Animal Oscars

Not all the stars shining on the silver screen are human. There are also many big stars in the animal kingdom who are smart, brave, or funny. Some animals are content to serve as foils for humans, while others are well-deserved protagonists - while humans have become walk-ons...

MGM's Leo the Lion was one of the first animal stars to appear on the screen. . Leo was a lion cub discovered by animal trainer Volney Pfeiffer in Port Sudan, Africa. When Samuel Goldwyn saw Leo, who grew up to be handsome and handsome, he immediately chose it as the company's trademark image. After a whopping 1,927 takes, the image of Leo roaring became a registered trademark of all MGM films.

Lacy is perhaps one of the most enduring celebrity dogs. The movie "Lacy the Dog" was released in 1943. This shepherd dog who is as smart as humans has a legendary adventure. Following the film's success, Lacey's story spawned seven more films, a radio drama and a long-running television series. Interestingly, although the character of Lacey is a female dog, they are all played by male dogs. One reason for this is because during the molt period, a male dog's fur is thicker and fuller than a female dog's.

Among the animal stars, Keko, a 13-year-old killer whale weighing 7,000 pounds, starred in the film "The Great Whale" (1993). This Hollywood blockbuster tells the story of a rebellious caged performing whale who befriends a young boy and is encouraged by him to cross a sea wall in pursuit of freedom. The shooting of the whale scene was done by the real whale Kaiko and the simulated mechanical whale ***. The latter are large and small, and the effect is very realistic. In 1998, after spending most of his life in a man-made tank, killer whale Keko was finally released into his native waters off the coast of Iceland, just like the character he played. But sadly, Keko died of pneumonia in 2003.

In the Australian film "Bobby Piggy", almost all actors are animals. It tells the story of a little pig who wants to become a sheepdog and herd sheep. To make Bobby the Pig and his farm pals more alive, computer-generated mouths were superimposed on them. In fact, advanced technology has given animal films a whole new look. The animals' movements can be manipulated frame by frame in post-production so that even their teeth, lips and tongues appear to move freely!

Maybe one day animals will win Oscars.