29-407: The Plague Dogs may refer to: The Plague Dogs (novel) , 1977 The Plague Dogs (film) , 1982 adaptation of the novel Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title The Plague Dogs . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
58-588: A dangerous bioweapon , such as the bubonic plague . Adams stated in the book's introduction that "There is no such place in the Lake District as Animal Research (Scientific and Experimental). In reality, no single testing or experimental station would cover so wide a range of work as Animal Research. However, every 'experiment' described is one which has actually been carried out on animals somewhere." The location of "ARSE" (an acronym for Animal Research, Scientific and Experimental, and British slang for buttocks )
87-508: Is also proven to be difficult for the dogs to understand and cooperate. When the Tod finds a nest of eggs, he eats them all himself, enraging Rowf. The Tod himself disapproves of their risky behaviour, like killing domestic sheep grazing on the local hills. They go their separate ways for a time, but the Tod eventually returns to assist them by distracting a lab-hired gunman who then falls to his death. The three reconcile and wander about aimlessly, with
116-456: Is the first non-family-oriented MGM animated film, and the first adult animated feature by the studio. The film's story is centered on two dogs named Rowf and Snitter, who escape from a research laboratory in Great Britain . In the process of telling the story, the film highlights the cruelty of performing vivisection and animal research for its own sake (though Rosen said that this
145-522: The Lake District in England, where they had been horribly mistreated. They live on their own with help from a red fox , or "tod", who speaks to them in a Geordie dialect. After the starving dogs attack some sheep on the fells, they are reported as ferocious man-eating monsters by an opportunistic journalist. A great dog hunt follows, which is later intensified with the fear that the dogs could be carriers of
174-496: The 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment and the media roped into the pursuit, driven by rumours of the two dogs carrying bubonic plague and killing humans and sheep. The Tod parts company with the two dogs after leading them to a train pulled by River Irt on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway . While the dogs escape on the train, the Tod sacrifices his life distracting the humans in order to allow Snitter and Rowf to escape. Thanks to
203-614: The Canadian industrial group Skinny Puppy for their anti-vivisection single , " Testure ", from their 1988 album VIVIsectVI . The film had a test screening in Seattle on 17 December 1983. Rosen had difficulty in finding distributors for the film, and it entered a limited release in the U.S. on 9 January 1985. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 70% based on reviews from 10 critics, with an average rating of 7.30/10. Janet Maslin , in her 1985 New York Times review of
232-421: The Tod's distraction, Snitter and Rowf arrive at the coastal village of Ravenglass , but upon departing the train, the two dogs are spotted by an RAF Sea King helicopter and are pursued by it until they reach the shoreline and can run no further. Meanwhile, the research facility receives a call from a minister, who demands the complete cessation of all experiments. As armed troops approach and prepare to shoot
261-474: The Tod, a nameless Geordie -accented fox who goes by the local slang term for a wild fox. The Tod teaches them to hunt in the wild in exchange for a share of their kills. Snitter hopes for a new home as he once had a master, but after accidentally killing a man by stepping onto the trigger of his shotgun as he climbs up onto him, Snitter loses hope. As time passes the two dogs grow emaciated, having to steal more and more food while still avoiding capture. The Tod
290-476: The U.S. release, praised the visual style: "Martin Rosen treats his Plague Dogs almost as though it were live action. He varies the scenery and the camera angles imaginatively [...] Mr. Rosen's direction is quite ingenious, much more so than Mr. Adams's story." Two versions exist: the original UK theatrical release (103 minutes) and the edited US version (86 minutes). Most edits were made to reduce running time but one
319-559: The UK with the US cut. Trinity Home Entertainment released their DVD in the United States the same year; Trinity tried to get the full cut, but when they were unable to obtain it, they ended up settling with using the truncated US version. Trinity's DVD was re-released by Phase 4 Films in 2010. In 2005, Australian distributor Umbrella Entertainment released both cuts on Region 4 DVD (they also released
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#1732855539635348-452: The dogs swimming out to sea, hoping to find what Snitter calls "The Isle of Dog" in the novel (though Rowf grimly speculates that it's probably the Isle of Man ). After swimming for a while, Snitter eventually comes to the conclusion that he imagined the island. As he is about to give up and drown, Rowf claims to directly see the island and they struggle on. It then ends with them disappearing into
377-443: The dogs, Snitter looks out over the water and claims to see an island—he jumps into the sea and begins to swim to it. Rowf is hesitant to follow due to his conditioned fear of water , but his greater fear of the gunmen drives him to jump in as well and catch up with Snitter. Two gunshots are fired at the dogs but seemingly miss; immediately a white mist envelops the pair, and the humans and the helicopter disappear. The dogs swim through
406-648: The film adaptation of another novel by Adams, with animation direction by Tony Guy. The Plague Dogs was produced by Nepenthe Productions ; it was released by Embassy Pictures in the United States and by United Artists in the United Kingdom. The film was originally released unrated in the United States, but for its DVD release, was later re-rated PG-13 by the MPAA for mature themes such as animal cruelty , violent imagery, and emotionally distressing scenes. The Plague Dogs
