Eight Below
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| Eight Below | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Eight Below |
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| Directed by | Frank Marshall |
| Written by | David DiGilio |
| Starring | Paul Walker Bruce Greenwood Jason Biggs Moon Bloodgood |
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Editing by | Christopher Rouse |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release date(s) | February 17, 2006 |
| Running time | 120 min. |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Snow Dogs (2002) |
| IMDb profile | |
Eight Below is a Walt Disney Pictures film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio, which was released on February 17, 2006 in the United States. It was rated PG for some peril and brief mild language.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The 1958 ill-fated Japanese expedition to Antarctica inspired the 1983 hit movie Nankyoku Monogatari. Eight Below is the fictional re-interpretation of the true events of the 1958 occurrence.
[edit] Plot
Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is a guide at an Antarctica research base under contact with the National Science Foundation. UCLA professor, Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) arrives at the base and presses Shepard to take him to Mount Melbourne to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury. Shepard does so against his own intuition, which tells him that it is too late in the season (January) to complete such a treacherous route. Worried about the snowmobiles breaking through the thinning ice or falling in a crevasse, Shepard elects to use his dog sled team for the journey.
Shepard and McClaren make it to Mount Melbourne but are immediately called back to base camp due to an approaching storm. McClaren begs for half a day to search for the meteorite and Shepard agrees. McClaren finds the sample he is looking for and the team heads home.
Shepard pauses to patch up one of the dogs (Old Jack) whose paw is bleeding. McClaren, while walking around to get a better radio connection with base, slides down an embankment when a soft ledge gives way. His landing at the bottom cracks the thin ice and McClaren ends up breaking through. Shepherd is able to get his lead dog Maya to bring a rope to McClaren and the dog team pulls him from the water.
Now, battling hypothermia, frostbite and near whiteout conditions, it is the dogs' stamina and keen sense of direction that gets Shepard and McClaren back to base. They are immediately evacuated, along with all other personnel due to the storm, which is expected to intensify. With too much weight in the plane to carry both people and dogs, the human team medically evacuates Shepard and McClaren with a plan to return later for the dogs. The dogs are temporarily left behind, but the storm is worse than expected and it soon becomes apparent that no rescue will be attempted until the next spring.
Back at home, Shepard experiences angst about leaving his dogs and stops working as an artic-condition guide. Five months later, and after a heart-to-heart session with an older veteran guide, Shepard decides to throw his all into rescuing the dogs. Before leaving for the trip, Shepard patches things up with McClaren, and tells him about his intentions to rescue the dogs. McClaren learns that Shepard does not enough money to pay for the trip, but Shepard doesn't ask McClaren for any help. Soon afterwards, McClaren sees a drawing of the dog team by his young son, with the title: "My Hero is... THE DOGS WHO SAVED MY DADDY." McClaren realizes the magnitude of his ingratitude and uses the remaining balance of his grant money to finance a rescue mission.
The dogs must struggle for survival alone in the Antarctic wilderness until Shepard and McClaren eventually return to rescue them, more than six months later. Six of the eight dogs survive. The two who die are Dewey and Old Jack with the six survivors being Buck, Max, Maya, Shadow, Shorty and Truman. Maya, the lead dog, barely manages to survive after being bitten in the leg by a Leopard Seal.
[edit] Sled dogs
In the 1958 event, fifteen Sakhalin Husky sled dogs were involved. In Eight Below, eight dogs were used -- two Alaskan Malamutes, Buck and Shadow, plus six Siberian Huskies. Many more dogs were needed to act out difficult scenes; each actor-dog had help from other dogs who performed stunts and pulled sleds. In all, 32 dogs were used to portray the film's eight canine characters.[1]
[edit] Buck
The spirited, red-headed Buck comes to life through the work of the cast's quickest learner Conan and Flapjack, a strapping six year-old, who is also the biggest dog in the movie, weighing in at over 120 pounds. Conan and Flapjack performed both the acting and sledding for Buck.
[edit] Dewey
One of the close-knit twins in the pack, is portrayed by four-year-old Floyd, a veteran pro who, when not starring in movies such as Snow Dogs, is one of the regulars at the Universal Animal Show in Florida. Dewey hurt himself and eventually died after falling down the snow cliff jumping at the Aurora australis. His sledding double was two-year-old Ryan. Dewey can be told from Truman by a scar over his left eye, given to him by his aforementioned brother.
[edit] Maya
The strong and maternal Alpha leader of the pack is played by seven year-old Koda Bear, star of such films as Snow Dogs. She is known to her trainers as The Princess due to the fact that she has her own entourage and will not go anywhere without her special blanket. She was almost passed up for the part because the filmmakers originally wanted a white dog, but she won over the filmmakers and became one of Frank Marshall's favorites. Also starring as Maya is the equally beautiful seven-year-old Jasmine, who always gets very serious whenever she is playing a film role. Their sledding double was Kalista, herself a long time Alpha sled dog; like her character, she helped to keep all the other dogs out of trouble during the filming. She is also a Siberian Husky. Maya in this movie is the owner's little girl. He loves her like she is a real human being.
