So with Dolphin Tale 2 coming out this weekend I thought it would be fitting to bring you my top 10 favorite animal themed films of all-time. So without further ado...
10. The Aristocats
This film is one that I love to sing to every time its on. The film revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress' fortune which was intended to go to them. This is one of my favorite Disney films of all-time. The Aristocats has a rating of 66% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Deep Blue Sea
The movie is cheesy but I just absolutely love it and it has one of the coolest death scenes in film history. Dr. Susan McAlester (played by Saffron Burrows) has been using mako sharks as her test subjects for research on the regeneration of human brain tissues. McAlester has altered the DNA of several sharks, raising them close to the level of human intelligence; the sharks have also become faster and stronger in the process. While these DNA experiments have yielded fascinating results, they're also of questionable ethics and legality, earning her the distrust of several members of her crew, including shark authority Carter Blake (played by Thomas Jane) and cook "Preacher" Dudley (played by LL Cool J). The financial backers of these experiments have also expressed skepticism, so when McAlester is ready to perform some major tests, financier Russell Franklin (played by Samuel L. Jackson) arrives for the occasion. McAlester and her team are delicately extracting brain tissue from one of the altered makos when the animal regains consciousness - and becomes very angry. The shark not only attacks the researchers but also damages the floating lab, leaving the crew aboard a literally sinking ship, with the makos eager to go a few rounds - in an arena that favors sharks. Deep Blue Sea has a rating of 56% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. 101 Dalmatians (1996)
I'm not a big fan of animation to live action transitions but I really enjoyed this one. Roger (played by Jeff Daniels) is a designer of computer games who shares his home with his pet dalmatian, Pongo. One day, Roger takes Pongo for a walk in the park and the dog sets his eyes on a beautiful female dalmatian named Perdy. Perdy likes Pongo as much as he likes her, and thankfully Perdy's mistress, a fashion designer named Anita (played by Joely Richardson), is quite taken with Roger. Romance blooms between the human and canine couples, and Roger and Anita tie the knot (Pongo and Perdy are apparently still living in sin). Anita works for Cruella De Vil (played by Glenn Close), an intense fashion maven whose lust for fur doubtless places her high on PETA's hit list. Inspired by her dogs, Anita finds herself working up a design for a fur coat made with spotted fur, and Cruella leaps on the idea of making garments out of real dalmatians. But where to get the animals? Cruella has two nasty but not especially intelligent henchmen, Jasper (played by Hugh Laurie) and Horace (played by Mark Williams), who've been known to kill the odd endangered species at madame's request. Now they're sent on a mission to round up dalmatians, and when they fall a bit short of their goal, it comes to Cruella's attention that Perdy has just given birth to a litter of 15 pups. 101 Dalmatians has a rating of 38% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. King Kong (1933)
I'm a huge classic movie fan and this is one of great all-time classics. Carl Denham (played by Robert Armstrong) sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow (played by Fay Wray) in tow. Disembarking at Skull Island, they stumble on a ceremony in which the native dancers circle around a terrified-looking young girl, chanting, "Kong! Kong!" The chief (played by Noble Johnson) and witch doctor (played by Steve Clemente) spot Denham and company and order them to leave. But upon seeing Ann, the chief offers to buy the "golden woman" to serve as the "bride of Kong." Denham refuses, and he and the others beat a hasty retreat to their ship. Late that night, a party of native warriors sneak on board the ship and kidnap Ann. They strap her to a huge sacrificial altar just outside the gate, then summon Kong, who winds up saving Ann instead of devouring her. Kong is eventually taken back to New York, where he breaks loose on the night of his Broadway premiere, thinking that his beloved Ann is being hurt by the reporters' flash bulbs. Now at large in New York, Kong searches high and low for Ann (in another long-censored scene, he plucks a woman from her high-rise apartment, then drops her to her death when he realizes she isn't the girl he's looking for). After proving his devotion by wrecking an elevated train, Kong winds up at the top of the Empire State Building, facing off against a fleet of World War I fighter planes. King Kong (1933) has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Old Yeller
This film is an all-time classic and it has one of the saddest if not the saddest movie ending of all-time. While his father is away on a cattle drive, 15-year-old Travis Coates (played by Tommy Kirk) takes over management of the family farm. Adopting a "strictly business" policy, Travis is irritated when younger brother, Arliss ( played by Kevin Corcoran), adopts a frisky stray dog. But soon Travis is as fond of the dog as everyone else in the family; moreover, "Old Yeller" is an excellent watchdog. But while fighting off a mad wolf, Yeller is infected with rabies. Though Yeller seems unaffected at first, he eventually behaves so viciously that the disheartened Travis has no choice but to shoot the dog. A heart-to-heart talk between Travis and his returning father (Fess Parker), coupled with the adoption of a new pup, paves the way to an emotional but reasonably happy ending. Old Yeller has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Dumbo
