ZooScope

Tag: HAR: Hunting/Trapping

  • The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Dir.Jay Russell, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2007, U.S.

    The filmmakers of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep present audiences with the idea that a wild, Scottish mythological creature can (a) exist, (b) be a pet, and (c) a friend, to a young boy. Angus and the water horse’s friendship makes the point that not only can dogs be ‘man’s best friend’, but…

  • Ginger Snaps. Dir. John Fawcett. Motion International.2000

    Ginger Snaps. Dir. John Fawcett. Motion International.2000

    “B, I Just Got The Curse” In his direction of the initial werewolf attack in Ginger Snaps (2000), John Fawcett repeatedly frames close shots of the creature’s bloodied snout and teeth as it savages the central character, Ginger. These close shots lead to what I argue is a reinterpretation of the lycanthrope, wherein the werewolf…

  • Babe (1995) directed by Chris Noonan

    The 1995 edition of Babe directed by Chris Noonan presents Babe the pig to be defined by the type of relationship he has with humans. The relationship in this film that is concentrated on is the shift from working animal to food animal. This film is enough to turn anyone vegetarian, in fact James Cromwell…

  • Lamb. Dir. Valdimar Jóhannsson. Sena. 2021

    Lamb. Dir. Valdimar Jóhannsson. Sena. 2021

    Like a lamb to the slaughter, the slow-burn, absurd surrealness of A24’s Lamb (2021) leads the audience to an end that blends both chilling twists and heartbreaking loss as the complications that are inevitable with blurring binaries between human-animal relations come to fruition. In a playful, sardonic reconfiguration of oppositions between captivity and freedom, wildness…

  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske. Buena Vista Distribution. 1961.

    One hundred and one Dalmatians, ninety-nine of which are puppies, in a terraced house in London. How wonderful! The perfect Disney dream ending. Or in the realms of reality, a deluge of responsibility that is only going to increase if Roger and Anita, the owners, don’t begin to take spaying and neutering seriously. It is,…

  • Felidae. Dir. Michael Schaack.Wild Bunch. 1994.

    Warning- this article will contain graphic animated imagery as well as major spoilers for the film Felidae (1994) “What I was watching wasn’t exactly a scene out of The Aristocats.” -Francis in Felidae Released in 1994, the cult neo-noir film Felidae immediately sets itself apart from its earlier animated feline predecessors, with Schaack’s adaptation refusing…

  • The Good Dinosaur. Dir. Peter Sohn. Disney Pixar. 2015.

    Are you terrified of big, scary dinosaurs from films such as Jurassic Park? Well, The Good Dinosaur will change that perception. In a world where dinosaurs never became extinct, a timid and friendly dinosaur named Arlo lives on a family farm. This story follows the conventional trope of a young boy who embarks on a…

  • Wolfwalkers. Dir Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. Apple TV+. 2020.

    This wild land must be civilised. Whilst this film’s premise – the child-friendly tale of two young werewolves attempting to end Oliver Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland – may sound bizarre, it proves itself to be one of the most politically and thematically poignant children’s films of 2020. The young protagonist is Robyn, an English Puritan…

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures. 1982

    Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), despite its tearful conclusion in which 10-year-old Elliott is parted from his extra-terrestrial friend aptly named ‘E.T.’, is revered for its thematic sentimentality (popularised by its iconic John Williams score) and stood him in contrast to his contemporary auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who adopted…

  • Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. Dir. Tom Ellery and Bradley Raymond. Walt Disney Home Video. 1998.

    In Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Pocahontas voyages to England with John Rolfe, an English diplomat. She must stop the villainous Governor Ratcliffe’s manipulation of King James and prevent the King from declaring war on the Native Americans. As expected in a Disney film, she just happens to fall in love with Rolfe…