Film & TV Unit

Behind the Scenes of Disney’s Eight BeloW

By Marisa Bellis

Greenland, which doubled for Antarctica during much of the filming of Eight Below, astounds visitors with its mythical beauty and fascinating mix of native Inuit and Danish cultures. The vast tundra, monstrous glaciers, and ice fjords provided a perfect backdrop for the inhospitable terrain that the film’s heroes -- both two- and four-legged -- must conquer.

Based loosely on real events that occurred during a doomed Japanese expedition to Antarctica in 1958, Eight Below is a lump-in-your-throat survival story of a group of abandoned sled dogs that must fend for themselves in the frozen wilderness. As a Certified Animal Safety Representative™ for the American Humane Association’s Film & Television Unit, my role on the movie set involved ensuring that the production followed American Humane’s Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media. I also worked in a collaborative way with the animal trainers of Birds & Animals Unlimited to keep the dogs safe and comfortable within the unusual filming conditions.

American Humane supports strict laws to protect all animals in competitive sports and recommends the establishment and enforcement of specific humane guidelines for sled dog racing. Due to sensitive public-perception issues, having a Safety Representative on the set during filming eased the minds of many, including those in the cast and crew.

A Unique Breed

My own arctic adventure began when I met up with 30 crew members and 14 Hollywood dogs -- Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes -- in an airport for the nine-hour flight from Vancouver to Greenland. The dogs traveled in stacked crates inside the cabin of our chartered plane. After two refueling stops along the way in towns where the temperature was minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit, I quickly realized that the dynamics of this movie would be unlike any other I had worked on.

When we stepped off the plane in the middle of the night, the sky was bathed in a spectacular streaming green glow of the aurora borealis. In the airport hangar of Kangerlussuaq, customs agents checked our gear while a local veterinarian and the secretary of the Greenlandic Sledding Association inspected and cleared our Hollywood dogs. Apparently, this was the first time in Greenland's history that foreign dogs were brought into the country. Since the Greenlandic sled dog is considered one of the purist breeds in the world, we encountered strict regulations regarding the dogs, and their health certificates and general care were constantly regulated throughout our stay. One such regulation was that at no time during filming could a Hollywood dog and a local dog come in contact with each other or even cross paths.

The initial days of shooting were on the polar ice cap, accessed via alien-like Swedish military vehicles called Hagglunds. With its strange combination of dirt and cascading blue ice as far as the eye could see, Greenland looked more like satellite photos of Mars than an actual country on planet Earth. We spent our first two days at the only “motel” in Kangerlussuaq, and I don't think any of us anticipated living in army-type barracks and being served musk oxen for dinner!

From Kangerlussuaq we flew to Ilulissat, a colorful bayside town covered with glaciers and icebergs -- the postcard image one associates with Greenland. Ilulissat’s population of approximately 5,000 people is nearly matched by the number of sled dogs; almost every family in town has a team. The dogs live and interact with each other and their owners in ways quite unlike American dogs. When you see them pulling 400 pounds up the side of a mountain, you understand that these are not pets -- they’re athletes! While the Greenland dogs do share an important bond with their human owners, it’s based entirely on the practical need to survive. Some say it’s the purest form of an animal and human working together in this day and age.

Raised in a pack society, the Greenland dog exhibits more wolf-like behavior than pure canine. Each dogsled team has an alpha dog and an omega dog, and everything in between. Dogs know their place in the group but will often fight to move up in the ranks. Those fights end quickly, as the dominant dog always puts a submissive one in its proper place within the hierarchy. In the movie, as in real life, the sled dogs are chained on a gang line outside year-round when not working. Though most responsible pet owners in our culture would consider this inhumane, it’s important to remember the Greenlandic people do not consider their sled dogs as pets.

On the Glaciers

Sunlight played a crucial role in filming Eight Below, as the same glacier can look dramatically different at different times of day. Every morning, our second-unit director, Mitchell Amundsen, would gaze out the window and formulate his vision of the day’s filming. The location manager, safety personnel and our ADs (assistant directors) would then help load the crew, trainers, and dogs in the appropriate helicopters, and we would be off for the day. There are no roads between towns, so the only efficient ways to travel from one point to another in Greenland are to mush, fly, or go by boat.

