Certified Animal Action Overview

No Animals Were Harmed™ was on set to monitor every moment with animals, who were guided with care, patience, and familiar routines. The dogs and cats were introduced to each scene by professional handlers, encouraged with praise and treats and allowed to move, greet, bark or relax exactly as they would at home. Scenes were carefully staged so animals entered spaces naturally, walking down hallways, greeting actors or roaming freely, while wranglers stayed just out of view to provide reassurance and rewards. From quiet indoor moments to energetic entrances, every scene was monitored to prioritize safety, comfort and the animals’ natural behavior at all times.

In the scene where the actor walks down the hall, opens his child’s door and a dog walks out of the room and ambles down the hallway, prior to filming the handler brought the dog into the bedroom and closed the door. On action, while the actors bickered in the hallway outside the bedroom, one of the actors opened the door, the wrangler released the dog who stepped out and walked down the hallway. Another wrangler stood at the end of the hallway, off-camera, and rewarded the dog with food.

In the scene where the actor walks into the kitchen where his ex-wife and kids are talking and we see the dogs in the background, prior to filming the handler walked the dogs from the animal holding area to the set. Then the handler reintroduced the dogs to the actors. The actors previously worked with the dogs and were comfortable being around them. The handler held the dogs in place and placed them on their starting marks in the kitchen before hiding out of frame. On action, as the actress sat on the couch while the main actor walked into the house, the handler called the dogs into the foyer to make it look as though the dogs were greeting the actor who came inside. While the actors exchanged dialogue, the dogs freely roamed around the living room area, exhibiting natural behaviors.

In the scene where the actor walks into the house holding a dog while everyone celebrates a kid’s birthday party, the handler held the dogs in the foyer of the house. The front door was ajar. On action, the main actor knocked on the front door, and handler the wrangler released the dogs, where both dogs naturally barked in response to the knocking. For the second part of the scene, where the actor picked up one of the dogs and carried him into the kitchen. The dog actually belongs to the actor who’s carrying him so picking him up was very natural. On cut, the wrangler collected the dogs and reset them for the next take.

In the scene where the actor walks into the girl’s apartment and we see a cat sitting in the kitchen sink, handlers stood outside the small kitchen in the hallway in case the cat escaped. Prior to filming the wrangler brought the cat to set in his carrier, took him out and placed him on the kitchen counter. She gave him food to keep him on his mark. On action, the cat sat in the kitchen sink as the actors exchanged dialogue.

In the scene where the actor pulls up to house in his van and the actress opens the front door and the two dogs run out of the house and into the van, prior to filming, dogs were in their private holding downstairs, production closed off the streets to public traffic. In order to successfully execute this scene, one wrangler crouched in the back of the van while the other wrangler held the dogs in the foyer of the house. On action, the wrangler in the house released the dogs, while the other wrangler called to them from the back of the van. The dogs were rewarded with treats and brought back in the house where it was cool.