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The Adventures of Milo & Otis Actors: Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Kyôko Koizumi, Dudley Moore Director: Masanori Hata Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 76 minutes Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03 Buy from Amazon |
 "amazing nature photography"I didn't know what to think before seeing this movie. The opinions were so disparate. Now that I've seen it, I find I agree with both camps. It is a delightful AND troubling film. This is a simple but timeless story of adventure and friendship. Milo the mischievous kitten and Otis the pug puppy are best friends. Otis even pursues his friend when he's carried down the river after jumping into a wooden box. Soon, both of them are lost as well as separated from each other. The adventures they have with other animals are amazing, numerous and varied. They interact with a bear cub, raccoon, fox, seagulls, a turtle, a fawn and many others. The interactions will amaze you -- I couldn't believe a pug was riding on a turtle's back! The footage is incredible, and does make one worry about the animals. While the director has said that the animals were raised together and are friends, and this is believable, it cannot account for the cat being attacked by seagulls and later falling from a very high cliff into the ocean. This troubles me. Dudley Moore's narration is flawless. He captures every voice perfectly. Background music is gentle orchestral pieces. You will be amazed (and maybe a little troubled). Your children will definitely enjoy it, and adults will, too.  "From the animal rights activist & pug fanatic....."This movie has great cinematography but if you own a pug or know anything about them, you know that pugs are not good swimmers. The scene where Otis was in the river with the bear put me on the edge of my seat!! THE POOR THING WENT UNDER LIKE 3 TIMES!!! I wanted to jump through the screen and save him! And when he was on a rock in the middle of the ocean, you could tell he was scared!! I'm not saying there was any abuse per se but animals shouldn't be put in situations where they are scared!! And the poor things look scared in several scenes. "Animals are reliable, most all full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to." ~Alfred A. Montapert  "Disturbing Scenes Cast a Pall Over Otherwise Charming Film"Using different narrators to voice the film around the globe, THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS was an immediate family favorite when it was first released--and even today it remains a charming film, beautifully filmed with an engaging story and characters. Even so, children and adults may well leave the film with very different responses. The story is light and amusing. A mischievous orange cat, Milo, and a stalwart pug dog, Otis, are raised together on a farm and become best buddies. When Milo is swept downriver in a wooden box, Otis quickly follows in attempt to rescue him, and the two experience many adventures as they search for each other and for home. The English-language narration by Dudley Moore is a shade sticky at times, but the animal cast is charming and the visual story telling is remarkable. Children will likely adore it. But MILO AND OTIS was created by Masanori Hata and filmed in Japan, and there can be significant differences between Asian and Western ideas about what constitutes animal abuse. The film is repeatedly marred by scenes in which the lead animal actors are clearly terrified by what is happening--and occasionally in obvious pain as well. While children are not likely to spot this, adults very likely will, and quite possibly to the point of absolute revulsion. Contrary to folklore, cats do not always land on their feet, much less easily survive extremely long falls. It is also worth noting that Pugs are notoriously poor swimmers, and it is hard to imagine how any one could "train" a sea turtle short of harpooning one and pulling it along via block and tackle. Scenes such as these cast a dark pall over an otherwise charming film. Animals are not actors in the sense that they make a career choice, and performing animals must rely on the integrity of their human handlers and trainers for care and safety. For all its great storytelling and memorable cinematography, I cannot recommend a film in which it seems very obvious that the animal performers have been abused in order to achieve cinematic effects. GFT, Amazon Reviewer  "Pug not mistreated"I'm not sure where the reviews are coming from that state the animals are abused. As for the pug and the bear...I own a pug as well and I'm currently reading a book by an author that interviewed the director of Milo & Otis for a Pug magazine. The bear & the pug were raised together, so they were best buddies. "Cute at times, but the abuse to the animals can't be ignored"It's really hard to say anything bad about the movie because of the cute storyline, and the cute action caught on film of the animals, but CUTE doesn't cut it when you realize the animals are being abused. There aren't any special effects here, the animals are mistreated, and it is shocking. I don't recommend this movie to anyone, and the copy I own is going in the trashcan. |