ZooScope

Tag: Rat(s)

  • 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…

  • Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!. Dir. By. Peter Lord. Columbia Pictures. 2012.

    Aardman never shy away from the ludicrous. So when a crew of incompetent pirates endeavour for protagonist The Pirate Captain to win the Pirate of the Year Award by relying on the commercial value of his prized dodo companion Polly (who should have been extinct for 150 years and is believed to be a parrot)…

  • Ferdinand. Dir. Carlos Saldanha. 20th Century Studios. 2017.

    Part of the core ethics depicted within Saldanha’s Ferdinand (2017) is that the exploitation of animals, whether bullfighting or meat production, is unacceptable. However, the opening scene of this film depicts the bulls as having the agency to use their power to choose to fight and vie for the attention of the matador. By representing…

  • A Christmas Carol. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2009.

    ‘Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!’ [1] Guide dogs have been a symbol of…

  • 1922. Dir. Zak Hilditch. Netflix. 2017.

    Zak Hilditch’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s 1922 follows the story of Wilfred James, a corn farmer living in Nebraska, who, alongside the assistance of his teenage son, Henry, conspired to murder his wife, Arlette, after a dispute about selling her recently inherited land to move to the city. The story unravels the consequences of…

  • The Craft. Dir. Andrew Fleming. Columbia Pictures. 1996.

    ‘Big animals steal from little ones’ – Bonnie Harper (Neve Campbell) The Craft (1996) epitomises the intensity of teenage female friendships, and how quickly and violently these bonds can be broken. This kind of teenage sisterhood and its potential for moments of both great beauty and disaster is played out through the use of animals…

  • Rango. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Paramount Pictures. 2011.

    “Rango’s” animated Western storyline is narrated by an owl mariachi band with thick Spanish accents who tell the story of a nameless pet chameleon. The anthropomorphic chameleon sees himself as an exceptionally gifted actor in his terrarium with a wind-up goldfish and a damaged Barbie doll as his characters in his plays. After an accident,…

  • Willard. Dir. Glen Morgan. New Line Cinema. 2003.

    Glen Morgan’s disturbing horror film Willard portrays the life of social misfit Willard Stiles (played by Crispin Glover), and a colony of trained rats who live in the basement of his somewhat derelict mansion. Whilst at first Willard intends to dispose of the rodents, he instead connects with a distinctive white rat whom he names…

  • A Street Cat Named Bob. Dir. Roger Spottiswoode. Sony Pictures Releasing. 2016.

    [1]A Street Cat Named Bob is a 2016 biographical drama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The film is based on an memoir of the same name, which narrates the true story of James Bowen, a British man who struggled with homelessness and heroin addiction, who attributes his recovery to a stray cat he named Bob. According…

  • The Secret of NIMH. Dir. Don Bluth. MGM/UA Entertainment Company. 1982.

    “We can no longer live as rats. We know too much.” The Secret of NIMH is remembered by many as a dark, creepy, and disturbing film, with retrospectives published in recent years referring to it as leaving basically every kid who sees it with a lingering dread. Don Bluth’s directorial debut after leaving the Walt…