Detailed Animal Action Report

Cat

As Carl (Jim Carrey) is walking along a driveway, a black cat startles him and runs behind a parked van. For this brief and mild action, one trainer released the cat at its starting mark and another trainer stood at its end mark behind  the parked van, using a buzzer and food reward to get the cat to come. The cat was retrieved and placed in its crate immediately after filming.

Dog

A German shepherd runs to the end of its chain forcefully and growls at Carl, whose face is inches from the dog’s face. The dog then shows its teeth and barks. This scene was filmed in separate shots. Trainers equipped the dog with a sturdy harness (not a collar) attached to a chain, which was secured to a wall. The dog was specially trained and accustomed to portraying aggression. Trainers cued the dog to move to the end of its leash toward the well-rehearsed actor and to growl. For the close-up of the dog barking and snarling, the dog and actor were filmed separately, and the dog was cued to bark and snarl.

Production provided documentation that the dead chickens seen in the slaughterhouse and chicken factory were props. They also provided documentation for the taxidermy bear and wall mounts seen in the restaurant.