Tag: cats

170 – Cats on Park Avenue

A cat on a skateboard from Cats on Park Avenue (1989)
mrow!!

Tim and Jen scratch their heads over a Japanese musical that’s positively infested with cats, Cats on Park Avenue. It has nothing to do with New York or the musical Cats.

Hear the whole episode on our Patreon and get access to more than 80 other bonus episodes!

Complex has the story on how Disney literally killed five golden retriever puppies while making Snow Buddies, a direct-to-video follow-up to Air Bud.

Marty Stouffer became popular with his Wild America series on PBS. A few of his ex-employees alleged that he staged many scenes in the show, which he denied.

You can watch the scene from Sledge Hammer! that Tim mentioned, and after that you can watch the whole series on YouTube, because it’s right there and it’s a great show!

For more musical madness, try our episode on the Dr. Seuss-penned The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T!

160 – The Ghost and the Darkness

Val Kilmer, John Kani, and Michael Douglas in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Tim and Jen enlist animal expert Emma Bowers (Hyenas and Gin on YouTube) to explain why the fascinating story of two man-eating lions resulted in a boring movie called The Ghost and the Darkness.

Watch a 1996 documentary about the man-eaters of Tsavo, which includes brief interviews with stars Kilmer and Douglas and director Stephen Hopkins. One interviewee theorizes that the local lions’ taste for human flesh stems from generations of slave traders who left injured or dying captives to their fate in the bush.

This 1996 Entertainment Weekly article sums up how bad Val Kilmer’s reputation got to be in Hollywood.

As Richard Stanley, who directed Kilmer for three days in The Island of Dr. Moreau before being fired, recalls, “Val would arrive, and an argument would happen.” Says John Frankenheimer, who replaced Stanley: “I don’t like Val Kilmer, I don’t like his work ethic, and I don’t want to be associated with him ever again.” And Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher calls his onetime star “childish and impossible.”

Entertainment Weekly, May 31st, 1996

You can watch the tiger attack video Tim mentioned, with added context. Rawr!

There’s even a mineral named Tsavorite which was discovered in Tanzania and named in honor of the area.

Finally, listen to our episode on the shockingly ill-conceived movie Roar, with special guest Emma!

092 – Christian the Lion

Jen welcomes animal expert Emma back to the show to discuss the documentary that spawned a surprise viral clip.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

Emma is one of our favorite guests, and stopped by a while back to talk about Tippi Hedren and Noel Marshall’s incredibly misguided film, Roar! Listen to that episode here.

More About Christian the Lion

Ace and John’s memoir, A Lion Called Christian, is available cheap at Alibris.

Ace and John’s website pays tribute to their lion friend and has lots of photos and information.

You can also visit a very Web 1.0 site with info about the remarkable George Adamson.

067 – Fatal Attractions with Emma Bowers

Surprise! You get an extra bonus episode for April! Animal expert Emma Bowers returns to discuss the Tiger King before Tiger King: an Animal Planet reality series about ill-starred exotic pet owners called Fatal Attractions.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

Fatal Attractions is currently vieweable on Amazon Prime.

For more of the delightful Emma, listen to our episode on the truly ill-conceived lion-based thriller Roar.

044 – Roar

Noel Marshall bleeding for real amongst angry lions, from the movie Roar (1981)
That’s probably real blood, by the way

Jen and Tim talk with animal expert Emma Bowers about Roar, a movie which stars 50 or 60 mostly wild animals and a handful of terrified humans. The movie was produced by Hitchcock blonde Tippi Hedren and her insane husband Noel Marshall, who also play the hapless chew toys masquerading as characters. The film flopped on its initial release. However, in 2015 Drafthouse Films picked it up and cemented Roar’s place in cult movie history.

Jan de Bont shows the lion attack scar he received on the set of Roar (1981)
Cinematographer Jan de Bont displays the scar he received from a lion attack on the set of Roar

As of 2020, Roar producer/star Tippi Hedren still runs her her wild cat sanctuary, Shambala. As well as wildlife advocacy, Hedren is also known for being the godmother of the nail industry in the United States. In the 70s, Hedren worked with Vietnamese refugees in California. She hit on the idea of encouraging them to learn the art of the manicure and open nail salons. Today, people of Vietnamese descent own and operate about half of all nail salons in the United States.

If you enjoyed Emma’s appearance, check out our episode on the Animal Planet series Fatal Attractions!