15 films about animals that will make you touch and cry

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The heroes of these pictures will be able to reach the hardest hearts.

1. Harry and Tonto

• USA, 1974.
• Road movie, drama.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Elderly Professor Harry Coombs finds himself homeless. All he has left is Tonto's faithful cat. Then the old man goes on a trip to America that will forever change his life.

This kind and touching picture to tears is now practically unknown to the wide audience. But once the leading actor Art Carney won the Oscar for Best Actor, beating even Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson.

2. White Bim Black Ear

• USSR, 1976.
• Adventure melodrama.
• Duration: 183 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

A dog named White Bim Black Ear turns out to be a stray after its owner is admitted to the hospital. A neighbor is entrusted with taking care of Bima, but she cannot cope with the duty.

The incredibly touching and sad film by Stanislav Rostotsky, like the novel of the same name by the writer Gabriel Troepolsky, has earned a cult status. At one time, different generations of viewers shed many tears over both of them.

3. White fang

• USA, 1991.
• Adventure drama.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Young Jack Conroy tries to fulfill the request of his dying father while searching for gold in the Yukon Valley. During his adventures, he meets a tame wolf, which becomes his loyal friend.

The creators decided not to devote all the time to the animal, as it was in the original story by Jack London. Therefore, a new main character appeared in the film adaptation, played by young Ethan Hawke.

4. Free Willie

• USA, France, 1993.
• Family cinema, adventure drama.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 0.

Twelve-year-old tomboy Jesse meets the smart killer whale Willie. Only now, the evil owners want to kill the animal in order to receive an insurance payment. But the devoted boy is about to fight desperately for his friend's life.

For this and subsequent films about Willie, a life-size model of a killer whale was made, which was so similar to the real one that Keiko, the male whale who starred in the film, even tried to communicate with her.

5. Babe: Four-legged kid

• Australia, USA, 1995.
• Family cinema, comedy.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

An orphaned piglet Babe ends up at the Hoggett farm, where he is adopted by a shepherd named Fly. Soon, the owner notices that Babe is an unusual pig and wants to graze sheep, just like his adoptive mother.

The director of the film, George Miller, author of the Mad Max franchise, was the first to make the animals “speak” believably on the screen. Therefore, the film deservedly won the Oscar for the best visual effects. Up to this point, filmmakers hesitated for a long time to experiment with the articulation of animals and limited themselves to the imposition of offscreen voices.

6. Fly home

• USA, 1996.
• Family cinema, drama.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The girl Annie leaves to live with her father in Canada after the tragedy that happened to her mother. There she takes up the education of a flock of geese and teaches them to fly. But when the chicks grow up, they become a problem. The catch is that only their "mother" can show the birds a new home, and there is only a suitable nesting site in North Carolina. And if Annie and her father don't find a way to get the geese to the right place in four days, things could end badly.

The film very conditionally and with great artistic assumptions retells the events of the life of the famous Canadian naturalist Bill Lishman. He indeed once managed to lead a flock of Canadian geese for their winter migration to the United States.

7. Horse Whisperer

• USA, 1998.
• Family cinema, melodrama.
• Duration: 169 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

A young rider named Grace has to amputate part of her leg after she is run over by a truck while riding. Her horse also suffers serious injuries, both physical and mental. To save her daughter from depression, Grace's mother decides to find a certain Tom Booker, who can communicate with horses in the same language.

A kind melodrama directed by Robert Redford tells how deep the relationship between man and animal can be, and the young Scarlett Johansson played the main character very emotionally.

8. White captivity

• USA, 2006.
• Adventure drama.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

A scientific expedition sets out in search of a meteorite. However, an unexpected incident forces the scientists to leave their dog sleds and go back. Now eight Siberian huskies must wait to be rescued. At the same time, they have to withstand the unbearable natural conditions of Antarctica.

The story told in the film is sure to make viewers empathize with brave animals to the very end. True, the real events for which the picture was filmed ended much worse: then only two of the 15 dogs were rescued.

