Milo and Otis

So we had our weekly family night last night and we decided to watch that timeless classic: "Milo and Otis". If you've never seen Milo and Otis, it is a touching story about a dog and a cat that go on an amazing journey and have adventure after adventure. There are some amazing shots with different animals ranging from a young bear cub "wrestling" with them to a scene where Milo actually rides on the back of a sea turtle!

The shots were too amazing in fact; Tiffany and I had to do a little research as to how they could possibly have done some of them. Turns out (as we suspected) that many, many of the animals allegedly died during the creation of the film. Now, if you check the web and wikipedia, you'll find that the American Humane Society investigated the allegations but could find no concrete evidence of this since it was filmed in Japan. That has left the case effectively closed, however, as any normal, logical human, it isn't too hard to infer the filming conditions.
For example, during the scene when a small kitten was thrown approximately 100 feet from a cliff into the ocean below, it's difficult to envision some damage not occurring to the animal. Another clear example is when Milo went over a 40-50 foot waterfall in a small crate; it is difficult to imagine that the director got the take right on the first try. The list goes on and on, and if you have Netflix, you can check it out on their watch instantly. From almost the opening shot, you'll be left with a somewhat sickening feeling as you watch a "heartwarming" story about two animal friends that surely involved many deaths of small animals.
Now, I'm not a particularly squeamish kind of guy and I understand that lots of times animals do die (including humans) during the filmings of movies. That's just life. Statistically, accidents happen. However, Milo and Otis take this to a new level for me. Take a look for yourself if you don't believe me...