Okay, so I had managed to survive over 50 years without seeing "Milo and Otis," but enough is enough, and since we had a young visitor to the household, it seemed right that we take it on. Who knows how many pugs and kitties gave their all in filming this tribute to cross-species friendships. How many takes would it have taken in the kitty free-fall? How many in the turtle rescue? How many in the bear/pug battle? Or the cat/seagull encounter? How many in the birthing sequence, both dog and cat? "Made in Japan" is all over this film, with sequences that would have raised the ire of American animal-rights activists, even in 1983, when it was released in Japan (revamped for the US in 1989). Even the best animal trainers would have trouble, I would think, in encouraging a cat or dog to befriend a fox, deer, duck, chicken, goose, sheep, turtle, cow, and a passel of other animals for the filming of such an adventure.
Spellbinding? Heart-wrenching? Blood-curdling? Mesmerizing? Nah. Just Dudley Moore's voice and lots of cutsie animal antics.
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The good news is that our little guest was too busy taking care of her own animals, both stuffed and real, to suffer long-term mental anguish about the treatment of animals in the movie. I wish I could say the same for myself. Reports vary, but a number of sites report 10 - 12 as the number of cats killed in the making of the movie. No reports about the number of pugs it took, but some things are better left unknown.
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