ZooScope

Tag: Horses

  • War Horse. Dir. Steven Spielberg. DreamWorks. 2011.

    Steven Spielberg’s War Horse (2011) tells the story of teenager Albert Narracott and his horse Joey, tracing their journey from rural Devonshire farm to the Western Front. Joey is the dominant character within the film with the plot line tied directly to his experience rather than Albert’s. Throughout the course of the film Joey encounters…

  • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Dir. Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. DreamWorks. 2002.

    The eponymous character Spirit in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)[1] is a stallion who lives freely in an area that would come to be known as the ‘Old West’. Unusually for an animated film, none of the animal characters partake in any spoken dialogue with eachother -instead expressions, naturalistic animal sounds and movement are used to…

  • Doctor Dolittle. Dir. Richard Fleischer. 20th-Century Fox. 1967.

    The genesis for Richard Fleischer’s 1967 film Doctor Dolittle came from Hugh Lofting’s successful chain of children’s books first published in 1920, and focuses on the character of a veterinarian named John Dolittle (Rex Harrison), who can talk to animals after being taught by his multilingual pet parrot Polynesia. The film is bursting at the seams with…

  • Hidalgo. Dir. Joe Johnston. Disney/Touchstone Pictures. 2004.

    Hidalgo (2004), directed by Joe Johnston is a Disney production bringing to life the adventures of America’s most controversial endurance rider; Frank T. Hopkins. His story was discovered and then written for the big screen by John Fusco, a strong advocate for the veritable nature of his incredibly controversial legend. A whole website has been…

  • Doctor Dolittle. Dir. Betty Thomas. 20th-Century Fox. 1998.

    Representation of animals in Betty Thomas’s Doctor Dolittle The animal presence in Doctor Dolittle (1998) is extremely intriguing, using impressive CGI and a vast spectrum of species to depict a humanistic side to animals that was, until then, uncommon in film. Eddie Murphy’s character, John Dolittle, provides audiences with an identity crisis: family man vs…

  • The Horse Whisperer. Dir. Robert Redford. Touchstone Pictures. 1998.

    Representation of Animals in the Horse Whisperer Robert Redford directs and stars in the novel adaptation, The Horse Whisperer (1998). Set between the conflicting environments of urban New York and the rural countryside of Montana, we witness a family fall apart following a tragic accident. Whilst out riding, the film’s young protagonist and her friend come into collision…