Search - Fierce Creatures on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1997 DVD Release: 01/20/1998 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 34 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 14 Genres: Comedy, Farce, Comedy of Manners

The starring cast of the hit A Fish Called Wanda reunited for this farcical comedy, which star and co-screenwriter John Cleese described as "not a sequel, but an equal." When London's Marwood Zoo is purchased by Octopus, Inc., the multi-national holding company run by New Zealand publishing tycoon Rod McCain (Kevin Kline), the staff is given a firm order: if the zoo is not turning at least a 20% profit soon, it will be shut down. Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis), who was recently hired by McCain to oversee another firm that bit the dust, is assigned to keep a watchful eye over zoo director Rollo Lee (Cleese), who gets the idea that since people seem to enjoy aggressive, violent entertainment at the movies, the zoo should round up and execute all the cute, benign animals and replace them with more vicious specimens to boost attendance. Needless to say, talkative zookeeper Adrian "Bugsy" Malone (Michael Palin) is appalled at this suggestion and attempts to disguise the more timid beasts with fake fangs and daubings of artificial blood. Meanwhile, Rod and his son Vince (also played by Kevin Kline) want the animal displays to be more spectacular, and they hope to boost income by introducing corporate sponsorship with logos pasted on the cages, the staff uniforms, and even the animals themselves. An already complex situation is further tangled by the efforts of Vince, Rod, and Rolo to seduce Willa, whose obsession with the bottom line is compromised by her fondness for the gorillas. Fierce Creatures was originally shot in 1995, but when the original version tested poorly, producers John Cleese and Michael Shamberg opted to reshoot part of the film (most notably the ending), with director Fred Schepisi replacing Robert Young for the revised sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

John Cleese - Rolo Lee
Jamie Lee Curtis - Willa Weston
Kevin Kline - Vince McCain/Rod McCain
Michael Palin - Adrian (Bugsy) Malone
Robert Lindsay - Sydney Small Mammals

The comedy Fierce Creatures comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer that fails to preserve the original theatrical aspect ratio of the film. An English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while Spanish and French soundtracks have been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. Spanish subtitles are accessible, and the English soundtrack is closed-captioned. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence. This is a sub-par release from Universal that does boast excellent sound quality. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide