As you may know, I love awards shows. Therefore, there could only be one theme to this week’s No Frown Friday: the Academy Awards!
- Your punny pet names are based on some of this year’s nominees: Jesse Eisenbark, Colin Furth, Bark Ruffalo, Catalie Portman, and Helena Bone-ham Carter.
- Not sure the Oscars are for you? There’s always the Dogscars instead. What do you think are the best dog movies of all time? (You know I like to be inclusive, so here’s a quiz about movie cats and a movie filmed by cats. Yup, you read that right.)
- Speaking of favorite dog movies and favorite dogs in movies, here are a few lists of dog movies to get you started. Some of my favorites? Best in Show, Lady and the Tramp, and The Fox and the Hound. That’s by no means an exhaustive list of my favorites, however. Put your thinking cap on and tell me yours in the comments – I’ll meet you there!
- There have been some great movies featuring animals over the years. How much do you know about them? Take this quiz, and then learn more about animal stars, including shelter animals who ended up in show business.
- The American Humane Association makes sure that onscreen animals are kept safe and treated well. AHA publishes some interesting behind the scenes stories on its website, like this one about the horses on the set of one of this year’s Best Picture nominees, True Grit. AHA also publishes reviews regarding how each movie performs on AHA’s rating scale. I looked up two more of this year’s Best Picture nominees, both of which received an outstanding rating: The Fighter and The Social Network.
So, which film do you think should win Best Picture? I’m pulling for The King’s Speech – I promise it’s not just because there were Corgi cameos throughout.
Interesting note: apparently the AHA was very unhappy that The King’s Speech used its trademarked phrase, “No Animals Were Harmed” because the AHA was not involved in monitoring or rating this British production. However, the issue was resolved – sounds like the real problem was use of the trademarked phrase, and all animals were treated humanely.
Serious interlude over… let the debate about the best dog movies ever begin!