Tag: HAR: Metamorphosis/Transformation
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Jungle Book. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney. 1967.
The notorious Kaa was manipulated in the Jungle Book[1] (1967) to serve the role of an antagonist, an inversion on his portrayal from Kipling’s original books[2] (1894). Kaa is presented as the enchanting reptile that adheres to the stereotypes of an Indian Rock Python.Reitherman harnesses the trance-like song “Trust in Me”[3] to ironically expose his deceitful nature and…
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Howl’s Moving Castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 2004.
There is a surprising lack of non-human animal representation in Studio Ghibli’s 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle, despite an overarching theme which frequently pits an idyllic pastoral version of Japan against a threateningly industrial one. The major depiction of human-animal relations is that of secondary protagonist Howl as he gradually transforms into a bird-like creature…
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Oldboy. Dir. Park Chan-wook. Show East & Tartan Films. 2003.
Park Chan-wook’s 2003 film Oldboy is at its core a thriller, a revenge story of Oh Dae-su (played by Choi Min-sik) imprisoned in a room for 15 years without any knowledge of the reasons why, and who is then suddenly released back into the world and told by his captor to try to work out…
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Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Toho. 2017.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a 2017 animated film, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and produced by Studio Ponoc (founded by the former lead film producer at Studio Ghibli). The film tells the story of Mary, a little girl, who moves in with her Great Aunt Charlotte whilst her parents are abroad. When Mary is…
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D-War : Dragon Wars. Dir. Hyung-rae Shim. Freestyle Releasing, Showbox. 2007.
The movie, D-War : Dragon Wars, begins with introducing the Korean legend of the ascension of Imoogi, a gigantic pre-dragon stage serpent. Every 500 years, one good Imoogi was rewarded with a chance to become a dragon, and it had to receive the gift of the Yuh-yi-joo, a magical pearl from heaven, to become a dragon.…
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The Cat Returns. Dir. Hiroyuki Morita. Toho. 2002.
The Cat Returns (2002) is a Japanese fantasy film animated by Studio Ghibli, which follows dissatisfied schoolgirl Haru Yoshioka, who after saving a cat from a road collision, discovers she has the ability to talk to cats. Upon saving the feline it is revealed that this individual is none other than Prince Lune, Heir to the…
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The Wizard of Oz. Dir. Victor Fleming, King Vidor, George Cukor, Richard Thorpe, Norman Taurog. MGM. 1939.
The Wizard of Oz is about a small-town girl in the big city–the Emerald City. Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas with her dog Toto. When she is knocked unconscious during a hurricane, she wakes up to find herself in the magical world of Oz, filled with a myriad of unusual creatures. She must travel…
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Gone Girl. Dir. David Fincher. 20th Century Fox. 2014.
On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne receives an unexpected phone call from his neighbour, who has spotted his indoor pet cat wandering outside the house. When Nick returns, not only does he discover that his cat has been misplaced, but his wife, Amy has disappeared too. Leaving a staged crime scene…
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Alice in Wonderland. Dir. Tim Burton. Walt Disney Pictures. 2010.
The film draws on the viewer’s knowledge of the Disney original in the tea party scene, making it a ruin of what it once was, and presenting the Hatter as even more ‘mad’. He is seen for the first time in a close up shot, slowly looking up towards the camera, vacantly staring into the…
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Gone Girl. Dir. David Fincher. 20th Century Fox. 2014.
Stereotypically, cats are represented as sly, sexy, intelligent, manipulative and mysterious creatures, and all of these characteristics are embodied in Gone Girl’s (dir. David Fincher, 2014) complex anti-heroine Amy Dunne. In order to understand Amy’s immensely complicated character, who only exists in flashbacks during the film’s opening scene, the film projects Amy’s character onto her husband Nick’s…