Mubi Monday: Space Dogs (2019)

Here's the blurb for Space Dogs, according to the sources where it is listed online (such as IMDb, MUBI, etc). I'm going to just copy and paste it here because it is the best starting point for giving some idea of the mood of the film, a documentary that considers the use of animals by humans in the quest to make better use of advancing technologies.

"Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being to be sent into space and thus to a certain death. A legend says that she returned to Earth as a ghost and still roams the streets of Moscow alongside her free-drifting descendants."

As you might expect, although I am emphasising it right here and now, this is NOT a documentary that animal lovers will enjoy. I consider myself an animal lover, although I don't have that hard a time when it's fictional harm/death on display, and Space Dogs had a number of scenes that I found uncomfortable to sit through, to say the least.

Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter have opted to give viewers an important perspective on the history of the space race, and the subsequent treatment of animals in the name of science. Animals have been used as pioneers on numerous occasions, and yet nobody can really fully judge how any of those experiences change them. If a chimpanzee is sent into space, and returns unharmed, then how can humans know what thoughts have gone through its mind? Considering the effect that space travel can have on human beings, it's not impossible to think of animals being seriously affected by their time away from their home planet.

As well as trying to ruminate on this kind of thing (perhaps a particular "do sheep dream of electric androids?" kind of sci-fi/sci-fact approach), the documentary shows some stray dogs wandering around Moscow, acting in accordance with their nature and not being treated as anything special by those they wander by. This emphasises the chasm between the mindset of animals and the mindset of people, for the most part, but also serves to remind us that we often bemoan the lack of care given to those who were taken in, and used up, by military forces. Astronauts are travellers, yes, but also akin to soldiers, acting on behalf of their nation to take huge risks as they outdo other nations, heading to an isolated spot upon which they can plant a flag to claim it in the name of whoever sent them on their dangerous mission. They often come back to a warm welcome, and can be ambassadors for their sector. Animals are a different matter though. If they come back at all.

Space Dogs may be about space travel, it may show footage of stray dogs, it may also take a turn in the final reel to discuss turtles, but it's also about all animals, and what we owe them. It's hard to truly calculate what animals have done for us over the centuries, and how we can ever really repay them. But starting to remember their contributions more, and to help any that have been abandoned, would be a good start. A stray dog saw the vastness of space. It's not right that so many of them experience a similar cold emptiness while here on the planet they share with creatures able to provide them with warmth, shelter, and safety.

7/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Ani-MAY-tion: The Boxtrolls (2014)

Another slice of fine stop-motion entertainment from Laika, The Boxtrolls may be their weakest film so far but that doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that I have enjoyed their other films a little bit more. Laika have yet to disappoint me, and the visual beauty and creativity of Kubo And The Two Strings will take some beating as the jewel in their crown.

You won't be surprised to find that The Boxtrolls is a film about creatures called boxtrolls, trolls that live underground and wear boxes as clothing. They are deemed a dangerous menace, ever since they kidnapped and killed a young child, and an exterminator named Archibald Snatcher strikes a deal that will reward him handsomely when they are all gone. Of course, unbeknownst to the locals, the boxtrolls aren't really dangerous. There's a different story behind how they ended up with the child in their midst, but will anyone learn of it before all of the boxtrolls are dealt with?

With the usual level of beautifully detailed animation, Laika once again show that they're up there with the very best studios working in this field today. The world depicted in the movie may be a grubby one, for the most part, but it's rendered in such an eye-pleasing and stylish way that every scene still manages to look gorgeous.

The screenplay by Irena Brignull and Adam Pava, based on the novel "Here Be Monsters!" by Alan Snow, is very good when it comes to the development of the central characters and the main themes that come to the fore. There aren't loads of fun one-liners or verbal gags, it's not that kind of film, but the script carries everything surprisingly effortlessly while the animation layers on the comedy and quirkiness. And praise must be given to those who decided that a large part of the plot should revolve around a love of cheese tastings and the desire that Snatcher has to be sitting in on such an event, despite the reaction he has to cheese.

Isaac Hempstead Wright is the boy raised by the boxtrolls, he does well enough in his role, and Elle Fanning is a young girl who discovers his real identity after initially fearing him, and his troll brethren. Ben Kingsley is superb as Snatcher, the scheming exterminator, whether in his standard guise or in the form of  . . . well, you'll have to wait and see. He is in charge of three characters who are wonderfully voiced by Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, and Tracy Morgan. Last, but not least, you have Jared Harris, the town official who thinks he is doing a good thing by hiring the services of Snatcher. The character played by Harris is also the father of the character played by Fanning, with the latter continually exasperated at the way she is ignored or dismissed by the former.

Directors Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi do a great job at keeping things tonally perfect, helped by the script and the performances of their cast members. This is in line with every other Laika film in that it talks to children without ever talking down to children. Which is how the best animated movies are, and why every Laika movie is worthy of being considered among the best.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.