From Issue 20, January 2005:

Animal Adventures

by Angeli MacFarlane

(Complete Article: From time to time we will publish full articles on our website, particularly when connected to an event, promotion or scheme.)

When a child is unable to communicate with their family or has no family to turn to, the object of their affections may well become an animal. This tradition of bonding child and beast as a coming of age tale, especially for the dysfunctional child, has its origins in children’s literature and many of the classic children’s animal adventure movies are literary adaptations.

It doesn’t take a huge, imaginative leap to recognise the value in exploring the bond between a child or young adult and an animal that is often defenceless and under threat from cruel adults. The child automatically identifies with the animal and because the relationship that develops with the creature has clear rules, boundaries and a basis of trust implicit in such primordial bonds, the child is able to open up and be themselves in a way they cannot with humans. Furthermore, such a bond will usually allow the child to show their innate heroism, their ability to save the animal and in so doing, save themselves.

The child of the animal adventure film is usually damaged at a profound level, wounded by adult neglect, abandoned or suffering from being misunderstood. An extreme example of such a child is Billy in Kes (Ken Loach 1969) which was based on Barry Hines’ book A Kestrel for a Knave. Billy is abused by his elder brother, there is no father and the mother is too hassled to care. The tragic ending is perhaps the reason Kes is not considered a children’s film, although its searing portrayal of adolescence and adult cruelty would undoubtedly be appreciated by youngsters today. Whilst the influence of Kes cannot be underestimated, few films have followed in its tragic footsteps but have preferred to use the bond between youth and animal to create redeeming and uplifting scenarios.

The background to the animal adventure tale is usually some kind of loss or disruption with the main character usually being a young male. Horse films, however, often feature a young girl on the cusp of adolescence as in National Velvet and Black Beauty. The boy will probably have been orphaned or uprooted from his home to a new environment. The timing of this break with the past is significant as the boy is about to become an adolescent, with the coinciding external, internal and physical changes producing an explosive period in his life.

The bond with the animal that ensues represents many things: a cry for help, the replacement of the absent parent, the need for friendship and, in some circumstances, the outlet for misguided or untapped talent. This set up perfectly matches the opening of Free Willy (Simon Wincer 1993) which recounts how a young street child is fostered by a caring, childless couple. His petty act of vandalism forces him to help out at the local sea adventure marina where he befriends a whale. The whale is the mirror of Jesse, the young boy, in that he too has been uprooted and is orphaned. The whale is angry and won’t perform for his owners and it is only Jesse who is able eventually to persuade Willy to learn the tricks necessary so that he can earn his keep at the marina.

The fact that Willy is only able to ‘perform’ for Jesse is key: their mutual understanding, the innocence of their rapport and the purity of intention paint a picture of friendship at its best and this is the heart of animal adventure films: the pursuit of the perfect friendship. When a young person is on the point of leaving childhood and fears having to create the kind of relationships that adults make out of choice, rather than those thrust upon them by family or school, this animal/child friendship is their last moment of purity, a virginal affair if you like before sex rears its ugly head and interferes in their future bonds.

The orphaned child is one extreme but the child who has been uprooted is also appropriate for this genre. In Lassie (Daniel Petrie1994) the young lad Matthew is brought to the countryside by his parents when his father inherits a farm. This move at such a crucial time in Matthew’s life is only redeemed by the presence of Lassie who seems to understand him in a way none of his ‘alien’ family can. This distancing from family members at the onset of adolescence is familiar to us all.  Here it is exaggerated in order to explore fully the achingly painful sense of being at odds with the world and the feeling that everyone else, apart from people exactly one’s own age, are losers or idiots or morons or evil or whatever adjective suits.

Lassie, of course, is none of these things; he is like an ideal parent in that he’s forgiving, knowing, understanding and with a seeming sixth sense. Lassie is unique in our cultural understanding of this bond between man and dog because he is so extraordinarily sensitive and even seems to know how to heal rifts between people. As a writer, it is important to recognise that Lassie represents the perfect adult who really can help a young man grow up, something for which most mature adults realise they will never gain recognition from the teenager.

So the disaffected young person finds in their animal friend a non-judgemental, loyal partner with whom they feel they can be themselves. We realise that the child on the cusp of adulthood is obsessed with themselves and so such a relationship seems ideal in the circumstances. However, we are asked to put our cynical selves away and realise that the children who feature in these films are inward-facing because of the extreme difficulties they must confront and they simply don’t have the ability or support to get through one of life’s worst periods. The child is able to begin to express his feelings – tears are not uncommon from seemingly hardened kids – and after the emotional release comes the realisation in the child that he can actually do something with his life. Any such achievement then brings a sense of self-worth.

