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 | melting ice caps | child protagonist | 

---

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

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, The 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was sold to Fox Searchlight Pictures for about $2 million.

---

Goofs

When leaving the medical center with Wink & his friend's Walrus' clothes keep changing from the medical scrub top, to a white t-shirt and overalls.

---

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 #20.171 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

Momma's Song
(uncredited)
Written by Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin

User Reviews

A Different Kind of Americana

This is not an easy movie to watch. It is a story of a father and his precocious daughter caught in a tough life in Louisiana's poverty-stricken bayou area called "The Bathtub." When a big storm (Hurricane Katrina?) devastates their community, their already upside-down life goes into a further tumble.

The lead actors here are not really professional actors. The father Wink is Dwight Henry, a baker by trade. The daughter Hushpuppy is 5- year old Quvenzhane Wallis. There really seemed to be no acting in this film. Everything had gripping reality, as if they were actual proud residents of that miserable community. Ms. Wallis, now 8 years old, is high on the list of being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and I would not be surprised if she will be.

I cannot say I liked this film. I do not exactly find it uplifting or inspiring. It is just a reality check for everyone who forgets that people actually live in such abject conditions in America. This is the unknown America devoid of high-tech conveniences of life, and we see it here in the eyes of a jaded child. Hushpuppy's vivid visions of collapsing icecaps and rampaging aurochs, as how she visualizes the fury of the storm, may not exactly make viewing this film any easier, but her raw emotion is all out there for us to feel.