When I saw this film, there were two guide dogs sitting next to their owners, and I must admit I had my doubts about how well-behaved they would be. After the movie, without a sound from the dogs, I had a much greater respect for the dogs, or any dogs for that matter.
Eight Below came at me with low expectations. Too many of Disney's movies have used animals as an excuse to be cute and cuddly, focusing on the humans more than the dogs. Though Eight Below may look like such a movie (Snow Dogs) at first, there is more than meets the eye. Paul Walker makes a much more convincing dog-sledding protagonist than Cuba Gooding Jr. did, mainly because he is not the most dominating presence on the screen. That honor goes to the dogs.
The dogs are left in Antarctica when a storm threatens the well-being of the sick and needy. Their names are Max, Truman, Dewey, Maya, Old Jack, Shorty, Buck, and Shadow. After watching the movie I knew each one's name by memory and cared for each of the dogs' fates. They all seem to have a personality and a role in their predicament, which flows nicely from time to time. The more touching scenes with the dogs, which extend sometimes for fifteen minutes with no dialog, are truly touching; there is even a power struggle for dominance between Maya and Max. (Human qualities? In dogs? Sounds goofy, but it works.)
The editing is little less than exceptional in the sequences with dogs. All shots, which obviously required multiple takes, flow seamlessly and continuously from dog to dog while giving them a broad range of emotions that is not cheapened by Homeward Bound-esquire dialog. The dogs do communicate, although I found Maya's "orders" to be a little far- fetched; she speaks to them as if dogs have a language, and for showing us it this film believes itself to be exceptional. Close, but lacking.
The film may be scary to younger viewers; it contains corpses of birds, whales, and...mammals. In fact, one scene contains such a jolt it may reduce children to tears; I was anticipating the jolt and I still needed to slow my heart a little bit. But the film is otherwise warm to the touch and may even draw tears, which for some reason don't freeze in sub-zero temperatures.
Eight Below came at me with low expectations. Too many of Disney's movies have used animals as an excuse to be cute and cuddly, focusing on the humans more than the dogs. Though Eight Below may look like such a movie (Snow Dogs) at first, there is more than meets the eye. Paul Walker makes a much more convincing dog-sledding protagonist than Cuba Gooding Jr. did, mainly because he is not the most dominating presence on the screen. That honor goes to the dogs.
The dogs are left in Antarctica when a storm threatens the well-being of the sick and needy. Their names are Max, Truman, Dewey, Maya, Old Jack, Shorty, Buck, and Shadow. After watching the movie I knew each one's name by memory and cared for each of the dogs' fates. They all seem to have a personality and a role in their predicament, which flows nicely from time to time. The more touching scenes with the dogs, which extend sometimes for fifteen minutes with no dialog, are truly touching; there is even a power struggle for dominance between Maya and Max. (Human qualities? In dogs? Sounds goofy, but it works.)
The editing is little less than exceptional in the sequences with dogs. All shots, which obviously required multiple takes, flow seamlessly and continuously from dog to dog while giving them a broad range of emotions that is not cheapened by Homeward Bound-esquire dialog. The dogs do communicate, although I found Maya's "orders" to be a little far- fetched; she speaks to them as if dogs have a language, and for showing us it this film believes itself to be exceptional. Close, but lacking.
The film may be scary to younger viewers; it contains corpses of birds, whales, and...mammals. In fact, one scene contains such a jolt it may reduce children to tears; I was anticipating the jolt and I still needed to slow my heart a little bit. But the film is otherwise warm to the touch and may even draw tears, which for some reason don't freeze in sub-zero temperatures.