2022 was a wild year for over-the-top animal scenes. Oscar-nominated movies “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “RRR,” and “Turning Red” boasted some memorable moments, as did “DC League of Super Pets.”
Here are moments that made us laugh, gasp and roar. Warning: PLOT SPOILERS
Animal Attack in ‘RRR’
As if Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr).’s face off with a tiger wasn’t over the top enough in this action-packed Indian epic, the most jaw-dropping moment occurs when he and his fellow revolutionaries pull up to the British governor’s place in a truck and he unleashes dozens of wild tigers, hyenas, bears and deer. The animals proceed to lay waste to the overwhelmed British troops to give Bheem a chance to rescue his kidnapped little sister.
Director told TheWrap that almost all the animals in the film were CGI. And the film comes with a disclaimer at the beginning: “No animals or birds were harmed during the making of the film. Horses, oxen, birds, tigers, wolves, bears, leopards, deer, fish, and snakes shown in the film are all computer generated.” (Stream on Netflix)
Racacoonie in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
When Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) mentions “Raccacoonie” to her husband and daughter in his Oscar-nominated multiverse film, they think she’s talking about the movie “Ratatouille,” in which a rat guides an untalented chef to make culinary masterpieces by pulling on his hair. But Raccacoonie does exist in one of the many universes that Evelyn jumps into: Here she’s a table-side chef who’s constantly being shown up her colleague, Chad (Harry Shum Jr.). Turns out all his chef skills come from the raccoon on his head. What follows is a scene where Evelyn and Chad chase down the fleeing raccoon, begging him to come back.
And when we first meet villain Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu), she’s wearing an Elvis suit and walking a pet pig. According to IMDb trivia: “Joy gets a tattoo of a pig, that’s “supposed to represent her family”. That’s because the Chinese symbol for family (or home) consists of the symbols for ‘pig’ and ‘roof’.”
In another scene, Jenny Slate’s character, who is also battling Evelyn, wields her leashed-up pet Pomeranian like a weapon. When the leash is snipped, the dog (which now appears to be a stuffed animal) is sent flying and is never seen again.
Gonzo Guinea Pigs in ‘DC League of Super-Pets’
A whole host of animals get super powers in this very funny animated movie, including villain Lulu (voiced by Kate McKinnon). To take down Superman’s dog Krypto (Dwayne Johnson), she zaps a whole lab full of guinea pigs, who are then able to transform: One now has ice powers, another fire, another becomes a huge Hulk-like strongman and one now has wings.
Giant Panda Battle in “Turning Red”
Mei (Rosalie Chiang) realizes that turning into a giant red panda actually has an upside, so she flees from her family’s ceremony to banish the panda forever. She heads to join her best friends at the 4*Town concert her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) has forbidden her to attend. Ming, who transforms into a panda about 20 times the size of Mei’s, follows her daughter for a cataclysmic confrontation at the arena. They’re soon joined by all the female members of the family, who must combine their panda power to save the day.