Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.

Director:

Benh Zeitlin

Writers:

Lucy Alibar (screenplay), Benh Zeitlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 92 wins & 125 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Quvenzhané Wallis	...	Hushpuppy
Dwight Henry	...	Wink
Levy Easterly	...	Jean Battiste
Lowell Landes	...	Walrus
Pamela Harper	...	Little Jo
Gina Montana	...	Miss Bathsheba
Amber Henry	...	LZA
Jonshel Alexander	...	Joy Strong
Nicholas Clark	...	Boy with Bell
Joseph Brown	...	Winston
Henry D. Coleman	...	Peter T
Kaliana Brower	...	T-Lou
Philip Lawrence	...	Dr. Maloney
Hannah Holby	...	Open Arms Babysitter
Jimmy Lee Moore	...	Sgt. Major

Storyline

Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in the Bathtub, a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink's tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he's no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, temperatures rise, and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink's health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.

---

Plot Keywords:

community | delta | climate change | child protagonist | southern u.s. | 

---

Taglines:

Discover the most MAGICAL film of the year

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

With the announcement of the 2012 Academy Award (Oscar) nominations on January 10, 2013, Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest person ever nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (at age 9). She broke the record of the previous youngest-ever Best Actress nominee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was nominated for Whale Rider at age 13. The same day that Wallis became the youngest-ever Best Actress nominee, Emmanuelle Riva (age 85) became the oldest-ever Best Actress nominee for her role in Amour (2012). Oscar host Seth MacFarlane made the joke at the ceremony "To the nominees, congratulations, you were nominated for an Oscar. Something a 9 year old could do."

---

Goofs

When Hushpuppy's dad poured drinks for him and Hushpuppy, he placed the plastic container cup in front of him and a cup with handle for Hushpuppy. Hushpuppy is seen drinking from the cup with handle, but the next shot her dad is drinking from Hushpuppy's cup, and then the next shot is the plastic container cup, then the one with handle again.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Hushpuppy: All the time, everywhere, everything's hearts are beating and squirting, and talking to each other the ways I can't understand. Most of the time they probably be saying: I'm hungry, or I gotta poop.
[listening to bird's heartbeat]
Hushpuppy: But sometimes they be talkin' in codes.

---

Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.84 (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Valse De Balfa
Performed by The Lost Bayou Ramblers
Written by Will Balfa
Published by Flat Town Music Company (BMI)

User Reviews

Rare Masterpiece

Blew away a screening room of industry professionals at the Producers' Guild New York. Far more interesting than the publicity and most published reviews. It's intensely visual, in a way that I associate with visual masterpieces like Avatar.

It's a world of 9 year old girl Hushpuppies and her neighbors and friends in a Louisiana Bayou. They are poor in a way most of us never have to face, incredibly spirited, and far more complicated characters than commonly met in film. They are constantly surprising us in what they do, where they go, and what their world looks like.

Quvenzhané Wallis is only nine years old, never acted before, and gives a performance worthy of an Oscar. She's never acted before, but Benh Zeitlin drew an amazing performance from her. The actors all come alive, as does the world they are filmed in.

the aurochs are also remarkable.

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 2012 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$169,702, 1 July 2012

Gross USA:

$12,795,746

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,107,746

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinereach, Department of Motion Pictures, Court 13 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1