Adventures of Milo and Otis

I have always loved this movie.  A cute dog and a cute cat, its the perfect basis for a charming film.  Filmed in Japanese, Milo and Otis has been re narrated in English by Dudley Moore (he plays every characters so if you don't like him, don't watch) and also had English music added.  The music is warm and folksy and perfectly fits the movie.  The cinematography is great.  In fact, it took four years for them to film this since they were working with live animals.

It starts out on a small farm where a litter of kittens is being born.  Milo is one of those kittens.  From the very beginning he is always getting himself in trouble and is very eager to explore the world around him.  He makes friends with Otis, a pug puppy who also lives on the farm.   Together they have adventures, play games, and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

One day, Milo takes it too far.  Playing hide n' seek in a box in the river, the box becomes detached and starts traveling down the fast moving water.  It travels a long way from the farm, with Otis trailing behind to try to save his friend.

The adventure officially begun, the two animals must overcome many hardships to be reunited.  They meet several wild animals, some friendly, some not.  Milo just tries to survive while Otis searches for him.

When they are finally reunited, something else comes along to break them apart.  However, as it is not life ending, they are able to overcome it and become the best of friends, traveling to get back home.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this movie.  Claims of animal cruelty and animal death to make the movie abound.  Having searched the web, I came to the conclusion that this can be neither proved nor disproved.  Also, one must look at what actually animal cruelty is.  A lot of people are upset about the scene between Milo and the crab, however, the director did not make the crab pinch him, they were two animals doing what came naturally.  Also, there are complaints about the animals being distressed.  I wonder if these same people complain about horses in distress in war movies that are made where the whites of their eyes are showing and they are forced onto the ground in mock battle.  I'm not advocating animal cruelty or its use in movies, but I think its a very fine line to judge this movie as so.  Until its proven, I believe the movie should be judged on its merits, not what people think happened to the animals.  Innocent until proven guilty.  And now I'll step off my soapbox.

Suitability for very young children could also be questioned.  There are live scenes of both a  cat and a dog giving birth in the movie.  The camera doesn't cut away, but instead shows one of each animal being born.  This might  be disturbing for some young viewers, however, more likely it will inspire loads of questions for mom and dad.  While it wouldn't bother me to show it to my future children, some parents may want to be handy with the fast forward button.

Since I was a child this movie has been one of my favorites.  The way they filmed these animals was incredible and I always enjoy watching it again to reminisce.