Review of The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986) by Catherine S — 03 Mar 2012

Koneko Monogatari (or The Adventures of Milo and Otis) isn't particularly memorable, but it is fairly cute with good narration by the late Dudley Moore.

An american adaption of the insanely popular Koneko Monogatari, The Adventures of Milo and Otis follow a barn kitten named Milo and a pug puppy named Otis' adventures as they grow up. During a game of hide-and-seek, Milo jumps into a wooden box and ends up getting swept into the river, with Otis following close behind. Now seperated, the two battle the elements and other animals in order to be reunited, and even eventually find love as they search.

The film's plot is simple and not very interesting, but let's face it, we're not watching this movie for the plot. We're watching it for the cuddly baby animals in the movie and it does deliver. However, it also serves a huge problem with the movie, especially the Japanese version. It has faced many allegations over the years for apparent animal cruelty. One such scene involves a kitten being thrown off a cliff into a raging sea, and being allowed to try and climb an unstable cliff, repeatably falling into the ocean, and getting pounded by huge waves and getting bashed into the rocks. Activists have stated that one third of the kittens used for the film died in that scene alone. Two other scenes involve the director breaking a kitten's paw to make it appear more unsteady and a pug puppy being forced to battle a baby black bear. Since then, the statements have been declared false, but it still leaves an unsettling taste in my mouth. Luckily, however, the american version contains mostly reshot footage made humanely so any parents can allow their kids to watch this without worry. ...For the most part. Some scenes from the Japanese version (including Milo floating down a waterfall in a wooden box) are kept in the English translation and may be unsettling for kids and parents alike.

In the end, it's hard to recommend this film to anyone. It depends on your tolerance of scenes possibly being shot inhumanely as well as your tolerance of rather violent scenes for a film that's supposedly for kids. In my opinion, I'd keep this away until the kids get older (like age 12) and just have them watch "Homeward Bound". It's a better film and has been certified to have been made humanely. (If you have the stomach, you can find the cut Japanese footage on Youtube. But I don't recommend it, it is truly unsettling.).

(Rating: 59%).