Movie Thoughts: Animal Farm (1954)

• Released: December 29, 1954
• Directed by: Joy Batchelor, John Halas
• Running time: 1h 12min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

After having had enough of their old owner mistreating them, the animals of a farm rebel against him and establish the farm as their own. However, the pigs slowly take control and start to act more and more like the previous farmer.

Movie Thoughts: Jungle Emperor Leo (1997)

• Released: August 1, 1997
• Directed by: Yoshio Takeuchi
• Running time: 1h 39min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

When Leo's son Lune is separated from his family, he'll have to find a way home. Meanwhile, Leo is trying to protect his home from greedy people who want to destroy and profit off of the nature.

Movie Thoughts: Air Bud (1997)

• Released: August 1st, 1997
• Directed by: Charles Martin Smith
• Running time: 1h 38min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

A boy befriends a stray dog named Buddy, who can play basketball. Together they compete in a tournament in hopes of winning.

Movie Thoughts: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

• Released: April 16th, 1988
• Directed by: Isao Takahata
• Running time: 1 h 28 min
• Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

A boy named Seita and his little sister Setsuko try to survive alone in World War II era Japan.

Movie Thoughts: White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)

• Released: April 15, 1994
  
• Directed by: Ken Olin
• Running time: 1h 46min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

White Fang and his owner Henry Casey help a Native American tribe to survive as colonizers are trying to take their land and food.

Movie Thoughts: Toy Story (1995)

• Released: November 19, 1995
  
• Directed by: John Lasseter
  
• Running time: 1 h 21 min
• Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis

A boy's favorite toy cowboy feels replaced by the new spaceman toy in the room. The two end up separated from their kid and now have to sort out their differences to find a way to get back home.

Movie Thoughts: Dromen met Open Ogen (1992)

• Released: June 17, 1992
  
• Directed by: Nathalie Toisuta
• Running time: 26 min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

A documentary dedicated to the making of the Droomvlucht darkride at the theme park the Efteling in the Netherlands.

Movie Thoughts: Jungle Cat (1960)

• Released: April 1, 2022
• Directed by: James Algar
• Running time: 1h 9min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

A documentary about jaguars and the other animals of the Amazon.

Movie Thoughts: Benji the Hunted (1987)

 

• Released: June 4, 1987
  
• Directed by: Joe Camp
  
• Running time: 1 h 28 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

Benji winds up lost and alone in the wilderness. Now having to survive on his own, he becomes the guardian of four orphaned catamount cubs. Taking his new role as their protector seriously, he does whatever he can to keep them safe and get them to a different mountain lion parent who can take them in.

Movie Thoughts: Benji (1974)

 

• Released: May 31, 1974
  
• Directed by: Joe Camp
  
• Running time: 1 h 26 min
• Rating 2.5/5

Synopsis

A beloved stray dog has to find a way to rescue the two children who want to adopt him when they get held hostage by criminals.

Movie Thoughts: Watership Down (1978)

• Released: October 14,1978
• Directed by: Martin Rosen, John Hubley
• Running time: 1 h 31 min
• Rating 2.5/5

Synopsis

A group of rabbits tries to establish their own warren, something which proves more difficult than they could've thought as they end up at war with another group called Efrafa.

Movie Thoughts: Nikki: Wild Dog of the North (1961)

 

• Released: July 12, 1961
  
• Directed by: Jack Couffer, Don Haldane
• Running time: 1 h 14 min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

A Malamute puppy winds up alone in the wild with nobody but a bear cub to keep him company. As they grow up together, the dog, named Nikki, hears the call of the wild. But when he once again comes into contact with humans, he has to decide where his heart lies: with being a pet or being a wild animal.

Movie Thoughts: Real Genius (1985)

• Released: August 7, 1985
  
• Directed by: Martha Coolidge
• Running time: 1 h 48 min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

A teenage prodigy and an almost-college dropout are set to work on a project, which turns out to secretly be a weapon for the American government.

Movie Thoughts: Christian: The Lion at World's End (1971)

• Released: 1971
  
• Directed by: Bill Travers
  
• Running time: 1 h 29 min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

A documentary about Christian, a lion cub raised in a furniture store in London. It documents the process of trying to re-introduce him into the wild.

Movie Thoughts: Born Free (1966)

• Released: June 22, 1966
  
• Directed by: James Hill, Tom McGowan 
• Running time: 1 h 35 min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

Based on a true story, this movie tells the tale of Elsa, a young lion cub who is taken in by a husband and wife and eventually successfully re-introduced into the wild, where she would go on to have a pride of her own.

Movie Thoughts: The Dog of Flanders (1997)

• Released: 15 March 1997
  
• Directed by: Yoshio Kuroda 
  
• Running time: 1 h 33 min
• Rating 4.5/5

Synopsis

A poor boy named Nello in 19th century Belgium dreams of becoming an artist. He must find a way to earn a living after his grandfather falls ill.

Movie Thoughts: The NeverEnding Story (1984)

• Released: 20 July 1984
• Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
• Running time: 1 h 42 min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

A boy reads a magical book about a fantastical world that needs saving, and ends up being involved in rescuing the realm himself.

Movie Thoughts: Never Cry Wolf (1983)

• Released: 1 September 1983
• Directed by: Carroll Ballard
• Running time: 1 h 45 min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

In the time where wolves were still widely demonized and feared by many, a lone researcher is dropped off in the northern Canadian wilderness to study a pack of Arctic wolves for months.

Movie Thoughts: White Fang (1991)

• Released: 1991
• Directed by: N/A
• Running time: 50 min
• Rating 1.5/5

Synopsis

A wolf-dog hybrid is raised by various owners and learns what it means to be loved by a master.

Movie Thoughts: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

• Released: 22 November 1991
• Directed by: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
• Running time: 1 h 24 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

A young woman is imprisoned by a beast who must learn to love, all the while being pursued by a man who desires to marry her no matter the cost.