Detailed Animal Action Report

A bear is used throughout the film. For all chase scenes where the bear is seen breaking branches, twigs, small trees etc., the material used was made out of break-away balsa wood. Several trainers were strategically positioned around the perimeters where the bear worked. The area was checked and cleared of all debris hazardous to the bear and moss and sawdust were layered on the ground to cushion his footing.

While flying to a possible photo shoot location, a large flock of ducks fly into the plane, shattering the propeller and causes the plane to crash. Charles, Bob and Stephen, Bob’s assistant, find themselves stranded in the wilderness. While making their way through the woods, Stephen hears a grunting sound coming from the brush. The grunting sound turns out to be a bear and the three men start running in the opposite direction until they come to a large gap in the ravine. Bob notices a large log to the side and starts pulling it to the edge. The three men maneuver the log across the ravine and quickly move across. The bear is heard roaring behind them and then charges in Charles direction, swiping at the man as he starts across the log. The bear pounces on the log trying to knock him off. This scene was shot in several cuts. In some segments of the scene, the trainers doubled for the actor. With a special camera lens, the ravine is made to look much deeper than it really is. The side of the ravine where the bear worked was built up to support his weight and the log is not a real log but one built to hold the weight of the large animal. For the chase scenes, the trainer places the bear on his mark and cued him with verbal commands. This was accomplished in short distance takes. All of the growling and snarling was inserted during post-production. The shot of the birds crashing into the front of the plane was accomplished through special effects techniques.

Later, the bear again catches up with the trio and attacks Stephen, killing him. The bear grabs Stephen’s leg and starts tossing him from side to side. To distract the bear, Charles grabs a piece of wood from the fire and waves it at the bear which indeed attracts his attention for a short time. Stephen starts to crawl away and the bear notices this and turns his attention back to his original victim. Bob grabs Charles and they run through the woods attempting to put distance between them and the bear. As they retreat they can hear the roar of the bear echoing through the woods. This scene was shot in several cuts. An animatronic and a real bear was used. The trainer doubled for the actor in all scenes where the bear is seen coming in direct contact with a human. When the bear is seen grabbing the trainer’s leg, a special stunt pad was attached to a harness that was worn on the leg area. The bear was actually grabbing the harness and jerking it back and forth. A dummy was used for all scenes where the bear is seen picking the man up and tossing him in the air. The trainer doubled as the actor when Charles is supposedly waving the flaming stick at the bear. The stick was made out of break away balsa wood. The scenes were shot through the fire to make appear that the actors and the bear were closer to the flames than they actually were. The trainer used verbal commands with food and verbal praise as a reward.

Later, Charles is seen sitting beside a stream attempting to catch some fish, when he notices the bear is watching him. Charles gets up and starts running for camp as the bear charges through the woods breaking branches etc. Charles jumps down into a hole and the bear sticks his head in and starts growling. The bear swats his paw at the men several times. Charles picks up a makeshift spear and begins jabbing at the bear as he backs away. The men have made a trap for the bear. When they released it, a log with spears attached, plummets towards the bear from the tree above. The device initially misses the bear, however upon the return swing it hits the bear in the shoulder.

The bear roars and starts chasing the retreating men. He slides down a hill and into the water, making his way to the other side where the men wait with spears poised. The bear rises and swats Charles, making him fall. The bear then turns his attention to Bob and knocks him to the ground. Charles comes to Bob’s aid as he pokes the bear in the butt with the spear. Charles walks backwards and continues to fight the animal. The bear stumbles and falls on top of Charles and the spear, killing the animal instantly. This scene was shot in several cuts. An animatronic, a man in a bear suit, and a real bear were used. The animatronic was used for the killing scene and a human in a bear suit were used for segments of the fight scenes. Fake spears were used made out of the balsa break-away wood. The trap device was made of balsa wood, foam, and rubber with spears attached that were 3-6ft. long made out of the same material. The trap device was always in a stationary position when the bear was present. Any movement seen was shot without the bear and inserted with the background during post-production.

There is a scene at the hotel where Charles encounters a bear in the kitchen. For this scene a man in a bear suit was used.

Other animal action consists of some ducks flying over the woods and landing on the lake and some geese flying South. Both of these scenes were actual stock footage. There is also a scene where Charles and Bob have set a trap to catch some food and they trap a squirrel. The squirrel, wearing a harness, was tethered on top of a log. The trap was then placed over the top of the squirrel.

American Humane was present on set to monitor the animal action with assistance by the Calgary Humane Society. We are rating The Edge “Acceptable”.