ZooScope

Tag: Kangaroo

  • Crocodile Dundee. Dir. Peter Faiman. Paramount Pictures. 1986

    “A city girl like you? You wouldn’t last five minutes, love. This is a man’s country out here.” – Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 action/comedy film, following the character of Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan), nicknamed “Crocodile” after being mauled by a crocodile, an Australian bushman, as he meets his eventual love…

  • The Wild. Dir. Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams. Buena Vista Pictures. 2006.

    The Wild YouTube video of the film’s theatrical trailer: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE3mEgqqlCM> ‘Start spreading the newspaper.’ Disney’s 2006 animation, The Wild, by first-time director and ex-special effects artist Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, is a family comedy film centred on a group of zoo animals: Samson the lion, Bridget the giraffe, Nigel the koala and Larry the anaconda. Along with their…

  • The Wild. Dir. Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams. Buena Vista Pictures. 2006.

    ZooScope ZOOM: The Wild  Above: ‘This isn’t Happiness’ – 07/04/2014 front cover illustration of The New Yorker by Peter DeSeve shows a vegetarian lion eating salad whilst looking distractedly at a zebra. Living in a world of cultural ethics clearly has its difficulties for a wild predator. Image from https://uk.pinterest.com/kmeyer/peter-deseve/ ‘The core paradigm of many narratives engaging…

  • We Bought a Zoo. Dir. Cameron Crowe. 20th Century Fox. 2011.

    We Bought a Zoo is a film loosely based on a memoir of the same name by Benjamin Mee which describes his purchase and restoration of the failing Dartmoor Wildlife Park – subsequently renamed Dartmoor Zoological Park – in preparation for its reopening. In the film, the death of Benjamin’s wife has led to a…

  • Earthlings. Dir. Shaun Monson. Nation Earth. 2005.

    Fig. 1 The original release poster for Earthlings, the film’s oft repeated challenge to the viewer to ‘make the connection’ features prominently alongside pictures of plants, animals and the evil emperor Commodus (representing humankind).   ‘How do you know if someone is Vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you’. So proclaims an increasingly popular meme. Type preachy into…

  • Wake in Fright. Dir. Ted Kotcheff. United Artists. 1971.

    Having been lost for decades following its 1971 release, Wake in Fright was restored to considerable acclaim in 2009. Its aesthetic, screenplay and portrayal of the culture clash between outsiders and the aggressive ‘mateship’ mythology of Australia’s outback emerged fresher than ever. Wake in Fright follows English teacher John Grant, who is obliged to work in the outback for…