The Adventures of Milo and Otis

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Ignoring Scenes of Animal Distress = Enjoyable, Cute Movie, 2010-03-01
I would like to give this film more stars, as there are myriad adorable scenes in the film that brought a smile to my face. My husband and I enjoyed many aspects of the film to begin with, but as the film unfolded, we became increasingly disturbed by multiple scenes and "enactments" which we personally would not dream of subjecting our own cat or dog to, for ANY reason, animal handler involvement or no. Speaking as casual movie viewers, we couldn't help but speculate that much of what was filmed (in Europe or Japan?) in 1986, could not and would not be considered acceptable and/or legal in the film industry today. Theoretically speaking, other viewers and fans of the movie (perhaps within the context of their trusting the animal trainers/handlers) might feel perfectly loving putting their own pets through scenes that frankly disturbed us and occasionally horrified us. To each his/her own. br / br / br /Here's my "pros and cons" list on this film: br / br /Pros: br / br /- General animal charm and "cuteness" caught on film, at times combined with cinematic natural beauty br /- Scenes with the cat and dog playing together, other assorted playful scenes with animals br /- Scenes with the cat and dog cuddling/napping together, and cute scenes of the cat cuddling/napping with the following animals: a baby deer, a piglet, a family of pigs, and a cow. br /- Scene with a fox and pug playing together br /- Myriad scenes I enjoyed that appeared to me to be harmless and un-distressing to the animals being filmed br / br / br / br /Cons: br / br /- Sending a cat down a river in a box, through rapids, and down a waterfall. br /- Throwing a cat over a cliff into the ocean. br /- Placing a tiny pug and a young black bear in the water together to "enact" a fight scene. br /- Allowing a cat on a cliff to be attacked by a flock of seagulls br /- Stranding a distressed pug on a tiny rock in the ocean, surrounded by rising tide br /- Placing a cat in a tree with a snake br /- Placing a frightened cat in a tree with a black bear br /- Obviously the crab biting the cat's face hurt, no doubt, but personally, I think it paled next to some of the above scenes. br /- There were other smaller scenes that generally made me wince in empathy for the animal "actors". br / br / br / br /In conclusion, if you don't like the sound of the "cons" section above, I'd recommend checking out a film like "Babe", it's a delight, and I don't recall ever feeling disturbed or questioning the animals treatment by handlers while viewing it. I haven't seen "Homeward Bound" so I can't recommend it, although I've noticed it being mentioned by folks that found "Milo and Otis" objectionable. br / br /I do find it interesting how polarized and heated the comments are surrounding this movie, as well as the "was this review helpful or not" votes. There is clearly a heated war amongst viewers as to whether the filming process was distressful or cruel to the animal "actors".

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

It IS Cruel !, 2009-12-10
I bought this movie for my little one because I loved it as a child. However upon watching it again as an adult I can totally tell that it is cruel to animals.I then did some research and sure enough its very controversial. br / br /They do a number of cruel things to the creatures in here. br /I began to notice something was wrong when they sent the cat down river in a box,which includes it going over a falls(with a real cat in the box !!). br /That cat is unhappy and frightened,you can tell by the tone of his meows,and its a real cat w/a real voice .... br / br /When will we stop enjoying being "entertained" by the idea of animals in pain? The cruelty br /handed out to animals in this film,all for our entertainment reminds me of the movie King Cong,another movie where we sit and enjoy being entertained for an hour or so by viewing an animal that is unhappy.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Animal cruelty ??!!, 2009-12-04
Watch the movie and then please tell me that these animals weren't abused... br /If you are an "animal lover " then do not promote buying this film.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Animal cruelty, 2009-11-29
I can't understand how anyone would support or write a glowing review about a movie in which animals were certain injured and/or killed during filming. Atrocious. Go with Homeward Bound instead -- do not buy this film.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Animal Cruelty at it's WORST, 2009-11-28
There are rumors about this movie saying 20 cats were killed and a cat's paw was broken to make it limp in a scene. I don't know if those rumors are true or not. What I DO know is that animals were tortured to make this movie. br / br /1. In order for Otis to rescue Milo from a bear, the film makers put the little dog and a bear cub together and filmed whatever would happen. The cub seemed to want to play with the dog. It would take it's large paws and swat at it, knocking the dog around like it was a stuffed animal. Keep in mind, even though it was a bear cub, it could break the dog's back like it was a twig. The bear may not have been mean, but the whole scene was an accident waiting to happen. It is incredibly irresponsible to put a little dog in this situation. And the dog was NOT enjoying it. If you watch his body language, he was scared to death and fighting for his life. br / br /2. A cat is put in a box and sent down a river. If you watch the movie, there are several moments when the box looks like it will come to shore and the cat would be able to jump out. But that's when they cut the tape and push the cat back out so that it can plummet down a waterfall. In the footage they show, the cat survived. But...that's in the footage that made it in the movie. I would hate to see the outtakes. br / br /3. They put the cat in a tree with a snake. Maybe the snake wasn't poisonous. Maybe the snake wouldn't bite the cat. But the cat clearly did not know this and it was scared to death. I do not agree that any animal should be put in a state of fear for the sake of making a movie. If an animal is used for a movie, any "acting" it does should be something the animal enjoys doing. br / br /4. They throw the cat down a deep hole. br / br /5. They throw the cat off a cliff into water below near large rocks with big waves crashed on them. First of all, anybody that throws a cat off anything should be arrested and locked away. There is absolutely NO excuse for this. Second, the person that threw the cat into the water could easily have missed and the cat could have landed on the rocks. Third, even after the cat survives the fall, it panics and tries to climb back up the cliff, only to fall back into the water and have a giant wave crash onto it, slamming it into the rocks. This is ALL ON FILM! It is NOT a rumor. They even narrated for it! After the cat falls again the narrator goes "Oops! Try try again!" in a cute way as if this cruel display was in any way cute. br / br /6. They put the cat in a tree and send the bear cub up after it. Very similar to the scene with the snake. The cat is scared to death. br / br /There's also a scene where they stick the cat in a smokestack. The cat pokes his head out and he's practically blinded by the smoke and ash. I can only imagine what went into his lungs. br / br /I really can't believe all the positive reviews for this movie. I can only hope that the defenders of this trash do not have pets.