Since the Hollywood trainers had helicopter-prepped their dogs prior to the shoot, the animals seemed increasingly comfortable during our daily “whirlybird” rides. The dogs naturally hunkered down with each other inside the helicopter, finding security amongst themselves and their trainers despite the noise. The Greenlanders, on the other hand, chose to transport their dogs another way: via potato sacks. In a system that became known affectionately as the “doggie bag,” one trainer would lift up the dog while another handler helped insert it into a potato sack. With the dog inside, the sack was then loosely scrunched up around the neck and closed via a drawstring attached to the dog's collar. Though a peculiar sight to behold, these “bagged” dogs showed no signs of distress and sat patiently throughout the short helicopter flight until they were carried out and untied upon arrival. As soon as we felt comfortable with the Greenland dogs’ behavior with the helicopters, they too were able to travel without their sacks. But the initial transportation system was truly a memorable one.

During filming, the Greenland dogs served a very different purpose from that of the Hollywood dogs, whose primary job was to “act” with the humans. All heavy-duty stunts were performed by the Greenland dogs, and assessing the behavioral differences between both groups presented a huge challenge for me at first. They are totally different breeds brought up in different cultures and geographic elements. So, when making any safety recommendations, I had to take into consideration what each individual dog was able to handle.

For all the advanced technology in the world today, our safety experts used the time-tested “stick method” to check the density of the ice on location. That was a terrifying thought, until it was explained that, for centuries, certain areas were always frozen and others were less predictable. Needless to say, we stuck only with the reliable locations. We worked with two ground cameras and an aerial camera unit, and once all people and dogs were at location, we would await our gear, dog sleds, and snowmobile, which also came in via helicopter. Filming on the open ice did not allow for shelter or bathrooms, and we relied heavily on a small craft setup, two safety experts, and a helicopter on stand-by in case of an emergency. The Hollywood dogs had it easier than all of us, as their trainers brought flight kennels to the location every day. Meanwhile, the local dogs lolled around on the ice without a care in the world.

Challenging for Humans, Not Canines

Our long, cold days on the ice typically saw temperatures drop to minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, though the wind chill often brought it to 13 below zero. Whenever the sun peaked through the clouds, it felt as if the temperature soared well above freezing. The dogs acclimated in record time and seemed to fare far better than the humans. Greenland dogs can tolerate temperatures of minus 50 degrees or colder, so it probably felt more like spring to them. Our Hollywood dogs had their first taste of a true winter, but they adapted quite well. The main warning signs I looked out for during filming was the dogs’ recovery time after a scene, and any weakness or change in behavior. When the Greenland dogs started lapping at the snow, I knew they needed water and a break. For the Hollywood dogs, my principal concerns were compatibility issues and ensuring a smooth adaptation to the elements.

As dusk crept over the ice, our arduous yet breathtaking workday would come to an end and the rush was on to get the helicopters loaded and back to the hangar at base camp. Once the crew and trainers unloaded their gear and tucked in the dogs for the evening, we dined on local culinary favorites that included everything from halibut to reindeer. By early evening, after 12 hours on the ice, we all slept hard until the process began all over again the following day.

The crew labeled second-unit Greenland the “Amundsen Expedition,” after our director, and as a nod to Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole, in 1911. Working in sub-zero temperatures was demanding both mentally and physically, and every day our crew had to learn new and more-efficient techniques to deal with the challenges of working on the frozen tundra.

Monitoring the animal action on Eight Below was, without a doubt, my most challenging assignment since joining American Humane as a Safety Representative. However, any hardships of the job were offset by the amazing landscapes of our remote location. Greenland is a frozen jewel crowning the arctic in all its remote, wild beauty. Aside from the geographical splendor, perhaps my fondest memories will be of marveling at the Greenland sled dogs as they performed strenuous tasks with natural ease, and seeing the Hollywood dogs’ delight as their primal instincts awakened. In a real test of survival between man and beast, those tough, intelligent, and driven dogs would win, paws down, every time.