The Wolf And The Lion(2021)
The Wolf and the Lion (French: Le loup et le lion) is a 2021 family film directed by Gilles de Maistre who also wrote the script with his wife Prune de Maistre. The film stars Molly Kunz as Alma, who returns to her late grandfather's cabin and finds herself taking care of a wolf pup and a lion cub who grow up together as brothers. The film premiered on 25 September 2021 at the Zurich Film Festival where it won best children's film. It went on to wide release on 13 October 2021. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.
The Wolf and the Lion(2021)
While Alma is off on a 2-day trip involving a classical music audition for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the wolf mother disappears. It turns out that she was hit by a tranquilizer dart fired by one of the two scientists. Both of them wishing to transfer her to a breeding facility for the (fictional) endangered wolf species Canis lupus nyx. This leaves Alma the only one available to raise and protect the cubs while the three of them live in peace for a year or two. During that time, she names the wolf pup Mozart and the lion cub "Dreamer" (in apparent reference to the Ozzy Osbourne song). After Alma has an accident, her Native Canadian godfather Joe must notify the authorities to save her, despite the fact that this separates the trio.
The circus in question eventually passes by the wolf breeding facility, allowing Mozart to catch his foster brother's scent. Mozart therefore escapes that night by digging a tunnel under the mesh-wire fence. Upon discovering this, Eli (the senior zoologist) has to apologize to Alma for their earlier misunderstandings to get her help in tracking down Mozart. By which point, Mozart has miraculously liberated Dreamer, allowing the two of them to head back towards Alma's island. Unfortunately, their journey does not go unnoticed and the police soon receive multiple phone calls about the two "dangerous" animals.
Gilles de Maistre said that during the filming of Mia and the White Lion he had a discussion with wolf trainer Andrew Simpson and lion trainer Kevin Richardson that gave him the idea for the film. He then wrote a script with his wife Prune de Maistre. Paddington (the wolf) and Walter (the lion) were raised together from the age of 5 weeks.[4] Only a few people, including Molly Kunz could approach them; the film crew and the other actors were behind cages. The production adapted to its star animals, which resulted in 16 script revisions. After filming, Paddington and Walter continue to live together in Canada on Andrew Simpson's reservation.[4]
Parents need to know that The Wolf and the Lion is a family-friendly animal-focused drama from married filmmakers Gilles and Prune de Maistre. Like their previous feature, Mia and the White Lion, it explores the relationship between a young woman and wild animal cubs -- in this case, a wolf and a lion, as the title suggests. It's also about the unlikely sibling-like bond that develops between the two animals. The storyline has mixed messages about the main character's well-meaning but, frankly, unsafe decisions regarding animal conservation and safety, as well as a younger character who disobeys and yells at his father (albeit for good reasons). A tranquilizer gun is used to shoot and tag an endangered wolf, and a circus owner tries to tame a lion by using a whip (it's heard cracking off camera). A character suffers a head injury that requires hospitalization. A character's death precedes the story; his funeral is shown. There's a scene with background drinking, and infrequent language includes one use each of "s--t" and "goddamn" and a couple of uses of "stupid," "nutcase," and "crazy." Empathy, teamwork, and perseverance are clear themes.
In THE WOLF AND THE LION, classical music student Alma (Molly Kunz), who hopes to land a significant pianist placement, returns to her childhood home on a tiny private Canadian island in the middle of a forest for her grandfather's funeral. There she comes across a white female wolf that her grandfather had befriended. After a small plane carrying a tiny lion cub meant for a circus crashes near the island, Alma ends up rescuing the cub, whom the wolf cares for alongside her own pup. While Alma is gone for a piano audition back in New York, a local wolf expert captures the mother wolf to take back to his preserve. When Alma returns, she takes over feeding the two cubs, despite her godfather Joe's (Graham Greene) initial disapproval and disbelief. The cubs (whom Alma names Mozart and Dreamer) grow up like siblings on the tiny island until an accident tears them apart, forcing them to find a way to reunite.
The cute odd-couple animal pairing only works for so long before this movie's plot and underwhelming characterizations start to stretch credulity. Alma's decision to save both baby animals, while initially admirable, is utterly irresponsible. Instead of reaching out for help, she -- a classical musician with no training in caring for wild creatures -- takes it upon herself to mother these two seemingly orphaned babies on a private island? The script makes no sense, jadedly lumping in government forestry officials -- and even animal conservation experts -- with the likes of circus owners. You can't help but agree with nerdy wolf biologist Eli (Charlie Carrick) that Alma doesn't know what she's doing.
Greene is fine as godfather Joe, but aside from a few conversations between his character and Alma, there aren't any compelling human interactions here. And while Mozart and Dreamer's coexistence is touching (and adorable, particularly when they're babies), there's not much more to The Wolf and the Lion beyond occasional performances of classical pieces courtesy of Alma. Yes, if you only care about watching a lion and wolf hang out together, the movie satisfies. But if you're looking for more -- particularly about the realities of conservation and the dangers of humans thinking they can truly take care of big cats and wild wolves -- this is an unintentionally problematic story.
After her grandfather's death, 20-year-old Alma decides to go back to her childhood home - a little island in the heart of the majestic Canadian forest. Whilst there, she rescues two helpless cubs: a wolf and a lion. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses as the forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The two cub brothers must now embark on a treacherous journey across Canada to be reunited with one another and Alma once more.
The film kicks off when 20-year-old Alma (Kunz) rescues two helpless cubs, a wolf and a lion, which forge an inseparable bond. Taken away by the forest ranger, the cub brothers embark on a treacherous odyssey across Canada to be reunited with one other and with Alma.
In Theaters: After the death of her grandfather, Alma moves to his home in the Canadian wilderness. While there, she rescues two cubs, one wolf and one lion. But when local forest rangers come knocking, Alma and the cubs must find a way to stay together.
The production required a quiet place, a large area that would be safe for the animals and avoid the general public straying on to the set. It was found on Sacacomie Island, an idyllic reserve two hours north-east of Quebec. The shoot took place on specially designed sets in which the crew went into cages to get the footage, while the wolf and the lion roamed free.
The funny thing is that they learned from each other. For example, the lion started to dig burrows with the wolves! The wolf, on the other hand, started to catch leaves in the trees, like a cat. A sort of personality transfer took place between the canine and the feline, to the point where they could no longer make scenes without each other. When the four wolves were howling to death, the lion absolutely had to go and check out what was going on. They were very dependent on each other, they were like a set of inseparable species. It was very strong.
Following her grandfather's death, a young woman travels to the Canadian wilderness where she forms an unlikely friendship with a wolf pup and a lost lion cub, as they embark on an extraordinary...Read more adventure.
Following her grandfather's death, a young woman travels to the Canadian wilderness where she forms an unlikely friendship with a wolf pup and a lost lion cub, as they embark on an...Read more extraordinary adventure.
The film is directed by Gilles de Maistre, a French filmmaker. The story is about 20-year-old Alma, who returns to her childhood home after her grandfather dies. He took care of their little island in the heart of the majestic Canadian forest and now it belongs to kind-hearted Alma. She accidentally rescues two helpless cubs: a wolf and a lion. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses as the forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The two cub brothers must now embark on a treacherous journey to be reunited with one another and Alma once more. 041b061a72