The Best Animal themed movies
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Dogged reviews! on September 1, 2013
How and when I fell for movies is not clear to me. Was it in those grainy black and white scenes from Aparajito? In an age when subtitles were yet to be a seen on television, my grand father would translate the dialogues from Bangla. Perhaps this love seeped in when I watched Guide and wished to be one on growing up, unlike my classmates who preferred professions that would involve planes, space shuttles or the guns.
An escape from life, art always offers respite for all the worldly woes. An impression of the past that is now all but gone, breathing slowly to life in a painting or that musical note of a longing or of love, you choose. But it’s there. Like life itself leaving its mark ─ as brief as the purple flush of dawn or eternal as the skies.
Of the myriad themes and genres I have touched, animal movies have always ruled the roost. From the well known to the relatively obscure, this dog has compiled a list of some cinematic gems you might enjoy. I have skipped some popular titles like Marley and Me, March of the Penguins, Cats and Dogs, Free Willy etc. for most of you would have already watched them.
Two Brothers (2004) Genre: Adventure/Family
From one of my favorite director, Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear) Two Brothers follows the perils faced by two tiger cubs on separation (not at the hands of fate but humans) and their eventual dramatic reunion. Lost to circus and sport fights, the two brothers meet as forced enemies’ years later. Watch out for the enthralling finale!
Red (2008) Genre: Drama/Thriller
Punctuated with an incredible performance from Brian Cox, Red tells the story of a veteran recluse seeking retribution for the murder of his best friend ─ a dog named Red. Unlike the run of the mill revenge movies that Hollywood studios often churn out, Red is a study in righteousness. Red shines in its grief, prides in its realism where a crime against an animal is taken as a sorry affair but accepted norm. It is one of those rare dog movies where the title character has the minimum screen time and yet is present throughout in his master’s longing and pursuit for justice. Red is there in the nail scratches on the door, the empty bowls and forbidden dog collar; like a persistent memory inspiring Avery (Brian Cox) on his pursuit for justice against the rogue teenagers who killed his best friend. With a screenplay that merits the Jack Ketchum novel, Red is as raw as life itself.
Highly recommended!
Shiloh (1996) Genre: Drama/Family
Based on the beloved novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Shiloh narrates the story of a boy who befriends a dog he met wandering on the road. The owner of ‘Shiloh’, a hunter mistreats him. This coming of age movie makes us feel the weight of the baton which we must carry for our friends. As late movie critic Roger Ebert aptly said for the movie, “Adults may have the power to take away a kid’s dog and tell him a story about it, but they do not have the right. It isn’t some dumb kiddie picture. It’s about deep emotions, and represents the real world with all of its terrors and responsibilities.”
A Boy and his Dog (1975) Genre: Sci-fi/Black comedy
I might be courting trouble for listing this controversial post-apocalyptic film which bends on societal norms but then what good is a list that doesn’t leaves you with an uneasy feel in your guts. Often ridiculed for its misogynist theme, this movie adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novella in its core is a sci-fi with a love triangle – love or friendship?
Set in 2024 AD, A boy and his dog follows the survival adventures of a boy Vic and his best friend ‘Blood’ with whom he is able to communicate telepathically. Rated R, the stays true to its tagline – A rather kinky tale of survival.
The Cave of the Yellow dog (2005) Genre: Drama
Slow as life itself, this artwork shot in a documentary style asks for patience from the audience. The scenic locales and ethnic Mongol culture shot up close and personal with sheer honesty would make you believe that you are there in the moment, in the wilds and the grasslands. It brings to screen the tale of a little girl who finds a pup. Although the parents are against the idea of adopting the dog, she persists and… (OK, no spoilers here!)
A Dog’s Life (1918) Genre: Comedy
In the thirty-minute short A Dog’s Life, poor and out of luck Charlie Chaplin finds an adorable homeless pooch and together they battle crooks, discover love and ward off their financial troubles. A delighting short movie!
Halo (1997) Genre: Family
Santosh Sivan’s Halo captures the innocence of childhood beautifully. Seven year old Sasha has lost her mother; her yearning for maternal affection keeps her lonely. To keep the little girl upbeat, the house aid fabricates a story that a miracle will happen in the form of a Halo. Coincidentally there comes a street dog and Sasha believes it to be the miracle sent by god. Her entire world begins to revolve around Halo – she talks to him, sleeps with him until the day Halo goes missing. Sasha’s search takes her to the streets of Bombay (okay, Mumbai) and its various occupants. This National Award winner boasts of a climax that is bittersweet. It leaves you with a lump as well as a smile and that my friend is no mean achievement.