435-400: The film was downbeat with an unhappy ending, unlike the book, and was made without a distributor (an arrangement was made with Embassy but then the filmmakers wanted to re-negotiate and Embassy pulled out while United Artists became the film's UK distributor). The theme song, "Time and Tide", was composed and sung by Alan Price . The song, as well as dialogue from the film, was sampled by
464-420: The film's Blu-ray release to work with director Rosen in hopes of releasing the original version instead of the edit. In September 2018, Shout! Factory announced that the original version would be released on Blu-ray on 15 January 2019. The 2019 release includes both a 2K restoration of the original cut and the edit, as well as an interview with director Rosen regarding production. Screenbound Films also released
493-570: The friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media . As in Adams' debut novel, Watership Down (1972), the animal characters in The Plague Dogs are anthropomorphised . The Plague Dogs features location maps drawn by Alfred Wainwright , a fellwalker and author. The conclusion of the book involves two real-life characters, Adams' long-time friend Ronald Lockley , and
522-462: The full theatrical cut of Watership Down ), sourced from Rosen's private print. The same print was later released on Region 2 DVD in the UK by Optimum Releasing in 2008. In 2017, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the rights to the film in the United States, and that they would release the film for the first time on Blu-ray on 24 February 2018 under their Shout Select line. In late 2017, Shout! Factory announced that they had delayed
551-481: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Plague_Dogs&oldid=1185211875 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Plague Dogs (novel) The Plague Dogs is a novel by English author Richard Adams , first published in 1977 by Allen Lane . The book centres around
580-567: The mist towards the island Snitter claims to see but Rowf can't spot. Snitter eventually begins to doubt that there is any island and he stops paddling, losing hope. Rowf, however, claims to finally spot the island and urges Snitter to continue. During the credits, the mist lifts, revealing an island on the horizon. The film was animated in both Britain and San Francisco , California between 1979 and 1982. British animators such as Arthur Humberstone, Alan Simpson, George Jackson , and Colin White came from
609-399: The mist, supposedly heading to the island. In the film's credits an island can be seen in the distance, seemingly confirming that it is real. The Plague Dogs (film) The Plague Dogs is a 1982 animated adventure drama film , based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Richard Adams . It was written, directed and produced by Martin Rosen , who also directed Watership Down ,
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#1732855539635638-473: The netting of his cage and into Rowf's, where they discover his cage is unlatched. They explore the facility in order to escape until they sneak into the incinerator , where they are nearly killed before finally escaping. Initially relieved and eager to experience their new freedom, the dogs are soon faced not only with the realities of life in the wild but with another more terrifying realization—they are being hunted by their former captors. They come to befriend
667-401: The others "caught" a fox, this could imply the Tod is merely playing dead. In contrast to the ending in all published editions of the book—which describes the dogs being rescued from the sea, cleared of carrying the plague, and united with Snitter's lost master—the film ends the way Adams first envisioned (before being prevailed upon by his editor and others who read his original manuscript), with
696-458: The unit that had previously worked on Watership Down . The San Francisco crew included Brad Bird , Phil Robinson, and Retta Scott , a "Disney veteran who had animated the vicious hunting dogs in Bambi ." Goldcrest Films invested £900,000 in the film and earned £308,000, losing the company £595,000. Jake Eberts who helped finance this and Watership Down thought the filmmakers made two errors:
725-416: The world-famous naturalist Sir Peter Scott . Having seen a manuscript, both men readily agreed to be identified with the characters and opinions that Adams had attributed to them, as is shown in Adams' preface to the book. In 1982, The Plague Dogs was adapted into an animated feature film of the same name . This book tells of the escape of two dogs, Rowf and Snitter, from a government research station in
754-419: Was based on the remote hill farm of Lawson Park , now run as an artist residence by the contemporary art organisation Grizedale Arts . Like its predecessor Watership Down , Martin Rosen directed and adapted The Plague Dogs into an animated feature film , which was released in 1982. Unlike the book, there is the implication that the Tod might still be alive in the film; a hunter who found him says he and
783-418: Was commercially released on VHS in the UK by Warner Home Video . In 1986, the edit was released on US VHS by Charter Entertainment . In 2002, Anchor Bay released a Region 2 DVD, but contained the US recut. Soon afterwards, Dutch budget label Indies Home Entertainment released a Region 2 disc which also contained the US cut but includes forced Dutch subtitles. In 2004, a DVD was released by Hollywood DVD in
812-558: Was for its shocking content: After hired gunman Ackland falls to his death from a steep crag from which he attempts to shoot the dogs, a military helicopter flies over the snow-covered crags and valleys and the soldiers in the helicopter find the body ripped to shreds, implying that the starving dogs had eaten the corpse. The full theatrical cut was first released on a UK rental-only, PG-certificate VHS by Thorn EMI in December 1983; only around 8,000 copies were issued. On 22 August 1988, it
841-469: Was not an anti-vivisection film, but an adventure). Rowf, a labrador - mix , and Snitter, a smooth fox terrier , are two of many dogs used for experimental purposes at an animal research facility in the Lake District of north-western England . Snitter has had his brain surgically experimented upon-(leaving the top of his head scarred and covered with bandages) while Rowf has been drowned and resuscitated repeatedly. One evening, Snitter squeezes under
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