All the Little Animals (1998)

Director:

Jeremy Thomas

Writers:

Eski Thomas (screenplay) and
Walker Hamilton (book)

Release Date:

11 June 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Of All the Animals, The Cruelest is Man.

Plot:

Bobby Platt is a mentally slow young man who escapes an abusive, hateful stepfather who has killed his pets one by one...

Plot Keywords:

Animal | Escape | Nature | Pet | Roadkill

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Hurt	...	Mr. Summers
Christian Bale	...	Bobby Platt
Daniel Benzali	...	Bernard 'The Fat' De Winter
James Faulkner	...	Mr. Stuart Whiteside
John O'Toole	...	Lorry Driver
Amanda Boyle	...	Des
Amy Robbins	...	Valerie Ann Platt, Bobby's Mother
John Higgins	...	Dean
Kaye Griffiths	...	Lepidopterist
Sevilla Delofski	...	Janet, De Winter's Secretary
Helen Kluger	...	Icecream Vendor
Shane Barks	...	Young Bobby
Sjoerd Broeks	...	Mark
Elizabeth Earl	...	Child in Van
Andrew Dixon	...	Philip

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Goofs:

Continuity: There is more cheese in the second quick shot of the mice eating cheese, than in the first.

Quotes:

Bobby Platt: It's funny. I can see my old self quite clearly. Remembering how I felt is much, much harder. Sometimes feelings come back to me when I'm digging, or in a dream. But mostly he's gone, that earlier me, who could hardly do anything, or even think anything. I mean I could read a bit, I could write a bit. I could talk... but I hardly ever did.

Movie Connections:

References Watership Down (1978)

Soundtrack:

Madama Butterfly

Great performances

This is a quirky movie full of wonderful rich and moving performances. Christian Bale is, as always, magnificent as the slightly brain damaged Bobby. Unable to stand up to his sadistic step father he runs away and meets Mr. Summers, one of the most odd movie characters I've seen some time. A man who has dedicated his life to burying roadkill, played to perfection by John Hurt. Bobby is happy living with Mr. Summers and helping in "his work". But when Mr. Summers convinces Bobby to go home and break all ties with his step-father forever they find out just how evil this man really is. It's really quite a good film.