Eight Below (2006) Genre: Adventure/Family
In the later half of 1950s, Japanese scientists stationed in Antarctica had to leave an expedition midway on account of harsh storm. Among many things they left behind, there were also some lives – the sled dogs. The amazing true story of the dogs rescue was painted on the celluloid in Japanese cult classic Nankyoku monogatari (1983). Eight Below is Disney’s homage to the same. Eight sled dogs left chained at the research base wait for their master to return in an unforgiving wild and white Antarctic winter. The flights are cancelled until next spring and the subtitles reading the no. of days the dogs have been on their own in the wilderness leave us with a longing to hold these Huskies. Your heart goes out to the guide Jerry (Paul Walker) who in every frame lives this pain. The cinematography is spot on, the long shots capturing the face of the protagonists – the dogs, stay true to their grit and valor.
Duma (2005) Genre: Adventure/Family
Duma brings to screen a believable story of friendship between a boy and well, a cheetah. The team of Xan, the boy and Duma make you believe, in a heart warming way, of somewhat mild mannered Calvin and Hobbes. Unlike what studios of late have relied up on – special effects and eerie story lines, Duma is a breath of fresh air that resonates with the past. Let this gust lead you to the wild like a Rudyard Kipling story.
Tahaan (2008) Genre: Drama
Another winner from Santosh Sivan, Tahaan is perhaps the only movie after Balthazar which shows that resigned aloofness that a donkey has to his fate. The gentle beast of burden often mocked by humans as a reference for dimwits is truly a sage. If only one have the eyes to see.
Tahaan narrates the story of a poor Kashmiri boy whose donkey has been confiscated towards payment of his family’s debts. Trapped between the tensions of India – Pakistan differences, this innocent movie, set it in breathtaking landscape of Kashmir, draws on compassion and friendship that a boy has for his donkey.
My Dog Tulip (2009) Genre: Animation/Drama
An animated movie unlike any, My Dog Tulip is not for the kids. Don’t be alarmed, it is the story of a man who rescues a dog and lives with him for close to 15 years, discovering the only true love that he ever will in his life. Based on the autobiographical novel by J.R. Ackerley, this aesthetically hand-drawn animation with splashes of watercolor depicts sorrow, embarrassment and love of a man who is concerned and convinced about his dog’s needs and loneliness. Very private in its details which often verge on the border of startling, it shows with genuine concern what a popular movie say, Marley and me, would steer away from. A study in canine behavior, Tulip’s needs is voiced with a genuine concern in Christopher Plummer’s narration.
For a more definitive list, please also see War Horse, The Life of Pi, White Dog, Ted, The Artist, Hachiko and My life as a dog
Which is your favorite animal movie?
I will love you…
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Ramblings on August 28, 2013
After a fair decade, I returned to the world of Lemony Snicket. I borrowed Beatrice letters from Fernfly, devouring it to the core. How right was C.S. Lewis when he quoted,” A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story.”, profound!
May you always have a friend across the corner.
“I will love you as a thief loves a gallery and as a crow loves a murder, as a cloud loves bats and as a range loves braes. I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence and as justice loves to sit and watch while everything goes wrong. I will love you as a battlefield loves young men and as peppermints love your allergies, and I will love you as the banana peel loves the shoe of a man who was just struck by a shingle falling off a house. I will love you as a volunteer fire department loves rushing into burning buildings and as burning buildings love to chase them back out, and as a parachute loves to leave a blimp and as a blimp operator loves to chase after it.
I will love you as a dagger loves a certain person’s back, and as a certain person loves to wear dagger proof tunics, and as a dagger proof tunic loves to go to a certain dry cleaning facility, and how a certain employee of a dry cleaning facility loves to stay up late with a pair of binoculars, watching a dagger factory for hours in the hopes of catching a burglar, and as a burglar loves sneaking up behind people with binoculars, suddenly realizing that she has left her dagger at home. I will love you as a drawer loves a secret compartment, and as a secret compartment loves a secret, and as a secret loves to make a person gasp, and as a gasping person loves a glass of brandy to calm their nerves, and as a glass of brandy loves to shatter on the floor, and as the noise of glass shattering loves to make someone else gasp, and as someone else gasping loves a nearby desk to lean against, even if leaning against it presses a lever that loves to open a drawer and reveal a secret compartment. I will love you until all such compartments are discovered and opened, and until all the secrets have gone gasping into the world. I will love you until all the codes and hearts have been broken and until every anagram and egg has been unscrambled.
