Tag: Shark(s)

  • Seaspiracy. Dir. Ali Tabrizi. Netflix. 2021.

    Seaspiracy. Dir. Ali Tabrizi. Netflix. 2021.

    ‘Seaspiracy: A shocking Indictment of the commercial fishing industry.’ The Independent, March 2021 Seaspiracy is a Netflix Original documentary following filmmaker Ali Tabrizi as he examines the methods of the worldwide commercial sea fishing industry. Through uncovering corrupt and damaging practices, from dolphin slaughter to species endangerment, the environmental impact of human activities in our…

  • 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)…

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

    The Craft is a 1996 supernatural teen horror film, in which animals feature heavily as a representation of the otherness felt by four teenage girls who possess extraordinary powers. The film presents witchcraft and magic as something that is inextricable from nature and animals, in line with Neo-Pagan traditions. This scene is particularly striking, as…

  • Toy Story. Dir. John Lasseter. Pixar. 1995.

    ‘You’ve got a friend in me’ is the catchphrase of Pixar’s first computer-generated feature-length film, Toy Story (1995), and this perfectly captures the relationships within the film; including those between the group of toys the plot centres around. The film follows the lives of these toys, in which the mix of human and animal characters come to…

  • James and the Giant Peach. Dir. Henry Selick. Buena Vista Pictures. 1996.

    Overcoming Stereotypes and Nightmares: How You can Find Help from the Smallest of Friends Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach focuses on a boy named James Trotter. James is first introduced with his parents, dreaming of one day heading over to New York City from England. But tragedy strikes when…

  • Shrek 2. Dir. Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon. DreamWorks. 2004.

    The second film in the Shrek franchise, Shrek 2 focuses on a pair of ogres, Shrek and Fiona, and their life as newlyweds: it’s time to meet the in-laws. Fiona’s human parents, King Harold and Queen Lilian, are unpleasantly surprised by the fact their daughter and her husband are ogres, and their marriage has a few magical…

  • The Little Mermaid. Dir. John Musker and Ron Clements. Buena Vista Pictures. 1989.

    Ariel, a headstrong 16-year-old mermaid, has dreams of living as a human on land, despite her father, King Triton’s, constant reprimands regarding her desire for human/animal (mermaid) interaction. With the help of her friends, Flounder (a loyal, although cowardly, tropical fish), Sebastian (a red Jamaican crab and servant of Triton), and Scuttle (a foolish seagull…

  • In the Heart of the Sea. Dir. Ron Howard. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2015.

    Ron Howard´s In the Heart of the Sea (2015), based on Nathaniel Philbrick´s book (2000) of the same name, illustrates the sinking of the whaling ship Essex in 1820 and the crew´s struggle for survival. It is framed by a conversation between Herman Melville, who wanted to gather information to write a novel, and Thomas Nickerson, who himself served on the Essex as…

  • The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Dir. Wes Anderson. Touchstone Pictures. 2004.

    Animal Misunderstanding and Mystery in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou In The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (dir. Wes Anderson, 2004) Zissou, the famous oceanographer, tackles familial issues while on board his ship The Belfonte. When Ned Plimpton, a man claiming to be his son, comes on board, Zissou’s marriage begins to…

  • Jaws. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Studios. 1975.

    Jaws, Spielberg’s second major film[1] , released in 1975 is widely recognised as an important piece of cinema, with one of the most memorable and suspense building soundtracks of all time. Despite the creepy and more blood thirsty elements of the film there are also moments of humour, as comedy plays quite a large role in…