Menagerie '15: Best Animals in the Movies
Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at 11:00AM 
Personality Assessment. Go...
• Do you feel guilty (like me) about missing White God, Hungary's acclaimed drama about a pack of wild dogs?
• Were you puzzled when Susan Cooper was embarrassed by her crazy cat lady disguise in Spy?
• Would you put on a bee suit to hang with Mr Holmes?
• Would you adopt Paddington after he defiled your toothbrushes?
If you answered yes to any of those questions you might be an animal person or a crazy cat lady like your host Nathaniel. This list (updated from a halfwaymark celebration) is for you!
TOP 15 ANIMALS FROM 2015 MOVIES
after the jump...
15 Cat Stevens in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
I get that this movie is probably making fun of me Greg's dad's love for his cat, Cat Stevens, but I don't care because screen time for cats always improves movies. (Even Black Mass -- what happened to Whitey's mom's cat after she died? This question haunted me in movie). And Me and Earl needed all the help it can get is my point. Injustice: the cat actor playing Cat Stevens is not credited.
14 Cat in Inside Out
Can you believe they saved the best joke for last and didn't spoil it for us in the trailer? Bravo Pixar.
13 "Max" in Max
If there were Oscars for Best Actor in a Non Human Role then dog actor Carlos would have the baitiest role and be all locked up moving towards nominations. Not only does he get to play the standard broad range of dog feelings but he also gets to play post-military service PTSD -- yes, it happens to animals too. How horrible, right? Bonus points for good taste in co-stars: his favorite human is Josh Wiggins one of Hollywood's best teen actors. (He first won attention for the little seen drama Hellion a year ago)
12 "Teddy" in The Danish Girl
Speaking of fine dog actors. God love a terrier. Little Pixie, a girl dog playing a boy dog as suits the cisgendered casting of the trans movie, steals nearly every scene she's in in Tom Hooper's weepy trans drama. The happy terrier provides wonderful levity by being so cuddly and energetic too. She's a true natural but then, maybe there's no acting involved. Says her trainer in the video above:
She's always wanting to lick someone at inappropriate moments.
Hmmm. I mean... Is there really an inappropriate moment to lick Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander?
(Who wouldn't?)
11 Hazel (Brownie) in I'll See You In My Dreams
He sets the tone of sweetly undemanding companionship that affects all of the movies subsequent feelings. Too many feelings at first *sniffle*
10 Rainbow Unicorn in Inside Out
Joy's obsession with this dreamy thespian is contagious. That reaction shot to her crazed fandom? Perfect.
09 Old George (Sparky) in Far From the Madding Crowd
"Though old, he was clever and trustworthy still." Too bad about his irresponsible son!
08 Lucifer in Cinderella
In every iteration of Cinderella I want Lucifer to catch those damn mice. Look at that smooshy furball face. LOOK AT IT! LOVE IT! Cats don't normally respond well to leashes but Lucifer shows proper deference to Diva Blanchett. Injustice Redux: the cat actor playing Lucifer is not credited.
07 "Lucky the Dog" / "Schamus" in Room
"He isn't real. You made him up!" barks Ma (the brilliant Brie Larson) when her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) is working her last nerve. He's real enough to Jack who hangs pictures of Lucky on the wall. At least until we leave "Room" and Jack begins to differentiate between the imaginary and the real. Enter Schamus, the most welcome sight in the Jack's ever expanding world.
06 Blue, Delta, Echo and Charlie in Jurassic World
But especially Blue, the Beta, who is a clever girl. The Velociraptor pack with their alpha trainer (Chris Pratt) are basically Jurassic World's sole new contribution to the franchise, but a successful one.
05 Moujik in Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent's famous companion is often present in actual photos of the designer. Since awards bodies love biopic performances and the pack of canine actors playing Moujik (a long line of Moujik) are perfection, we have to give credit where it's due: And the Best Performance by a Dog Actor Goes To... whichever dog was on set the day they filmed that drug-orgy scene when the designer is nearing rock bottom
04 "Spot" in The Good Dinosaur
American animation has long conditioned us to expect every animal (hell, even every inanimate object) we see onscreen to be anthropomorphized. The current and otherwise ultra conventional Pixar hit The Good Dinosaur makes one supremely clever move - it reverses the equation and caninizes its only major human character. He even gets a dog name and responds accordingly. No feral human has ever been cuter.
03 Dixie in Arabian Nights Vol 2 - The Desolate Ones
We couldn't ignore the Palme Dog winner this year. Though really if we were voting on films which make the greatest use of animals, Miguel Gomes' Arabian Nights trilogy would be #1 since Dixie is hardly its only memorable beast. Still her sad but endearingly adaptable story, passing from owner to owner, inspires the middle movie's greatest moments.