I will love you until every fire is extinguished and until every home is rebuilt from the handsomest and most susceptible of woods, and until every criminal is handcuffed by the laziest of policemen. I will love until M. hates snakes and J. hates grammar, and I will love you until C. realizes S. is not worthy of his love and N. realizes he is not worthy of the V. I will love you until the bird hates a nest and the worm hates an apple, and until the apple hates a tree and the tree hates a nest, and until a bird hates a tree and an apple hates a nest, although honestly I cannot imagine that last occurrence no matter how hard I try. I will love you as we grow older, which has just happened, and has happened again, and happened several days ago, continuously, and then several years before that, and will continue to happen as the spinning hands of every clock and the flipping pages of every calendar mark the passage of time, except for the clocks that people have forgotten to wind and the calendars that people have forgotten to place in a highly visible area. I will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where we once we were so close that we could slip the curved straw, and the long, slender spoon, between our lips and fingers respectively.
I will love you until the chances of us running into one another slip from slim to zero, and until your face is fogged by distant memory, and your memory faced by distant fog, and your fog memorized by a distant face, and your distance distanced by the memorized memory of a foggy fog. I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, no matter where you avoid and who you don’t see, and no matter who sees you avoiding where you go. I will love you no matter what happens to you, and no matter how I discover what happens to you, and no matter what happens to me as I discover this, and now matter how I am discovered after what happens to me as I am discovering this.”
— Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters
I’m a stray….does that make my life less important?
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Guest posts! on August 13, 2013
In this guest post Amrita Paul questions the indifference the so called ‘pet-owners’ have towards the homeless dogs. Is the pedigree and a collar that necessary for our friend; to have not the privilege of a pet, but at least the equal rights to survive? Being a dog who has seen the roads up,close and personal, I know enough to reason that not everyone who has a dog is a dog lover.
About a month ago, a stray dog in my area had a fight with someone’s pet pit bull. But, before we begin assuming this to be a case of a stray attacking a pet, let me share the full story.
Return of the king: The day ‘Brownie’ returned from the hospital.
My father feeds the homeless dogs in the vicinity late into the night, when the roads are empty and all neighbours are asleep. That night, he had just finished feeding them and was on his way back home, when he saw a boy walking the pit bull and talking on the phone simultaneously. As my father parked his car outside our house, he saw the pit bull get loose from his leash and run towards my house to attack Brownie, the stray dog. As he shouted at the boy to quickly hold the pit bull, the dog just grabbed Brownie on the neck; and that very instant Brownie got hold of his mouth. The boy started hitting Brownie with a big lathi and chain, trying to get him to leave the pit bull’s mouth. My father began shouting at him saying that it is not fair to hit a dog, that too so harshly. The lathi or chain could break Brownie’s back. It was important to control the pit bull first. Some man passing by in his car stopped and explained how to get both the dogs separated, and that is when Brownie ran and sat in front of my house in total shock while the pit bull was taken away. All my father told the pit bull’s owner was that if someone keeps a big dog, then one ought to be careful. Letting a dog loose or talking on the phone while walking cannot be an option.
And all I wondered was – just because Brownie is a stray does not make his life less important or hold him accountable for the fight. The pit bull attacked Brownie first. Brownie is a brave dog. Despite being hit by a lathi and chain, he did not let go of the pit bull because he knew that holding the mouth was the only way to prevent the dog from crushing his neck further. If Brownie had not done that I shudder to think what would have happened that night. No other stray in my area has as much wits or strength to withhold such a fight for survival as Brownie did.
I sometimes wonder what happens in such situations. The pet has his owner to take him home, cuddle him and get him treated. But what happens to the stray dog, who is not only attacked by the pet but also by humans. He is blamed for the fight and then left on the road all by himself in a state of shock, with no one to love him. If not treated, he may fall sick or get maggots and die.
Brownie was at the hospital for almost three and half weeks undergoing treatment. I even heard that though initially aggressive, he slowly became very loving with the staff there. He is out on the road now and happy as ever to get his freedom back. I just want to wish him luck to get his confidence back and stay happy and healthy, always!