This has got to be one of my favorite movies as a child as well as one of the saddest films I have ever seen. A young circus elephant is born with comically large ears and given the cruel nickname Dumbo. One day at a show, he is taunted by a group of kids, inciting his mother into a rage that gets her locked up. After Dumbo's ears cause an accident that injures many of the other elephants, he is made to dress like a clown and perform dangerous stunts. Everything changes when Dumbo discovers that his enormous ears actually allow him to fly, and he astounds everyone at the circus with his new talent. Dumbo was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Score and Best Original Song while winning 1 (Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Free Willy
I absolutely loved this film as a kid and it has a pretty cool soundtrack. Jesse (played by Jason James Richter) is a kid without parents who has bounced from one foster home to another and is living on the streets. One night, he's caught spraying graffiti with his friend Perry (played by Michael Bacall) in a theme park. Jesse and Perry are caught red handed by Dwight (played by Mykel T. Williamson), a policeman who thinks that Jesse needs a more stable and disciplined environment. Dwight arranges for Jesse to stay with a new foster family, Glen and Annie Greenwood (played by Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson respectively), with whom Jesse has an initially stormy relationship. Part of Jesse's punishment involves cleaning up the damage he caused at the park, where the new attraction is Willy, a killer whale who is being trained to do tricks. However, Willy was traumatized when he was stolen from his family by mercenary fisherman and does not respond well to the genuine concern of his trainers, Rae (played by Lori Petty) and Randolph (played by August Schellenberg). Jesse and Willy, both stranded without families in a place where they don't fit in, develop a close emotional bond, and with Jesse's help, Willy begins to display aptitude as a performer. Thanks to his friendship with Willy, Jesse develops a new sense of responsibility and a healthier relationship with the Greenwoods. However, Dial (played by Michael Ironside), the owner of the park, doesn't much care for animals and isn't happy with the slower-than-expected progress of Willy's training; having insured the whale for $1 million dollars, he figures that Willy is worth more dead than alive, and Jesse, Rae, and Randolph have to rescue their aquatic friend and return him to the ocean when Dial seems ready to live up to his threats. Free Willy has a rating of 57% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Babe
This is a great family film and it has a lot of heart. Confused and sad, Babe (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is adopted by a friendly dog and slowly adjusts to his new home. Discovering that the fate of most pigs is the dinner table, Babe devotes himself to becoming a useful member of the farm by trying to learn how to herd sheep, despite the skepticism of the other animals and the kindly but conventional Farmer Hoggett (played by James Cromwell). Babe was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing while winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Air Bud
This is just a great film for the whole family to watch. Since his father's death, Josh Framm (played by Kevin Zegers) has become increasingly withdrawn. Even basketball, once his passion, scarcely seems to matter. His worried mom (played by Wendy Makkena) moves the family to a small town near where she grew up, hoping that a fresh start will revive Josh. But he doesn't fit in well at school, and seems worse than ever. Until he finds Buddy, an abandoned golden retriever who can nose a ball into a net better than any dog has a right to. With Buddy at his side, Josh finds the courage to try out for the school team and come out of his shell around other kids. Buddy becomes the team's mascot and inspired by the pooch and their new coach, a former pro named Arthur Chaney (played by Bill Cobbs), they begin winning. But everything comes crashing down when Buddy's owner, a nasty party clown named Norm Snively (played by Michael Jeter), shows up to claim his dog. Air Bud has a rating of 45% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Jaws
This film is fantastic and it is one of the greatest films of all-time.One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie (Susan Backlinie) decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (played Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting ichthyologist Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (played by Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White--especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. Jaws was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound while winning 3 (Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite animal themed films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. The Aristocats