Before the child can attain any pleasure beyond the early joys of bonding with their animal friend, there is an important stage to go through. The relationship with the animal will become public. The heartbreaking glimmer of hope that lights up Billy’s life in Kes is when he tells his whole class about Kes and the teacher, Mr Farthing, takes an interest in Billy’s newly acquired falconry skills.

The secret relationship between Jess and Willy in Free Willy is discovered by the marina workers who encourage Jess to prepare Willy for the show. They - and we - know, of course, that Willy’s safety is in jeopardy if he doesn’t perform. When the child’s relationship becomes public, the elements of good are swiftly followed by elements of bad because this ‘public unveiling’ of the important relationship arouses jealousy, greed and the desire for commercial gain in damaged, selfish and brutish adults.

The classic arc of the love story is reached at this point in the journey of the child and animal: their love is in jeopardy and indeed Willy’s life is endangered when the avaricious owners burst his tank to collect the insurance on him.

In Lassie, Matthew must save his father’s sheep from the greedy next-door neighbour, an act which endangers his own life. He is saved by Lassie who then nearly drowns. This final act of undying, uncompromising and totally committed love is also a regular feature in this Rites of Passage story type.

As the journey reaches its crescendo, the child is forced to fight for the animal’s life, thus endangering his own. In doing so, he must confront the concept and the reality of bad adults whom he then has to defeat. In this lies the ultimate triumph: the child will save his friend, redeem himself and defeat the representative of evil in this world, and all before he turns thirteen. This exciting genre can therefore convey a great message of hope for us all; the secretive, silent and misunderstood child will triumph and receive just reward for overcoming the horrors that he endures as he enters adolescence.

The animal-as-human who is able to unearth heroic feelings in a seemingly compromised protagonist is also explored in films that barely feature humans at all. Such films, which give animals human personalities and voices, are less frequently made but enormously successful when done well. This is normally the preserve of animated films, and such timeless classics as 101 Dalmations (the original Disney version) and the more recent Brother Bear bear testament to our insatiable desire to see the troubles of the human world acted out through the more black and white form of animal relationships.

There are also the uniquely wonderful live action films like Babe and Homeward Bound, which explore the triumph in the face of adversity storyline. Babe (Chris Noonan 1995 and based on a Dick King Smith book) was considered an innovative triumph and its old-fashioned quality ironically keeps it fresh. The eponymous Babe is an orphaned pig – again we have the hero in search of his place in the world – which is brought up by a sheepdog and thinks he can round up sheep. His conflict with the outside world is revealed in stages as other animals ridicule him, particularly the sheep.

He is forced to confront the head of the sheepdogs, Rex, who feels his power will be usurped by Babe and is angry at the ridicule he believes will be heaped upon the dogs if they allow Babe to round up sheep. This paternalistic, possibly even racist, viewpoint of Babe’s first serious antagonist brings gravitas to the story and reminds us that Babe’s adventure is merely a mirror of our own human dilemmas. Interestingly, when Rex is defeated, he has what can only be described as a doggy nervous breakdown, a modern interpretation of the crisis of the emasculated dog.

The antagonism continues to grow until it encompasses the farmer and his wife and soon the whole world seems to be laughing at Babe, which makes his ultimate triumph so much the sweeter. The message about being true to yourself is more important here than in other animal adventure films; this is less about growing up per se and more about the ultimate challenge to prove one’s identity.

Another strong feature of animal adventure films that predominantly feature animals is the strong sense of community that is portrayed. It would seem easier to use animals collectively to act as a microcosm of society and the animals on the farm in Babe represent many facets of human beings and their social behaviour. The collective adventure of animals is explored in Homeward Bound where animals fill human shoes and their journey distils and intensifies a journey that you or I might take.

Aside from many animal adventure films being based on children’s literature, all of the films above (with the exception of Kes) have been made and remade, often a remarkable number of times. There are many versions of Lassie, Homeward Bound, Beethoven, 101 Dalmations, and a few of Free Willy and Babe, which shows the enduring popularity of films that feature man’s relationship with animals.

A surprising number of such films feature children with absent fathers, an ever-increasing reality for today’s children. Bad relationships with parents and carers are hardly unusual at the onset of teenagerhood, but it is particularly poignant to explore how troubled youths can be rescued by the love of an animal. The child finally feels he has someone with whom he can share a part of himself, but he must also respect the animal for his own habits and needs, thus imbuing in the child a sense of responsibility and commitment previously lacking.

The nature of adults in these films reflects another concern: how to combat cruelty and evil when you are weak and vulnerable.  For humans to accept their place in the world without constantly wishing to control and therefore destroying everything potentially out of their control, the animal adventure offers a sweet and satisfying counterpoint to the distasteful truth of what we humans have become.

Angeli Macfarlane has worked as development executive and executive on films developed with first-time writers and directors for First Film Foundation, FilmFour and Pathe. She is now script consultant for several companies and regional funding bodies.