Scottish legend of a dog’s loyalty ― Greyfriars Bobby
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Guest posts! on August 10, 2013
Engrained into the Scottish folklore like bagpipes, the story of Greyfriars Bobby is the stuff of legend and has been the subject of Hollywood movies and numerous books, Our Swede friend Virve shares her experience on visiting Bobby’s shrine.
A statue of little Bobby. In the background there’s a glimpse of a restaurant named after him.
When you hear the word “Scotland”, what first comes to your mind? Perhaps stunning views over green hills, hundreds of square miles with beautiful lakes, medieval ruins, or Loch Ness and its mythical “Nessie”? Let’s not forget to mention the melodious sound ringing from bagpipes, playfully lingering around you like the background music in a fabulous movie. These have all been my top associations when reflecting over Scotland, but after visiting Edinburgh in July I found yet another association; something that touched my heart deeper than anything else. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, holds many treasures for the one looking for a destination of profound historical and cultural dimensions. And in the middle of this, being an adorer of the canine world, I discovered a piece of history that moved me in the most delicate way: the story of Greyfriars Bobby.
Legend has it that precious Bobby was the quadruped companion of a night watchman of the Edinburgh City Police, named John Gray. They shared life’s ups and downs for two years in the mid 19th-century, until Bobby’s dear friend tragically died from tuberculosis. What then happened to this loyal dog, you might be wondering? The extraordinary but supposedly true continuation of the story reminds us of the many different expressions of an unconditional love. Mr. Gray was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Despite the efforts of the yard’s keeper and others, Bobby would not be discouraged from guarding the grave of his human. And there he sat; watching over the person he loved the most, every single day – for 14 years.
Bobby was provided with a shelter just near to Mr. Gray’s grave, as many locals were touched by his faithful commitment. Even though the citizens of Edinburgh looked after him, Bobby would not abandon his late companion. It is said that Bobby would leave the tomb only once per day; at one o’clock, when the gun sounded from the prominent Edinburgh Castle. This was the time he would run to a certain eating house, in which he would be served a meal at the gracious hands of the holder of the beanery. Upon finishing it, however, he would return to the spot of his comrade’s rest.
Bobby’s grave. Visitors can leave toys for dogs there, as they will be collected and given to local dog shelters. The spirit of Bobby’s kindness lives on!
The brave Bobby died at the noble age of 16, on January 14th 1872. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, too, approximately 75 yards from Mr. Gray’s grave. He rests under a red granite headstone, adorned with a most suitable inscription that reads:
“Greyfriars Bobby – died 14th January 1872 – aged 16 years. Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all.”
It’s fair to mention that separating fact from legend is always tricky, but whatever the case is, it does not negate the core moral of the legend: that true love is unconditional. It challenges the concept of death, and even conquers it because true love lives on, into eternity.
And the most important lesson of them all: there’s no love like a dog’s love! Be kind to animals – always.
Selected by Blogadda as indian-bloggers-amazing-posts-tuesday-read
Also read, How do you wait for someone who will never return?
The Lady with the Dog
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Paw Prints on August 8, 2013
The lady with the dog. ~Image courtesy Swaroop Rao Lawrence
All that’s grace and poise,
elegance and trance,
I found neither in tapestries
nor tiara
but in a lady with her dog.
Happy Dog (Friendship) Day!
Posted by Abhishek Joshi in Ramblings on August 4, 2013
Our true companions never have less than four feet. ~Featuring Sukhda with Sher Singh.
“The signs of wisdom”, the old man said, “are the realizations that the volume knob also turns left and the fact that best of friends come with a tail and a cold, wet nose”.
If friends are the family you choose…it’s apt that the dogs are called Best friend. It takes time for us to give in to this realization, but eventually when the noise fades out; it’s in woofs that humans find their true companionship. Ridicule me, if you may but human friendships are not evolved enough to see through the day. The complexities in relations are a way beyond our canine sense. The cauldron we keep comes sans stress. Dogs can help you reduce the risk of having a heart attack. Studies have found that patting a dog when you are stressed can lower your heart rate. We keep it simple here, we don’t resort to fancy greeting cards, wrist bands or forwarded SMS to proclaim our friendship but instead we do what matters the most, we live everything that your Hallmark card reads and even more. Hence it’s fitting that I announce this day as the Dog Day.
The best of friends come with a cold, wet nose.
Vanity, you say? Blame it on the company of cats I keep these days 🙂
If you have a best friend, go and pat it. If you don’t, go and save one. Don’t buy.
Happy Friendship Day!
Dog with the blog! 
