We Aristopeters love to enjoy any artistic representation related to our best friends. And we're lucky, because dogs have always been very present in cinema. In fact, little by little they have been getting more important roles and gaining prominence on screen.
We could talk about Lassie, that beautiful collie who was one of the pioneers. About the whole saga starring Beethoven, the most famous Saint Bernard of all time. About the Jack Russell terrier who shared the screen with Frankie Muniz in My Dog Skip. Or about the Golden Retriever with the most overwhelming name in cinema history: Napoleon. The list of canine actors is extensive, and we talk about some others in this post.
The list of canine protagonists in animated films is even larger, and very varied. We recently shared with you a short film that stole our hearts and today we're showing you another one that you'll surely enjoy, even though the starting point is quite different.
A dog's life tells the story of an unnamed dog who lives in his owner's house. She works all day, and when she returns home, she's so tired and fed up that she hardly pays him any attention. That's why the dog has no choice but to try to fill his monotonous days with all kinds of activities: cooking, watching TV, playing chess by himself, playing the violin, reading the newspaper... But none of these activities can diminish the boredom that grips him all day, nor make him stop thinking about his owner for a minute.
Thus, the first minutes of the short film are tedious and routine for the viewer (obviously something unexpected happens later, otherwise this short film would be very boring). But, of course, that's how the dog experiences it! And that is probably what the author, animator and illustrator of the short film, the young Belgian Pieter Vandenabeele, wants us to feel and reflect on.
In that sense, A dog's life is a rather critical reflection on dog ownership. Many people have dogs simply for the sake of having them, out of fashion. And they forget that dogs need time, dedication, patience, affection. It's true that modern life means we don't always have time for what we like. We spend most of the day working, while our dogs wait for us at home, expectant, dying to be with us. Of course, we Aristopeters are also eager to be with our dogs, but since not everyone behaves this way, it's worth remembering that dogs are neither toys nor decorative elements. Therefore, ARISTOPET makes a call for all of us to commit to spending more time with our pets.
We hope you like the short film and that you share it, if you think it can serve as a direct hint to someone...
http://www.pieterv.com/adogslife/