[edit] Max
The young sled-dog who starts out in the back of the pack but becomes a heroic leader in the course of the incredible adventures of Eight Below is played by six-year-old D.J., a playful, happy-go-lucky natural born movie star who previously starred in the canine hit Snow Dogs. D.J. impressed his trainers and director Frank Marshall with his uncanny improvisational skills and always brought an extra dash of drama to his scenes as Max. D.J's sledding double is one-year-old Timba, who was an on-set favorite due to an exceptionally cuddly nature.
[edit] Old Jack
The oldest dog in the pack, Old Jack is played by a relative youngster, four-year-old Apache. Apache developed a particular love of helicopter rides during the making of Eight Below. The Poker scene was done by Suli, a kennel mate of Apache. Some of Old Jack's sledding work was performed by Buck, an all-white dog previously seen in Snow Dogs, who underwent a dye job to match Apache. Old Jack died right on the base where their trainer and friends lived
[edit] Shadow
Starring as the silvery, sleek Shadow, Noble, a three-year-old canine actor known for really getting into character, and four-year-old Troika, famous for her beautiful howling voice. Both did all the acting and all the sledding for their roles. Troika was a stray on the streets of Knoxville, TN. He was found by animal control emaciated and neglected and taken to Knox Co Animal Welfare Center. Sleddog Rescue of Tennessee assumed the responsibility for housing Troika and nursed him back to health for adoption. Troika was unwanted, unloved, and neglected as he wandered the streets of Knoxville scrounging for a skimpy meal. He was battling parasites and malnutrition. It was due to the dedication of Sleddog rescue that Troika was able to regain his health and be scouted by www.birdsandanimals.com to become a canine star in this Disney film.
[edit] Shorty
The all-brawn-and-too-few-brains rebel dog, Shorty, is played by equally playful, all-white, three-year-old Jasper, who was especially excited to star in Eight Below because he quickly discovered snow is his favorite thing in the world. Jasper's sledding double was the tenacious Yukon, who never seemed to tire of pulling the sled.
[edit] Truman
Truman, Dewey's identical brother, is portrayed by three-year-old Sitka, whose favorite things in life include slices of Canadian Duck and frequent belly rubs. Her sledding and action double was five-year-old Chase, known to the trainers as the big goof ball. Chase graciously underwent a regular dye job to look more like Sitka.[2]
[edit] Wildlife in movie
[edit] Critics
Reviews, in general, were mixed. Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times liked the film, and said "Eight Below succeeds as an effective story." [1] BBC liked the movie as well, but did not like its long length. [2] Reel.com liked it, saying "the movie succeeds at drawing you into their incredible adventure". [3] However, the San Fransisco Chronicle disliked the film, saying "The movie is overly long and much too intense for small children, yet it's filled with dialogue and plot turns that are too juvenile to thrill adult audiences."[4]
[edit] Trivia
- As of August 27, 2006, the film had grossed a total of $81.6 million in the United States and an additional $38.8 million in other countries. [3]
- The Dogs Dewey and Truman are named for the 1948 U.S. Presidential candidates Thomas E. Dewey and Harry S. Truman [4].
- The snow tractor that the crew borrows from the Italians is named "Mare Biscotto", which translates to "Sea Biscuit", the film director Frank Marshall produced [5].
- It was rated PG for another reason -- the jump scene when the leopard seal pops out of the dead killer whale.
- Since 1994, sled dogs have not been used in Antarctica; however the movie took place in 1993.
- The movie was filmed in Smithers, British Columbia.
- Of the fifteen sled dogs in the 1958 Japanese expedition, only two survived ('Taro' and 'Jiro').
[edit] Mistakes
- Throughout the film, the yellow and red De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter emits piston-engine noises. But the plane used in the filming is turbine-powered, as evidenced by the long, slender nose and the large, single exhaust pipe protruding from beneath the cowling on the right side of the aircraft.
- Instead of the Siberian Huskies and Malamutes in the film, the 1958 Japanese expedition used another type of sled dog, the Sakhalin Husky.
- "Sea Biscuit" in Italian is not "Mare Biscotto" but "Biscotto di Mare" or "Biscotto Marino."
- Some dogs pictured on the front cover are obviously not the same on the back cover.
- A scene of the dogs in Antarctica, supposedly in June, showed bright daylight. The sun would have been below the horizon there until about mid-August, as calculated by the program "xephem".
[edit] DVD release date
[edit] External links
- Eight Below - Disney's Official Eight Below DVD site
- American Humane Society
- Troika & Nikki Rescued
- Eight Below at Box Office Mojo
- "Eight Below" - Eight Below Movie affect.
- Arcticsun Kennels - Apache and Suli's home away from Hollywood.
- Reviews
- Eight Below at Rotten Tomatoes
- Eight Below at The Movie Spoiler