This film is one that I love to sing to every time its on. The film revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress' fortune which was intended to go to them. This is one of my favorite Disney films of all-time. The Aristocats has a rating of 66% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Deep Blue Sea
The movie is cheesy but I just absolutely love it and it has one of the coolest death scenes in film history. Dr. Susan McAlester (played by Saffron Burrows) has been using mako sharks as her test subjects for research on the regeneration of human brain tissues. McAlester has altered the DNA of several sharks, raising them close to the level of human intelligence; the sharks have also become faster and stronger in the process. While these DNA experiments have yielded fascinating results, they're also of questionable ethics and legality, earning her the distrust of several members of her crew, including shark authority Carter Blake (played by Thomas Jane) and cook "Preacher" Dudley (played by LL Cool J). The financial backers of these experiments have also expressed skepticism, so when McAlester is ready to perform some major tests, financier Russell Franklin (played by Samuel L. Jackson) arrives for the occasion. McAlester and her team are delicately extracting brain tissue from one of the altered makos when the animal regains consciousness - and becomes very angry. The shark not only attacks the researchers but also damages the floating lab, leaving the crew aboard a literally sinking ship, with the makos eager to go a few rounds - in an arena that favors sharks. Deep Blue Sea has a rating of 56% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. 101 Dalmatians (1996)
I'm not a big fan of animation to live action transitions but I really enjoyed this one. Roger (played by Jeff Daniels) is a designer of computer games who shares his home with his pet dalmatian, Pongo. One day, Roger takes Pongo for a walk in the park and the dog sets his eyes on a beautiful female dalmatian named Perdy. Perdy likes Pongo as much as he likes her, and thankfully Perdy's mistress, a fashion designer named Anita (played by Joely Richardson), is quite taken with Roger. Romance blooms between the human and canine couples, and Roger and Anita tie the knot (Pongo and Perdy are apparently still living in sin). Anita works for Cruella De Vil (played by Glenn Close), an intense fashion maven whose lust for fur doubtless places her high on PETA's hit list. Inspired by her dogs, Anita finds herself working up a design for a fur coat made with spotted fur, and Cruella leaps on the idea of making garments out of real dalmatians. But where to get the animals? Cruella has two nasty but not especially intelligent henchmen, Jasper (played by Hugh Laurie) and Horace (played by Mark Williams), who've been known to kill the odd endangered species at madame's request. Now they're sent on a mission to round up dalmatians, and when they fall a bit short of their goal, it comes to Cruella's attention that Perdy has just given birth to a litter of 15 pups. 101 Dalmatians has a rating of 38% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. King Kong (1933)
I'm a huge classic movie fan and this is one of great all-time classics. Carl Denham (played by Robert Armstrong) sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow (played by Fay Wray) in tow. Disembarking at Skull Island, they stumble on a ceremony in which the native dancers circle around a terrified-looking young girl, chanting, "Kong! Kong!" The chief (played by Noble Johnson) and witch doctor (played by Steve Clemente) spot Denham and company and order them to leave. But upon seeing Ann, the chief offers to buy the "golden woman" to serve as the "bride of Kong." Denham refuses, and he and the others beat a hasty retreat to their ship. Late that night, a party of native warriors sneak on board the ship and kidnap Ann. They strap her to a huge sacrificial altar just outside the gate, then summon Kong, who winds up saving Ann instead of devouring her. Kong is eventually taken back to New York, where he breaks loose on the night of his Broadway premiere, thinking that his beloved Ann is being hurt by the reporters' flash bulbs. Now at large in New York, Kong searches high and low for Ann (in another long-censored scene, he plucks a woman from her high-rise apartment, then drops her to her death when he realizes she isn't the girl he's looking for). After proving his devotion by wrecking an elevated train, Kong winds up at the top of the Empire State Building, facing off against a fleet of World War I fighter planes. King Kong (1933) has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Old Yeller
This film is an all-time classic and it has one of the saddest if not the saddest movie ending of all-time. While his father is away on a cattle drive, 15-year-old Travis Coates (played by Tommy Kirk) takes over management of the family farm. Adopting a "strictly business" policy, Travis is irritated when younger brother, Arliss ( played by Kevin Corcoran), adopts a frisky stray dog. But soon Travis is as fond of the dog as everyone else in the family; moreover, "Old Yeller" is an excellent watchdog. But while fighting off a mad wolf, Yeller is infected with rabies. Though Yeller seems unaffected at first, he eventually behaves so viciously that the disheartened Travis has no choice but to shoot the dog. A heart-to-heart talk between Travis and his returning father (Fess Parker), coupled with the adoption of a new pup, paves the way to an emotional but reasonably happy ending. Old Yeller has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Dumbo
