The idea of a human being turning into an animal is one of the most enduring concepts in the movies. Throughout the years, there have been many movies depicting this strange and supernatural turn of events. The release of Pixar’s new movie Turning Red brings to mind many of these movies.
While some are clearly designed for family viewing, there are several others that are certainly in the horror vein. Thus, it’s clear that this central premise fulfills a number of unconscious fantasies that people have about escaping from the limitations of being human.
The Shaggy Dog (1959)
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Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Disney produced several live-action comedies, many of which revolved around rather silly premises. That is certainly the case with The Shaggy Dog.
As its title suggests, it focuses on a young man who encounters a cursed ring and is turned into an Old English Sheepdog. Though its premise might be a little on the ridiculous side, there’s no question that it still manages to have all of the charm that one associates with Disney.
The Princess And The Frog (2009)
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There have been many great princess movies throughout the years, and Disney has been responsible for plenty of them. The Princess and the Frog is notable for a number of reasons, especially since it is the first Disney feature to focus on a Black princess.
What’s more, it also features the sort of luscious 2-D animation that was the studio’s signature during the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. Combined with its jazz-influenced music, these elements help to make it one of their best animated offerings of the 2000s.
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
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The Emperor’s New Groove is one of the more underappreciated Disney movies that came out near the end of the Disney Renaissance. While its focus on a spoiled emperor who gets turned into a llama might sound ridiculous, the punchy writing and the phenomenal voice cast–which includes David Spade, John Goodman, and Eartha Kitt–ensures its place as one of the best and funniest of Disney movies, with many laugh-out-loud moments.
It’s a movie that maintains its power to amuse and entertain, even two decades after its relief.
Brother Bear (2003)
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The premise of a human being turned into an animal is one that comes up again and again throughout the history of Walt Disney, particularly in the early part of the 2000s.
In the case of Brother Bear, the story revolves around a boy whose decision to kill a bear unnecessarily leads to his being punished by being turned into one himself. Though there are some elements of the movie that are a bit generic and predictable, it still features enough of the traditional Disney magic to be enjoyable.
Fluke (1995)
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Though many movies that feature people being turned into animals are light-hearted, Fluke takes a bit of a different turn. In the movie, a man is killed in a car accident and then reincarnated as a dog. Despite its admittedly silly premise, it still manages to ask some deeper questions about the nature of the human soul and about the power of love to transcend death.
At the same time, it can be a bit of a somber movie, though it does have its lighter moments.
Cat People (1942)
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Even though many movies about people who turn into animals are comedies or are geared toward the family, the same cannot be said of Cat People, which focuses on a woman who turns into a murderous panther any time that she experiences heightened emotions.
It’s a fantastic horror movie from the 1940s, and it retains its power to thrill the viewer even so many years later. And, despite the fact that it is ostensibly a horror movie, its narrative is also more than a little tragic.
The Fly (1986)
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Director David Cronenberg has earned a venerable reputation for creating many chilling horror movies. Most of his best explore issues of embodiment, and about the porous boundaries between the human and the nonhuman.
These themes are most fully explored in his movie The Fly, in which an experiment gone awry turns a man into a sinister hybrid of human and insect. Though it is primarily designed to elicit unease and disgust in the viewer, there’s also no question that it’s one of those horror movies that is designed to make the viewer think, as well.
The Sword In The Stone (1963)
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The Sword in the Stone is another under-appreciated Disney movie, but despite that, it is still a must-watch. Telling the story of the education of King Arthur at the hands of the wizard Merlin, it is a movie with a light touch and a whimsical sort of animation that holds up well.
Perhaps the movie’s most iconic scene, however, is that in which Merlin and the sorceress Madam Mim transform into a variety of animals in a wizard’s duel, and this sequence is a testament to Disney’s great skill in animation.
Rock-A-Doodle (1991)
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Even though Rock-A-Doodle isn’t known as one of Don Bluth’s better movies, it still has its charms. It focuses on a little boy who is transformed into a cat and works with a group of barnyard animals in an effort to convince the rooster Chanticleer to return to the farm and defeat a malevolent owl.
It is an at times rather silly movie, but there is still enough of the old Don Bluth magic to make it entertaining viewing, and the voice cast is very talented.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Rent On Vudu
Don Knotts is widely regarded as one of the best comic actors of his generation. Most famous for playing Barney Fife in the series The Andy Griffith Show, he also played the title character in this movie, a submissive man who, after being turned into a fish, helps the United States navy.
Though it’s a rather silly movie, it still has charms, due largely to Knotts’ always-compelling performance and the mix of live-action and animation that was very popular during the era.