- Buddy (film)
Infobox Film
name = Buddy
image_size =
director =Caroline Thompson
producer =Fred Fuchs Steve Nicolaides
writer = Gertrude Davies Lintz (book)William Joyce &
Caroline Thompson (screenplay)
starring =Rene Russo Robbie Coltrane Alan Cumming
music =Elmer Bernstein
cinematography =Steve Mason
editing =Jonathan Shaw
distributor =Columbia Pictures
country = USA
language = English
released = Flagicon|USA1997
runtime = 84 min.
amg_link = 1:51351
imdb_id = 0118787"Buddy" is a 1997 film directed by
Caroline Thompson . It starredRene Russo as Mrs. Gertrude 'Trudy' Lintz andRobbie Coltrane as her husband.The film was based on the life of a gorilla called Massa [ [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8595720 Massa the Gorilla] at Find-a-Grave] with elements of Gertrude Lintz's other gorilla Gargantua (who was called "Buddy" at the time). In real life, Massa became the oldest Gorilla on record while Buddy/Gargantua died young as a circus attraction and is now on display in a museum.
ynopsis
Millionaire animal lover and overall spoiled rich girl Trudy adds the title animal, a
gorilla , to her family. Theape , named Buddy, finds life in the city very difficult to deal with. Although Trudy raises him as her own son in her mansion (which also houses a few comicalchimpanzees ), he becomes hard to control due to his strength. A particularly bad experience in theChicago World's Fair makes things even harder for Buddy.Production notes
Rene Russo began rehearsals with the chimps a month before principal photography even started.Reception
In spite of the film's message, animal activists still objected over the depiction of chimpanzees as docile pets, happily carrying on wearing human clothes. Among their concerns, the perpetuation of the idea of chimps as acceptable pets is often cited.
The film has been criticised for its unrealistic animatronics, especially when compared to the real ape performers.
References
External links
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