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Name This Movie Cat!

PetSugar — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:00:07 -0800

"Like a seeping mist, I will creep into the dogs' center of power, and make them quake in fear at the very mention of my name!" What is this movie cat's name?

Four Chloes, Six Delgados But Only One Papi!

PetSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:00:56 -0700

I totally enjoyed Beverly Hills Chihuahua (did you?) – so here's a tail-waggingly good tale about one of the film's heroes, the lovable and macho Papi. The bat-eared Chihuahua mix named Rusco was rescued for the part from the Moreno Valley Animal Shelter by a trainer who's now the pup's proud parent, too.The lil guy was a fast learner (just like another rescue-turned-star pooch I remember) able to quickly acclimate to a role in front of lights, cameras and action. His fave rewards during the learning process . . . steak and a stuffed, squeaky flower named "Daisy May." Ahh, tough life.

Find out about the furry costars of Rusco . . . errrr, Papi . . . when you read more.

First up there, there was the fabulously dressed Chloe, played by a Chihuahua named Angel; she made her big screen debut along with her three body doubles . . . you know for her bloated days. Next, the world-weary Delgado, my personal fave. Although only one pooch (named Samson!) was the German Shepherd face seen on screen, the physical role called for five others to help out with stunts including two more rescues. Lastly, the film's villain, El Diablo was played by a two-year-old Doberman Pinscher all the way from Hungary – Arad was originally trained as a protection dog but quickly adapted to this movie star role and lifestyle.

View 10 Photos ›

Big woofs to all the other pups involved – like the 50 Chihuahuas seen in the desert canyon scene also coming from local shelters – and stay tuned as both Angel and Samson will be seen in upcoming flick Hotel for Dogs.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Behind-the-Scenes: Chloe's Beverly Hills Chihuahua Wardrobe

PetSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:50:35 -0700

While several of the pups of Beverly Hills Chihuahua sported fashions I recognized from doggie couture label Little Lily, for most of her clothed scenes, star pup Chloe wore handmade outfits of sleek and chic materials imported from Europe . . . all to give her a look modeled after Chanel, Valentino, and the like.

Costume designer Mariestela Fernández designed 30 dresses to fit a prototype of the canine actress (named Angel) and worked with the star's animal coordinator over three fittings to select the final 17 outfits used in the film. From nightgowns to ball gowns, most outfits featured specially created booties meant to stay on her paws (well, most of the time . . . wink wink to those of you who've seen the film already).

Curious about that diamond collar (and to see photos from the film!) read more.

Creating Chloe's opulent necklace required three weeks and several design changes. At first, filmmakers wanted a large pendant in the front but found that knocked into her lil front legs. Then, they had to remove a second row of smaller diamonds because they felt it was too heavy for the Chihuahua's small frame. Lastly, they made three copies of the final design in case of mishaps. Oh yeah, in case you hadn't guessed, they were cubic zirconium not diamond. Now see the still stunning collar and fab fashions in the gallery below.

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Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

At the Movies: Hole in the Paper Sky

PetSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:00:07 -0700

I've already mentioned another film on a controversial topic making its way around the festival circuit, and here is another: now it's animal testing. But this isn't a documentary showing you disturbing secret footage shot guerrilla style about things that go on behind closed doors. This film is brought to you by Jessica Biel, one of my favorite dog lovers! It's called Hole in the Paper Sky, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Jessica to make considering the horrible feelings I've got in my stomach . . . just from watching the trailer!

The 30-minute-long short has already taken in two awards at the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival for Best Drama and Best Director, and I'm sure it will rack up plenty of others on its national tour. For festival dates where you can catch Hole in the Paper Sky check out Jessica's Myspace blog.

See the short, but moving – get your Kleenex ready! – trailer for Hole in the Paper Sky when you read more.

Hole in the Paper Sky trailer

At the Movies: Wiener Takes All

PetSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:00:36 -0700

If there were any event I might want to see in person besides the World's Ugliest Dog Competition, it'd be a screening of Wiener Takes All! I've been hearing rumblings for weeks now about this new "dogumentary" that takes a behind-the-scenes look at competitive dachshund racing, and I finally found the trailer. While I definitely don't support dog racing of any kind, I've heard the film is packed with juicy bits of controversy – lying, cheating, steroids! – about this, well, controversial sport.

