#(exotic really is a bad and unspecific word in more ways than one)

[stars-scales-and-baseball-caps]

I think more movies should care about animal accuracy. I’ve said this before and it’s DEFintely not the biggest problem in cinema BY FAR asdfghgh

BUT but!! what I mean isn’t to be an anatomy stickler or behavior expert (my own art is nowhere near that), rather I think a lot of people overlook how easy it is to use nature as a “cheat sheet” and what using nature as a cheat sheet can accomplish.

for instance, when every single animal companion acts like a dog, it gets boring. and when an animal companion “over acts” to prove its “animalness,” it gets annoying. animal companions fundamentally can’t be 100% accurate because anthropomorphism and domestic-analogues are necessary for the companion animal to accomplish certain tasks and communicate certain things to the other characters and to the audience, especially if that animal is fantastic or not domestic, but studying an animal’s natural behavior is still a really really easy way to add flavor. And you don’t even have to invent that flavor! It already exists! You’ll seem unique by essentially ripping nature off (/JJJ).

It also has the added benefit of familiarizing the audience with body language (even if, again, that body language isn’t 100% accurate).

I forget the video, but there was a really good analysis of Jurassic Park and how the T-rex acts in the original vs Jurassic World, and how destruction through curiosity is so much more effective at conveying life than destruction for the sake of destruction. AND even moreso, it’s an example of how recognizing the T-rex’s inclination towards playfulness didn’t make the car scene any less threatening— it’s still a dangerous wild animal and should be respected as such.

I might be alone in this, but I also preferred the animal acting in the first How to Train Your Dragon to its sequels. Though it was still demonstrably cat or dog or even bird, the animators had a clear pool of inspirations which focused their vision, making Toothless act in a way that was motivated, consistent, and sympathetic. In the sequels... idk, it’s hard to explain, but I guess it feels like... Toothless wiggles too much?? it might not even be an acting thing and more of a model thing, like when a CGI model has so many HD pores it shoots right past realism and lands in uncanny hyper-realism. Sometimes impressionism feels more real than real, you know? asdfgh

and again I could be TOTALLY alone in this— the point is it just felt like sometimes the animator’s intent was “we can’t risk boring the audience” rather than “Toothless has a motivation to move and vocalize.” If characters are the creator’s tools (not people), then the first intent isn’t by any means wrong, just that when it’s obvious it can impede suspension of disbelief. Idle animations have a more effective purpose in video games than movies because video games have to relent control over timing, and an abrupt stop or “freeze” is hard to pull off. In movies, where timing, cameras, and movement are completely under your control, I’d imagine dragons, like most large predators, would want to conserve at least a little bit of energy.

Regarding extant animals, I think one of the dodgier trends might be sound effects because it’s a problem in movies and documentaries. And like, I totally get it, sometimes it’s awkward watching a scene in complete silence when you expect sound. But some animals only vocalize that much when they’re in distress, and if someone’s only exposure to that animal is in movies where it’s constantly squeaking or grunting, they’re going to be under the impression that that’s normal— because why question it? it’s such an innocuous detail.

so to reiterate, this definitely is not always a big deal. i just think it’s an observation that’s worth thinking about, even if just for fun. The fact that the toucan in Encanto only squawks instead of clicking— a fun and unique behavior —is just a missed opportunity. In contrast, designing highly marketable animals in Netflix’s recent (mediocre) film Back to the Outback undermines its own message. In further contrast, a snake that’s been edited to hiss every single time it yawns in a vet show is just dumb and irresponsible. Subverting those expectations by paradoxically matching reality’s expectations would be so easy.