ZooScope

Tag: Monkey(s)

  • A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Dir. Roy Andersson. Curzon Film World. 2015.

    A man dies whilst trying to open a bottle of wine. Shots of aquavit are handed out in a bar in exchange for kisses. A young couple lie together on a beach, accompanied by a dog. The owner of a delicatessen addresses the camera from the steps to his shop as his co-worker ridicules him…

  • The Jungle Book. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Walt Disney. 1967.

     The Jungle Book (1967) Walt Disney Synopsis Having been raised by a pack of wolves, with a black panther and a bear as your two closest companions, you would think you would have no troubles, but for Mowgli this is untrue. The Jungle Book is a Disney adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name, following…

  • 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…

  • The Plague Dogs. Dir. Martin Rosen. United Artists. 1982.

    Based on Richard Adams’ 1977 novel of the same name, The Plague Dogs[1] follows the story of Rowf and Snitter, who escape from an animal research centre after Rowf’s cage is left unlocked, finding themselves in the heart of the Peak District. The dogs hope to find a master, but every human encounter is hostile. Running out…

  • Kung Fu Panda. Dir. John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne. Paramount Pictures. 2008.

    Kung Fu Panda (2008) is a CGI animated family film directed by John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne. Set in a fictional village in ancient China, Shifu the red panda and Kung Fu master is training the Furious Five, a group of particularly skilled fighters, with the hope of one becoming the next ‘Dragon Warrior’: the…

  • 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…

  • Project Nim. Dir. James Marsh. Roadside Attractions. 2011.

    Project Nim, is a biographical documentary that tells the story of Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was subjected to an ambitious language acquisition research-experiment in the 1970s to determine if apes had the ability to communicate with humans. Taken from his screaming, and subsequently   sedated mother only a few days after his birth, Nim was raised…

  • 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…