I really hope they don't try to bring the bear from THE REVENANT to awards shows Uggie-style. That won't end well... pic.twitter.com/DJI2VPYdiz
— [kie.ran] (@danblackroyd) December 17, 2015
02 Judy in The Revenant
No movie animal had a crazier 2015 than Judy. She weathered* the endless shoot of Alejandro Gonzalez Inaritu's reportedly agonizing production. During the shoot she lost her children and was forced to give up her gorgeous coat to Leonardo DiCaprio, who already had plenty of pelts to wear. A further tabloid indignity followed as she was falsely accused of raping America's Oscarless Sweetheart. Judy came out on top though getting an Annie nomination, keeping her film in the Academy's VFX race, and becoming a twitter star.
poor baby. waaaah-waaah pic.twitter.com/Skfr5OUJun
— Bear (@RevenantBear) December 25, 2015That's right. You better run bitch pic.twitter.com/KNGW9pUixd
— Bear (@RevenantBear) December 25, 2015* Yes technically she endured the shoot from the warmer climes of computer software but still. EVERYONE SUFFERED FOR THEIR ART ON THIS MOVIE, HAVEN'T YOU HEARD?!?
01 Bing Bong (Animators & Richard Kind) in Inside Out
Riley's hobo-like imaginary cotton-candy friend is part elephant, part cat, and part dolphin but all awesome as Inside Out's most unexpected melancholy pleasure.
Who's your friend who likes to play?
Bing Bong, Bing Bong
His rocket makes you yell "Hooray!"
Bing Bong, Bing Bong
Who's the best in every way, and wants to sing this song to say
Bing Bong, Bing BONG!
Hug your best animal friend a lot this holiday week (or your parent's animal friend) when you have extra time for them!
More Year in Review
Worst of the Year | Fashion | Co-Star Chemistry | Biggest Hits | Music Videos | Oscar Submission Foreign Film Coverage | Most Popular Tweets
Reader Comments (18)
Cool list but it is missing JB from Kingsman :)
In some ways it seems like the message to "Room" was "Everything is okay as long as you get to pet a dog at the end."
Old George and Teddy were definitely scene stealers in their films. Hagen and Marlene from White God are the main omissions (for sight un-seen reasons only as you suggest). But Hagen would definitely give Max a run for his money for a(n imaginary) best dog Oscar. PTSD, torture, love, abandonment, revolutionary leader... And then Marlene gives an amazingly adorable supporting performance. Yay for furry friends!!
catbaskets - I agree, Hagen from White Dog was the best animal actor of the year. That was an amazing performance, even if it weren't given by a human.
I found that overdose scene in Saint Laurent so disturbing. How did they get the dog to do that?
Firstly, Bind Bong is the best.
Secondly, Dave S. try to remember when you were five and ask yourself, back then were there really any truer messages to your mind? Perhaps with an acceptable addendum of "petting a dog and/or having a pizza party" equaling everything being all right. Hell, that message is still quite axiomatic to my mind.
And finally, Bing Bong is the best.
Paddington!! such a cute wittle bear !
Yeah, love the list, but no list of this type is complete without Hagen from White God. He believably serves as the protagonist for the whole film and expresses real, naturalistic emotions without speech or anthropomorphizing. Astounding.
Am I the only person ever who was left unmoved by Bing Bong?
Cute Paddington Bear should be on the list. I defy anyone not to want to cuddle up with one after seeing it.
Melissa McCarthy must have a thing for cats because they make fun of cat ownership in "The Heat" as well.
I would give special cuteness points to the dog that dies in Age of Adeline and the pug in Kingsmen. The cat from The Hunger Games surely warranted a top ten position for being such a reliable costar throughout the series, but also really digging deep in the latest installment playing opposite JLaw's emotional breakdown.
I hate BingBong. Otherwise this pleases me. Yes, I hate BingBong.
I gotta disagree. I don't think the filmmaker was poking fun at Greg's dad or his love for Cat Stevens. I think he loved all his characters, and wanted them all to embrace their eccentricities.
Oh, I'm with Sati. JB from Kingsman is adorable. How could anyone want to shoot that dog? Now I'm crying again because my dog passed away 2 months ago.
Does Monty have any thoughts on this year's screeners?
Maybe you haven't seen it, but... Lolabelle in "Heart of a Dog"!?
Steve G -- sadly Monty has refused to prognosticate this year!
I *hated* WHITE GOD. Any animal lover would be wise to steer clear of it.
White Dog is one of the hardest films I've ever watched. Two of the friends I went with had to leave. That said, the best dog acting in a film ever.
The cat in Black Mass is actually a hint of how Whitey Bulger got caught years later. The neighbors of Bulger always remembered him and his girlfriend were cat lovers and always fed this stray cat outside their apartment. That somewhat got him caught.