9. Dreamer

• USA, 2005.
• Sports drama.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Experienced groom Ben Creighton spends all his free time in the stalls of the local hippodrome, completely forgetting about raising his daughter Cale. During one of the races, the horse that Ben was courting breaks his leg, and the hero is fired, giving the crippled mare as compensation. Then Cale persuades his dad to restore the horse to participate in the competition. Ben initially doubts his success, but then becomes infected with his daughter's enthusiasm.

A touching story (by the way, based on real events) was skillfully played for two by the bright Kurt Russell and the young Dakota Fanning. In addition, the soulful plot is spiced with a genuine love for wonderful animals.

10. Hachiko: The most loyal friend

• USA, UK, 2008.
• Family cinema, drama.
• Duration: 89 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Professor Parker Wilson finds an Akita Inu puppy and names him Hachiko. Every day, a devoted pet escorts the owner to work to the station, and in the evening he meets there. However, an unexpected tragic incident destroys this idyll.

Hachiko's story actually took place in Japan with Professor Hidesaburo Ueno and his pet. She also formed the basis of the old Japanese painting in 1987. But director Lasse Hallström tried to make his version closer to the Western audience, so the action takes place today in Rhode Island, and the charming Richard Gere plays the main role.

11. We bought a zoo

• USA, 2011.
• Family cinema, comedy, drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Left as a widower, writer Benjamin Mee is trying to mend relationships with children - fourteen-year-old Dylan and very young Rosie. When the family is about to move to a new home, it suddenly turns out that under the contract the owners must also take responsibility for the ruined zoo.

Another story inspired by real events. This kindest family film is able to remind anyone that with the support of family, any difficulties can be overcome. In addition, the acting work of the charismatic Matt Damon and the beautiful Scarlett Johansson is more than worthy of attention here.

12. Pelican

• France, Greece, 2011.
• Family cinema, comedy.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The unsociable fisherman Demosthenes is experiencing the death of his wife and has little interest in the life of his son Janis. The latter, meanwhile, secretly from his father, saves an unusual chick, which becomes a local star and attracts crowds of tourists to an imperceptible Greek island.

To play one of the main roles in his debut film, director Olivier Orlet called the icon of modern cinema lovers Emir Kusturica. In addition, the creators were not too lazy to shoot a real trained pelican.

13. Ginger dog

• Australia, 2011.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The film tells the real story of a red-haired dog from a mining town, who went on a journey in search of the deceased owner. Thanks to its loyalty, the dog becomes famous throughout the continent.

In the end, the picture will make you cry no less than "Hachiko", but before that the audience will definitely have something to laugh at. And you can be convinced of the unique acting talent of the male Koko, who played the role of Red, by watching the video Koko's RED DOG Screen Test, where director Krive Stenders communicates with the dog during the casting.

14. Water for elephants

• USA, 2011.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Young veterinarian Jacob gets a job in a traveling circus and falls in love with the beautiful trainer Marlene. But the woman is already married to the power-hungry and eccentric manager August Rosenbluth.

It is worth watching the picture for a number of reasons. At the very least, this is a very beautiful love story, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of retro. Also, Robert Pattinson plays quite well here, who at that time was persistently trying to break out of the boring image from the Twilight movie saga. Well, those who are tired of the ubiquitous computer graphics will simply be pleased to see a real trained elephant on the screen.

15. Everyone loves whales

• USA, 2012.
• Family cinema, drama.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Three gray whales somehow end up under a thick layer of ice near the town of Barrow. The poor guy accidentally notices TV journalist Adam Carlson, and after a short time the news of the captured giants spreads all over the world.

The creators managed to preserve many historical facts about Operation Breakthrough, because almost all events, including the arrival of the Soviet icebreaker, actually took place. At the same time, a subtle irony is hidden under the melodramatic layer: the picture caustically ridicules the media, "green" organizations and human vanity.