Taking the peculiar advantage of the old disaster-movie rule that audiences care more about a single dog more than the fate of people, “Zoo” increases the horrors of the Luftwaffe air raids on Belfast during World War II by centering attention to the animals inside the local zoo. Colin McIvor, the writer and director, turns the real story of a few adults who saved a baby elephant into a family film that will leave children excites yet strikes a cord for parents, leaving them with a lot of explaining to do.
They’ll first have to justify the children’s admirable acts yet their constant disobedience towards elders. Tougher still, the movie is predicated on the issued but seemingly heartless order by the British Public Security Ministry to benignly eliminate, for fear of them escaping during the Belfast blitz of 1941, 33 dangerous exhibits held captive at the Belfast Zoo. While made for the good of the people, such a policy will not sit well with children or animal rights activists on the grounds of decent points of the creatures not asking to be imprisoned in Northern Ireland in the first place. Although deeply wrenching, the execution of these orders is done with far less trauma than other programs such as “the zookeeper’s wife” massacre. Everything in McIvor’s film pales in comparison to the jaw dropping brilliance that was the zookeeper’s wife also based on true events.
It is here where McIvor has taken a lot of creative freedom.
In fact, a zookeeper by the name of Denise Austin previously known as “the elephant angel” decided to take care of the small elephant. After finishing work, she would take the elephant for a walk around the neighborhood for a few blocks and bring it back to her walled private garden to sleep for the night. In the morning, she would return him to the zoo before work. That alone would have been enough for a magnificent film, however, McIvor prefers to have a more adventurous spin to the story, so he decided to focus on a group of brave children and created Tom Hall, a twelve year old, who has a fascination with animals and along with his three friends, goes through a great deal of danger in order to rescue the animal.
Before getting summoned to war, Tom’s father used to be a zoo veterinarian and that’s why during his spare time, Tom hangs out with animals. He even goes to the extent of evading the guards (Toby Jones) to visit the baby elephant he nicknamed Buster. However, boys his age troubled him, as depicted in scenes where he is easily bullied or in some cases, whilst attempting to befriend a caricature of Denise Austin (Penelope Wilton). I mean, look at how bafflingly sad this depiction of Denise is. I’d argue this character is what Austin would be like at the end of her life in frumpy clothes, hunched over, and being a forgotten old maid. Wilton here takes the cake for the world’s most pathetic cat lady. In her den of horrors, as if caring for her actual pet 100 cats isn’t enough, she keeps rabbits in her kitchen and hedgehogs stuffed into the side table. And to top it all off, the stench of feed and feces mixed with overflowing piles of stuffed animals, makes her place uninhabitable.
Portrayed by Parkinson, whose wild brown hair and lively brown eyes resemble that of a character from Dickens, is well crafted for a lead role in Game of Thrones. He is accompanied by Flain, who plays a disheveled classmate, and Ian O’Reilly as ‘Peewee’, a slightly aggressive ex-classmate who has a soft heart for respect. All these characters should be part of a Nickelodeon TV movie. The star of the show, however, is James Stockdale. He takes on the role of Mickey, a teenager with disabilities who does not quite reach the height of three feet, yet possesses incredible wit and charm. At a time when families hid children with special needs, he, alongside his older brother Pete stole the show. While bringing individuals hidden from public view the spot light, he had advocates disguised as a brother. To add a twist to the plot, Pete decides to take Mickey along with him to an adventure where they set out to rescue an elephant while simultaneously displaying how prejudice can be overthrown. Mickey Adding elements of adventure to the restrained nature of the film provides an unexpected turn.
Almost effortlessly switching between trained animals and CG stand-ins, McIvor does a great job juggling the contemporary issues of how nonhuman performers are represented both on set and off including during filming. The film looks best during outdoor scenes. In terms of both history and re-creation, it even manages to focus on the evolution of the actors. The reason behind this is that even when the digital green painting is used to widen the view and show the burning houses that were destroyed by air assaults, it appears as though the amber-lit interiors, which are perfectly illuminated, and stage-bounded set pieces have a more phony feel to them. The air-raid bombardment scene is beautifully orchestrated and may be a little much for younger children, similar to the death of a key character. The scene featuring iconic shots would seem like a right at home in ‘The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp or Atonement.’ The kids should be alright as long as the children’s elephant survives.
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