as he nicknames her, Lolita. The relationship between these characters is far from the idealistic father-daughter relationship, as Humbert reveals his paedophilic motive. The…

  • Bringing Up Baby . Dir. Howard Hawks. RKO Radio Pictures. 1938.

    Howard Hawks created a mass of parallels between the female and the leopard Baby in Bringing Up Baby. He displays a classical Hollywood screwball gender notion – women are wild while men are sensible. It is obvious that the female protagonist Susan has a closer relationship with the wild animals than everyone else in the film.…

  • Weekend. Dir. Jean-Luc Godard. Athos Films. 1967.

    Weekend (1967), dir. Jean-Luc Godard (watch the full film with English subtitles here) Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 film Weekend follows the distinctly middle-class experience of Roland and Corinne as they take a trip to Corinne’s family home in the country to secure her inheritance from her father, which, as we will find out, they will acquire by any means necessary.…

  • Bringing Up Baby. Dir. Howard Hawks. RKO. 1938.

    In this article, I will analyse the scene in which David first encounters the dog, George, and Susan’s aunt, Mrs Random, while caught wearing Susan’s dressing gown. I will argue that here a direct comparison can be made between Susan and George. George is used to emphasise that rather than sharing characteristics with a wild…

  • The Little Mermaid. Dir. John Musker and Ron Clements. Buena Vista Pictures. 1989.

    Ariel, a headstrong 16-year-old mermaid, has dreams of living as a human on land, despite her father, King Triton’s, constant reprimands regarding her desire for human/animal (mermaid) interaction. With the help of her friends, Flounder (a loyal, although cowardly, tropical fish), Sebastian (a red Jamaican crab and servant of Triton), and Scuttle (a foolish seagull…

  • Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. Dir. Charles Herman-Wurmfield. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. 2003.

    Legally Blonde 2 attempts to interrogate the controversial issue of animal testing in a comedic domain. Although the realm of comedy is potentially limiting, due to its farcical and flippant nature, Herman-Wurmfield uses humour to expose issues in animal experimentation through his protagonist, Elle Woods. Elle realises her beloved pet Chihuahua Bruiser’s mother is trapped…

  • Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-rabbit. Dir. Nick Park. Aardman Animations. 2005.

    Nick Park’s beloved stop motion clay creations have engaged audiences since 1989, with the unexpected friendship becoming British icons. In 2005 Park introduced a full-length feature movie, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit. Wallace and Gromit star as Anti-Pesto, a dynamic duo ridding their local village of rabbits in preparation for the vegetable…