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 & 126 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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Discover the most MAGICAL film of the year

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mystical or mythical beasts which Hushpuppy "sees" throughout the film are called AUROCHS, and occasionally URUS. Aurochs are an extinct ancestor of the bovine (cows, oxen) family of mammals, with the last Auroch dying in 1627, and which inhabited forests of North Africa, Europe, and parts of Southwest Asia. It was oxen like in appearance, with longer forward facing curved horns, and is thought to be one of the ancestors of modern cattle.

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Goofs

Hushpuppy is sharing food with her dad, but she has crumbs on the corners of her lips already.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winners (2016)

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Soundtracks

Jole Blon
Performed by Harry Choates
Written by Buddy Dee
Courtesy of D Records

User Reviews

magical, thought-provoking, very, very watchable

I can understand how most people view this film within the context of Hurricane Katrina. But even as a former denizen of the Gulf coast who sat out Alicia, Claudette, Allen, Rita, and Ike, I view this film in a much, much larger context. It goes beyond stereotype and into archetype -- the denizens of the Bathtub aren't poor drunks at the mercy of the environment, they are The People of the world they inhabit. Hushpuppy doesn't have a drunk father, she has a Father, with many of the faults and strengths of the immortal epic heroes -- anger, pride, genuine love and concern. Hushpuppy herself isn't just a little girl, she is The Child -- the purveyor of a magic which is real, intimately connected with her world, imaginatively linked with All Things. The outside world is a place of Things and Machines, of paperwork and rules -- and is never actually named, you see, because that would diminish it. Everything in this film exists within the realm of archetype, and if you watch it with that in mind, its multiple messages take on cosmic significance. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted -- it's going to take a few more days for the entire thing to completely sink in. Outstanding!

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