Since the dogs are oh-so-adoro, and they've been selling out all screenings during their recent Film Festival tour, I have a feeling Wiener Takes All must pack a pretty powerful pawful of information to be so popular. Check out the cute trailer for this indie film when you read more.

Reader's Choice Recap: Your Fave Animal Movies!

PetSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:00:25 -0700

After I shared my 10 fave movies starring animals, I opened it up to all of you to suggest movies with animals that you loved. And, whoa, you had some awesome ideas! In addition to several Disney movies where animals played important roles, you picked other live-action hits (Dunston Checks In) and book adaptations (Because of Winn-Dixie), over 40 suggestions in total. Not only were several mousey must-sees missing, my forgotten favorite was The Fox and the Hound – how could I have left out that one?! To see what else I forgot read more.

The Adventures of Wilderness
All Dogs Go to Heaven
The Aristocats
The Bear
Because of Winn-Dixie
Beethoven
Born Free
Bringing up Baby
Cats & Dogs
Cinderella
Dunston Checks In
Eight Below
Finding Nemo
Follow that Bird
The Fox and the Hound
The Great Outdoors
Gremlins
Harvey
Homeward Bound
Ice Age
Incredible Journey
Lady and the Tramp
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
Madagascar
Mulan
My Dog Skip
Oh Heavenly Dog
Oliver and Company
101 Dalmatians
Ratatouille
The Rescuers
Disney's Robin Hood
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The Secret of N.I.M.H.
Shaggy Dog
The Ugly Dachshund
Underdog
White Fang
Winnie the Pooh
Wizard of Oz
The Yearling

Reader's Choice: Share Your Fave Animal Movies With Us!

PetSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:00:52 -0700

After working through a list of my favorite animal movies, I realized there were a lot of great films I couldn't include in the top 10 - from Homeward Bound to 101 Dalmatians, there are many classics I simply love to watch again and again. Because it's nearly impossible to come up with them all on my own, I want you to share your favorite movies in your comments below. All I ask is that there is an animal playing a fairly large part in the movie, and next week I'll create a new list of all our fave flicks!

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My 10 Fave Movies... Starring Animals!

PetSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:30:51 -0700

Despite our debate on whether showing pets in films is hurtful or harmless, I do have some favorite movies of my own that, natch, have animals as some of the main characters. Dogs, cats, mice, or an entire farm, I don't discriminate! North and I especially like to watch a few of them together on rainy afternoons maybe even munching on popcorn movie style. Well, not totally movie style! Flip through my slideshow and check out some of my favorite animal flicks. Maybe a movie night is in order soon? Source

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Do You Know How Many Pets Are Allowed Per Household?

PetSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:15:54 -0800

Having a houseful of cats can earn you mean names - who are you calling crazy?! - but do you know how many animals you can legally own in your county? I checked out Cat Ladies at the SF Documentary Film Festival earlier this month and the producers were asked about law breaking for the movie. The flick was filmed in Canada, with different pet laws by region, but there were still concerns about ratting out (ha) pet owners over the legal limit.

Which brings us to Dudley, MA, where a woman put her home up for sale because she had more than three cats, which would require a residential kennel license in her area. I know it's come up for celebs (like Paris Hilton) and I honestly don't know how many pets my city legally allows per home, but I'm sure just one lil guy is fine. Do you?

No Animals Were Harmed During the Making of This Movie...

PetSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:00:23 -0800

I'll admit that the gory plotline of last night's big winner No Country For Old Men made the film not appeal to me - I'm a movie wuss at even the slightest hint of violence and bloodshed! However, despite the dark subject matter (which included the shooting of a dog), the set was monitored and detailed evaluations were given . . . no pups were hurt during the making of this film.

The American Humane Association (not to be confused with the animal protection organization, the Humane Society of the United States) has overseen movie sets since 1940 to make sure animal actors stay safe while portraying heroes, villains, companions, and comedians. Even in films (and commercials) where animals are shown in passing, this organization will be on set to monitor practices and offer ratings from unacceptable (where disregard for safety directly caused the injury or death of an animal) to outstanding. No Country for Old Men was awarded the "monitored: outstanding" designation meaning that AHA observed the filmmaking, screened the finished product, and cross-checked all animal action seen on screen, and offered it the end credit disclaimer of "No Animals Were Harmed."

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