Opinion The Third Edit: An ode to the animals that elevate our films

His animated alter-ego rescued a princess, wooed and married a dragon and outwitted Rumpelstiltskin, but Perry lived a quieter life, chewing grass on a small pasture in California. The death, at age 30, of the miniature donkey who served as the inspiration for the fan- and critic-favourite character Donkey, in the Shrek film franchise, is not merely the loss of a beloved four-legged celebrity. It is a reminder of the place that animals like Perry have in the story of cinema, which has simultaneously celebrated, ignored and exploited them.

Perry, for instance, didn’t earn much more than $75 for his work in what ended up being a multimillion-dollar franchise. Of course, neither lucre nor fame matter to an animal, and in any case, this story pales in comparison to the many instances of exploitation and abuse that led to animal protection laws being put in place. Messi, the scene-stealing border collie who played Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall (2023), fared much better, even earning a “Palm Dog” at Cannes. This fact both soothes and aggravates fans, who point to the rules that prevented him from being nominated for an Oscar (the Academy’s questionable attitude towards animal performances goes all the way back to the Awards’ first edition in 1929 when a dog named Rin Tin Tin was taken out of the running after he polled more votes than any of his human colleagues).

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But the lack of an Oscar hardly detracts from the delights of watching an animal casually play itself on the screen, all the way from Orangey the cat who played Cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) to Jenny the donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). In any case, no animal ever did anything for an award — no matter what proponents of dog/cat/pony shows may want to believe. They do it for treats and scritches under the chin, and a sunny place where they can chew grass peacefully.