ZooScope

Tag: HAR: Spectacle

  • Madagascar. Dir. Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. DreamWorks. 2005.

    Synopsis Opening in Central Park Zoo, Madagascar follows the lives of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippopotamus. The film explores the ideas which these domesticated animals have concerning their captivity and the great unknown ‘wild’. Marty, who longs for freedom and the open space which he believes the…

  • The Prestige. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros.. 2006.

    Synopsis The Prestige (2006) is a film directed by Christopher Nolan and based upon an adaption of Christopher Priest’s 1995 novel. The film is set in twentieth century London and follows the lives of two rival magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and their competing struggle to claim ownership of the most…

  • Finding Nemo. Dir. Andrew Stanton. Disney Pixar. 2003.

    Finding Nemo is a fantastic animated film, directed by Andrew Stanton. It tells the story of an overprotective clownfish, Marlin (Albert Brooks), whose son Nemo (Alexander Gould), is captured by a diver in the Great Barrier Reef and is taken to a dentist’s fish tank in Sydney. Timid Marlin, who usually will not swim more then two…

  • Hidalgo. Dir. Joe Johnston. Disney/Touchstone Pictures. 2004.

    Hidalgo (2004), directed by Joe Johnston is a Disney production bringing to life the adventures of America’s most controversial endurance rider; Frank T. Hopkins. His story was discovered and then written for the big screen by John Fusco, a strong advocate for the veritable nature of his incredibly controversial legend. A whole website has been…

  • 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…

  • Life of Pi. Dir. Ang Lee. 20th-Century Fox. 2011.

    Ang Lees’s Life of Pi is a shipwreck film that depicts the epic journey of the main character Piscine ‘Pi’ Molitor Patel, whilst addressing many issues along the way such as those of personal loss, racism, survival and many more. Lee is able to achieve this level of depth in his novel chiefly by using the potential…

  • 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…

  • The Ghost and the Darkness. Dir. Stephen Hopkins. Constellation Entertainment. 1996.

    Film Poster for The Ghost and the Darkness URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Ghostandthedarkness.jpg This film is a retelling of The Man-Eaters of Tsavo – the published journal of John Henry Patterson. He was an Irish engineer and soldier (played by Val Kilmer), who is sent to Africa to help build the British railway from Mombasa to Uganda (572…