The other night, my friend Eric and I watched Milo and Otis, mostly for posterity's' sake, but also because Netflix was not functioning on Playstation. I'm glad we decided to watch this movie, because now that we're semi-responsible adults, we noticed several indescrepencies rather peculiar in nature—you know, something a 3rd grader wouldn't have picked up on.
So, it turns out they had used real cats for the stuns, stunts consisting of: ejecting a cat in a box over a waterfall (I wonder how many takes—or cats that cost them?), dropping a cat off of a cliff, pairing a kitten up with a black bear for a brutal game of, "Guess What Drawer Kitty Is In?!?" And last but not least, letting a python loose in a tree with the kitten in some sort of mortal combat scene.
This movie was made in 1986, so I'm thinking that the idiots over at PETA weren't quiet a threat to film-making yet. But, come on, throwing a cat(s) off of a cliff? Really? This movie took four years to complete which not only leads me to speculate that perhaps there was some sort of Kitten v. California suit, but also to question the gestation of orange tabbies. As cruel as these stunts may seem, I had an 8th grade math teacher that used to fish for muskies using cats as bait...
That being said, I have a few more questions for the makers of this film, and I have to get this one off my chest first; where the hell did this movie takes place? Narnia?
The movie begins with a quiet country scene showing kitties and puppies playing near an equally tranquil stream. That stream suddenly turns into The Grand Canyon Class X rapids which then flow over a waterfall and into the Amazon Jungle only to emerge in the Alaskan wilderness. The only explanation I have for this is to suggest that LSD was popular in the 80s as well as the 90s.
And another thing, on what planet do North American black bears and pythons co-exist? Did the creators of Jumanji plagiarize this screen play?? Who knows.
I know I'm not the first person to bring up these issues, and I'm certainly not a card-carrying PETA member, but, to all the Milos and Otises that died in the making of this film, R.I.P.