This has got to be one of my favorite movies as a child as well as one of the saddest films I have ever seen. A young circus elephant is born with comically large ears and given the cruel nickname Dumbo. One day at a show, he is taunted by a group of kids, inciting his mother into a rage that gets her locked up. After Dumbo's ears cause an accident that injures many of the other elephants, he is made to dress like a clown and perform dangerous stunts. Everything changes when Dumbo discovers that his enormous ears actually allow him to fly, and he astounds everyone at the circus with his new talent. Dumbo was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Score and Best Original Song while winning 1 (Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Free Willy
I absolutely loved this film as a kid and it has a pretty cool soundtrack. Jesse (played by Jason James Richter) is a kid without parents who has bounced from one foster home to another and is living on the streets. One night, he's caught spraying graffiti with his friend Perry (played by Michael Bacall) in a theme park. Jesse and Perry are caught red handed by Dwight (played by Mykel T. Williamson), a policeman who thinks that Jesse needs a more stable and disciplined environment. Dwight arranges for Jesse to stay with a new foster family, Glen and Annie Greenwood (played by Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson respectively), with whom Jesse has an initially stormy relationship. Part of Jesse's punishment involves cleaning up the damage he caused at the park, where the new attraction is Willy, a killer whale who is being trained to do tricks. However, Willy was traumatized when he was stolen from his family by mercenary fisherman and does not respond well to the genuine concern of his trainers, Rae (played by Lori Petty) and Randolph (played by August Schellenberg). Jesse and Willy, both stranded without families in a place where they don't fit in, develop a close emotional bond, and with Jesse's help, Willy begins to display aptitude as a performer. Thanks to his friendship with Willy, Jesse develops a new sense of responsibility and a healthier relationship with the Greenwoods. However, Dial (played by Michael Ironside), the owner of the park, doesn't much care for animals and isn't happy with the slower-than-expected progress of Willy's training; having insured the whale for $1 million dollars, he figures that Willy is worth more dead than alive, and Jesse, Rae, and Randolph have to rescue their aquatic friend and return him to the ocean when Dial seems ready to live up to his threats. Free Willy has a rating of 57% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Babe
This is a great family film and it has a lot of heart. Confused and sad, Babe (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is adopted by a friendly dog and slowly adjusts to his new home. Discovering that the fate of most pigs is the dinner table, Babe devotes himself to becoming a useful member of the farm by trying to learn how to herd sheep, despite the skepticism of the other animals and the kindly but conventional Farmer Hoggett (played by James Cromwell). Babe was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing while winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Air Bud
This is just a great film for the whole family to watch. Since his father's death, Josh Framm (played by Kevin Zegers) has become increasingly withdrawn. Even basketball, once his passion, scarcely seems to matter. His worried mom (played by Wendy Makkena) moves the family to a small town near where she grew up, hoping that a fresh start will revive Josh. But he doesn't fit in well at school, and seems worse than ever. Until he finds Buddy, an abandoned golden retriever who can nose a ball into a net better than any dog has a right to. With Buddy at his side, Josh finds the courage to try out for the school team and come out of his shell around other kids. Buddy becomes the team's mascot and inspired by the pooch and their new coach, a former pro named Arthur Chaney (played by Bill Cobbs), they begin winning. But everything comes crashing down when Buddy's owner, a nasty party clown named Norm Snively (played by Michael Jeter), shows up to claim his dog. Air Bud has a rating of 45% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Jaws
This film is fantastic and it is one of the greatest films of all-time.One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie (Susan Backlinie) decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (played Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting ichthyologist Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (played by Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White--especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. Jaws was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound while winning 3 (Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite animal themed films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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