Le avventure di Chatran

I enjoyed this film, it was really cute... but found that it was disturbing in the ways they filmed the animals. The animals were obviously frightened in some scenes and definitely did not belong in some of the situations; which include the cat being attacked by seagulls, being chased by a bear, and flying off of a sheer cliff into the ocean...someone had to have thrown him off the edge to make that convenient shot! This made me wonder if the ASPCA was involved in the making of the film, but then I realized that it was filmed in Japan. I loved this film as a child, but watching it yesterday on the Disney channel, I am not as sure.

Chatran has the only merit to show how far you can go to earn a fistful of miserable bucks. Sacrificing a dozen cats who never asked for anything does not represent my conception of bringing fantasy and entertainment to an audience. "Sure, let's throw the cat from the roof and put it on film, I'm sure the kids will love it!" I'm not saying that no animal was ever harmed on any other shooting that this one, but there's a difference between a horse with a broken leg and five cats thrown from a cliff until one survives and the sequence is wrapped up. (I'm not making this up.) Watching Chatran is like witnessing scientific experiments on animals with the medics laughing their heads off in the background. Except here, the only goal is to make money. The ultimate hypocrisy is that it's supposed to be a charming and moving story with big moral issues about life... To think that the director of this thing is one of the most talented and popular writers in Japan really has me wondering. A sickening experience of cinematographic lobotomy. Blindness is dangerous. Stay aware.

"Not harmed" not writing in the end, bear crushed a dog with his leg, bids attacking a cat, curiously cut, no making-of for 4 years filming, not very much informations for a film very, very popular... That's much questions, it is not only. I think, unfortunately that we're blind, as somebody told in comment... We can do much of things with animals, but some evidence are to big somehimes...to real. I'm very sad to know the truth about this film, because I loved watch it, and hear the music of it... But with this conscience I can watch it anymore... the memory can be heavy. Very popular, the film is... The less we know, the more they gain. Make that it is not the case... if you think it's right.

I hate when people review a film without making any researches about it. In the 80s, there was basically no laws to protect animals. A lot of newspapers at the time reported the atrocities that the animals had to endure during this shooting, well,the ones who could survive. About 30 kittens were killed during the shooting and the most terrible thing is that most of them were killed deliberately. The famous scene when Chartran (Milo or Otis, in french the kitten name is Chartran) falls from a high cliff needed many kittens, one for each take...there's also all those terrible stuff about the little bear and the dog. The Columbia refused at that time to put in the credits that no animals were harmed during the shooting. A lot of viewers were in shock after the screening cause obviously, a film like that without any FX could had not been shot without cruelty. Chartran was not a kitten but tens of them... Boycott that piece of s...! It's not a cute film for all ages, it's a snuff for kids, a HUGE mass grave that should be remembered only for all the atrocities it has done to those unwilling animals.

This is a movie about a great friendship of a kitten and a pug who are going on an adventure and try to make their way back to their home farm. It was filmed for 4 years an came out in 1986 in Japan.

This is mainly a movie for children, but anyone who loves animals will enjoy some scenes in it that have animal cuteness overload. I say "some scenes" because there is a huge number that are very disturbing. Now, I can't prove if indeed multiple cats and pugs were killed. It wouldn't surprise me considering the time it was filmed, animal rights were far less of an interest back then, and certain scenes like the kitten falling off a cliff sure seem to be life endangering. At the same time I heard the guy who produced this film was an animal lover who had an island that was a sort of sanctuary for animals. This of course doesn't prove much, we do know stories of animal support organizations that were guilty of killing animals or not giving them enough care, but it does give one some hope that animals didn't get killed. Still, even if we assume those are just rumors there are too many scenes where animals are in obvious distress. The one where the cat is attacked by seagulls is a great example. This ruined a movie a lot for me. I sure hope there has been a greater progress with animal treatment on the movie set. One ca make cute movies without doing this to animals and it is not worth the entertainment (it only ruins it).

But yes some adorable scenes such as the kitty with the piglets are in this movie as well.