Tag: HAR: Imagination/Representation
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Ginger Snaps. Dir. John Fawcett. Motion International. 2000.
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Homeward Bound . Dir. Duwayne Dunham. Disney. 1993.
In our society and culture, there are many things that affect the relationships and views we have between ourselves and non-human animals; one major aspect being films that focus on animals. Particularly, in Homeward Bound, an adventure film, the fact that the animals were at the center of the film, that they were given human voices…
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The Unloved. Dir. Samantha Morton. ICA Films. 2009.
The Unloved, Samantha Morton’s semi-autobiographical debut film focuses on Lucy (Molly Windsor), an eleven-year-old girl from a broken home who is violently abused by her father at the beginning of the film. Following this heart wrenching sequence, Lucy is taken into care where she is alienated, despite becoming attached to Lauren; a teenage girl also…
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The Great Mouse Detective. Dir. Ron Clements, Burny Mattison, David Michener, and John Musker. Walt Disney. 1986.
In the world of the animated feature film The Great Mouse Detective (Clements, Mattison, Michener, and Musker, 1986), Victorian-era London contains a society of talking mice that mirrors the city’s human occupants. When one of these mice, Hiram Flaversham, a single father and toy maker, is kidnapped by a peg-legged bat named Fidget, Flaversham’s daughter Olivia, along…
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The Swan Princess. Dir. Richard Rich. New Line Cinema. 1994.
The Swan Princess follows the story of Princess Odette and Prince Derek. From the time they are children it is hoped that they will marry and join their kingdoms, and as they grow up they fall in love with each other. However, their romance is thwarted by the evil warlock Lord Rothbart, who kills Odette’s father…
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Where the Wild Things Are. Dir. Spike Jonze. Warner Bros. 2009.
In Spike Jonze’s 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are, wildness reigns. Max, a ‘wild’ young boy with an active imagination, is able to connect with his dog but has difficulty doing so with other people, including his mother and sister. Upset that his mother is paying more attention to her new boyfriend, Max puts…
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Princess Mononoke. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1997.
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) is a Studio Ghibli film, written and directed by co-founder Hayao Miyazaki in 1997. The film takes place in the Muromachi period of Ancient Japan and follows protagonist Ashitaka on his journey to locate the origins of the demon beasts. In this world, Miyazaki has chosen to depict animals, not only in a…
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Planet of the Apes. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox. 1968.
Evolutionary Reversal in Planet of the Apes Planet of the Apes (1968) brilliantly satirizes the process by which humans simultaneously invented the concept of the “animal kingdom” and appointed themselves to its highest position. Adapting Pierre Boulle’s celebrated novel, Monkey Planet (1963), director Franklin J. Schaffner and screenwriters Rod Serling and Michael Wilson use the speculative licence of the…