ZooScope

Tag: Gorilla(s)

  • 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…

  • Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Dir. Rupert Wyatt. 20th Century Fox . 2011.

    The scene which I believe most questions anthropocentric notions of human superiority in ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ is the moment when Caesar verbally expresses his frustrations, in defence against his oppression and abuse. The film depicts animals gaining agency against being controlled by humans in many forms, such as pet-keeping, animal testing…

  • White Dog. Dir. Samuel Fuller. Paramount Pictures. 1982.

    Sam Fuller’s final Hollywood film, White Dog (1982), is based on Romain Gary’s 1970 ‘nonfiction’ novel of the same name and tells the story of aspiring actress Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol), who after accidentally hitting and injuring him with her car, adopts a seemingly lovable white German shepherd. The plot is complicated when, after two…

  • Aladdin. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Disney Studios. 1992.

    Ron Clements’ and John Muskers’, Aladdin (1992) [1]  follows the life of a poor street dweller and his sidekick monkey, Abu in the fictional city of Agrabah. After being coerced into entering the subterranean ‘cave of wonders’ by the villain Jafar and his accomplice parrot, Iago, Aladdin retrieves a magic lamp containing a genie. With the…

  • Planet of the Apes. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox. 1968.

    Planet of the Apes (1968), dir. Franklin J. Schaffner It is from the Planet of the Apes’s first encounter with its ‘more or less human’ characters that we are made aware of their muteness; something that shapes the human/animal relations throughout the film. In his ignorance of the subverted hierarchy the film explores, Taylor, the main character,…

  • Mighty Joe Young. Dir. Ron Underwood. Buena Vista Pictures. 1998.

    Film provides a platform for racial stereotypes to indoctrinate its viewers and relay social prejudices. Lester and Ross argue that ‘the predominant juxtaposition of images of blacks and social problems- welfare, crime, poverty, drugs, violence…implicitly helps to activate long-existing stereotypes of blacks as sambo and savage’ [1]. The black African poachers in Mighty Joe Young…

  • Tarzan. Dir. Kevin Lima, Chris Buck. Disney. 1999.

    Tarzan-Two Worlds Tarzan is best characterised by the title of the film’s opening song Two Worlds, sang by Phil Collins. This is the story of flora and fauna, represented by gorillas, colliding with mankind in Disney’s 1999 classic. The film sees an orphaned human baby in Africa adopted into an ape family by a Gorilla mother. The…

  • The Lion King. Dir. Roger Allens and Rob Minkoff. Buena Vista Pictures. 1994.

    The Lion King[i] tells the story of Simba, a lion cub born into the monarchy and heir to his father Mufasa, ruler of all the animals in the Pride Lands. From learning how to pounce, to going on adventures with his best friend Nala, Simba has the perfect life, up until Mufasa is killed by Scar,…

  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.. 1988.

    Robert Zemeckis’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) is set in the ‘Toon’-dominated animated film industry of Hollywood in 1947, 40 years previous to the film’s actual release. [1] Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), [2] a private investigator and the film’s human protagonist, ends his hiatus from sleuthing, caused by his brother: his professional partner’s Toon-related death, after receiving a…

  • Planet of the Apes. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox. 1968.

    The portrayal of animals in Planet of the Apes [1] is interesting as the roles of humans and animals are essentially reversed from what we are used to in everyday life. The apes are anthropomorphised – they walk and talk like humans, they ride horses, they are intelligent and literate, they have a justice system and…