Certified Animal Action Overview

No Animals Were Harmed™ was on hand to make sure every animal moment in this film was handled with care, patience and respect for natural behavior. For scenes at the motel, a calm, well-trained cat was gently placed on a windowsill while a trainer waited just out of sight, allowing the actress to pass by before the cat was promptly returned to its carrier. In the office sequence, several kittens were simply placed near food on the desk and allowed to explore and eat naturally while trainers observed them. Later moments showing the actress bonding with her kitten were filmed by letting the kitten relax, eat and rest naturally on set while the actress performed nearby. Additional scenes, including a kitten calmly holding its mark on a counter and a young girl introducing her pet turtle, were carefully rehearsed, supervised and concluded with the animals safely returned to their carriers.

Detailed Animal Action Report

In the scene where the actress passes by window of motel office and we see a cat sitting in the window sill, prior to filming the trainer brought the cat to the set on a lead. They placed her on the sill and crouched under its ledge. On action, they filmed the actress walk past the window. At cut, they collected the cat and placed him back in the carrier.

In the subsequent scene where the actress sits in the motel office talking to the owner and there are several kittens walking on the desk and the owner gives the actress a kitten, prior to filming the scene, trainers placed kittens on the desk near the food and stepped back, crouching off-camera. On action, the kittens performed natural behaviors on the desk including eating the food and exploring. Halfway through the scene, one actress picks up the kitten, hands it to the other actress who takes her and walks out the door.

In the montage sequence where we see the actress living in the motel room and taking care of her new kitten, which includes feeding her water, sitting back on couch and journaling as the kitten rests, and feeding it from a bowl, the trainers brought the kitten to the set where they placed food and water for her. After placing her on her mark, they let the kitten exhibit natural behaviors as the actress performed the scene.

In the scene where the two actors walk into the motel room and we see the kitten sitting on the counter, trainers brought the kitten to set in a carrier. Prior to filming, a rehearsal was done without the kitten, using a toy to show the cast and camera crew where the cat would be. Just before the actors performed, the trainer placed kitten on her mark on the counter and cued her to stay, then hid in the bathroom nearby. On cut, the trainer gathered the kitten and placed her back in its case.

In the scene where a little girl shows the actress her pet turtle in her backyard, prior to filming the trainer carried the turtle to set in its container. The plastic terrarium had a vented lid for airflow. Before action, the trainer took the turtle out of its terrarium and placed it on the ground. They carefully chose the turtle’s mark so everyone knew where it was located. On action, the little girl picked up the turtle and ran to the group of actors. The actors walked to the turtle’s mark where the little girl placed it on the ground and they looked at it. After cut, the turtle was returned to its carrier. The trainers also refreshed the water in both terrariums and poured some water over the turtle as well.