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When Animals Die


luck.JPGIt’s tragic when innocent animals die in entertainment. Fictional or not, we still feel their loss. King Kong. Mufasa. Old Yeller. Charlotte. Hooch. Artax. I could go on, but I’m already on my second box of Kleenex. We don’t even have to see their demise onscreen to be deeply moved. Remember Bambi’s mom? And what about poor Pippin, that plucky dog in Jaws who swam out for the stick and never came back?

Scripting an animal’s death can yield heartbreak. So can showing a creature’s final moments in a wildlife documentary. If you don’t believe me, try explaining the whole “food chain” thing to a hysterical 4-year-old who was rooting for the gazelle.

Recently, some parents may have been challenged to explain the loss of animals in entertainment in a whole new way. Real animals. Actual deaths. But not the kind that happen on the Discovery Channel.

You may have heard last week that HBO decided to scratch the gambling drama Luck from its lineup after yet another horse died on the set. It was the third such accident in less than two seasons. Amid protests from the American Humane Association and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the cable network chose to cut its losses and cancel the series.

“While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future,” HBO said in a prepared statement. “Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.”

Some critics contend that the decision wasn’t really difficult at all. They’re convinced that this latest controversy gave HBO an excuse to put down a lame series fading fast.

“HBO needs subscribers to exist,” wrote Richard Huff of the New York Daily News. “If viewers don’t feel they absolutely need the channel because of a much-talked-about show, they won’t spring for the extra cash on their already high-ticket cable bills. It’s very possible that the rising drumbeat about the use of horses on the show gave HBO officials a convenient—and noble—way to halt a long shot that wasn’t pulling it’s [sic] weight, while also showing it cared for animals.”

Regardless of HBO’s motives, the fact remains that filmmaking can take its toll on performers who need agents with opposable thumbs to sign their contracts. We’ve all seen the disclaimer “No animals were harmed in the making of this movie.” I’ll admit, I’ve always sort of taken that for granted. Or used to. The HBO situation has changed that. In fact, as I dug deeper I found a similar story about two horses that perished while filming the 2006 feature Flicka. It makes you wonder how many noble steeds met a similar fate in the golden age of Hollywood westerns, years before studios were forced to take extra precautions.

Of course, none of this explains why the creators of The Neverending Story felt the need to let poor Artax drown in the Swamp of Sadness. And then there’s that moment in War Horse when—oh great, I’m out of tissues. So what do you think about HBO’s Luck? And which fictional animal’s death traumatized you as a child?