Fierce Creatures
Encyclopedia
Fierce Creatures is a 1997 comedy film
. Although not a sequel, it was a follow-up to the wildly popular A Fish Called Wanda
, starring the same four actors, John Cleese
, Jamie Lee Curtis
, Kevin Kline
and Michael Palin
. The movie was written by John Cleese and directed by Fred Schepisi and Robert Young
.
The story is centred on a British
zoo which has recently been acquired by New Zealand
businessman Rod McCain (played by Kevin Kline) and put under the management of Rollo Lee (Cleese). In order to boost profits, Lee decides to institute a "fierce creatures" policy that means that only potentially deadly animals will be featured in the zoo. The film was dedicated to Gerald Durrell
and Peter Cook
, and was partially filmed at Jersey Zoo, the zoological park started by Durrell.
, and also very similar to a real life zoo used for filming, Marwell) that has recently been acquired by Octopus Inc., a corporation run by CEO Rod McCain (Kevin Kline
), the most powerful man alive. Octopus Inc. requires that all its investments return a 20% profit margin. Retired British Hong Kong
policeman Rollo Lee (John Cleese
) is put in charge of the zoo, and in order to reach the required profit margin he institutes the "fierce creatures" policy where only potentially lethal animals will be kept in the zoo, based on the belief that violence will attract more visitors.
All the animal keepers, including the spider-handler Bugsy (Michael Palin
), protest the policy and make various attempts to get Rollo to change his mind. One such attempt involves the caretakers feigning injuries all over the zoo, which they claim was caused by the animals suddenly becoming fierce. Rollo sees through their ruse and calls them on it. When a real zoo visitor is injured in an unrelated accident, Rollo refuses to take it seriously, and his rough treatment of the injured woman (including licking her leg to prove the blood is fake) causes him to be suspended.
At this time, businesswoman Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis
) from Octopus Inc. arrives at the zoo to take over, demoting Rollo to middle management. Tagging along is Vince McCain (also Kevin Kline
), the Vice President
of Marketing
for Octopus Inc. and frequently insulted son of Rod McCain. Willa and Vince begin obtaining numerous sponsorships for the zoo to raise the revenue. Soon Vince starts using celebrity names and over-the-top advertising that degrades the animals as well as their caretakers. His shallow understanding of the zoo makes him the enemy of everyone there, including Rollo and Willa, who have begun to fall in love with the zoo and with each other.
When Rod McCain arrives in London for a visit, everyone is concerned about the zoo's status. Rollo and Bugsy learn that Rod wants to close the zoo for under-performing, and it is revealed that Vince has been stealing the sponsorship money.
A confrontation takes place at the zoo office, with Willa, Rollo and Bugsy stopping Vince from running off with a bag containing the money. When Bugsy refuses to shut up, Vince loses his temper and grabs a Beretta pistol from the management office. Rod arrives just as Vince is being subdued, and he announces that the police are on the way to arrest Vince for stealing. Vince tries but fails to shoot his father, and when Bugsy takes the pistol it accidentally goes off, shooting Rod between the eyes.
In the panic that follows a plan emerges to fool the arriving police. The animal caretakers work together to dress Vince up as Rod, since he can imitate his father's New Zealand accent fairly well. When the police and Rod's assistant, Neville, arrive, Vince (as Rod) tells them that he has re-written his will, specifying that the zoo will become a trust of the caretakers and Vince inherits everything else, and he wants all of them to be witnesses. After signing the new will, Vince locks himself in a caretaker hut where he feigns Rod's suicide.
Now free, the zookeepers destroy the evidence of McCain's ownership. Vince becomes the new CEO of Octopus (along with firing Neville), while Willa and Rollo begin a new life together while continuing to run the zoo.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. Although not a sequel, it was a follow-up to the wildly popular A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 crime-comedy film written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. It was directed by Crichton and an uncredited Cleese, and stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. The film is about a jewel heist and its aftermath...
, starring the same four actors, John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
, Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
. The movie was written by John Cleese and directed by Fred Schepisi and Robert Young
Robert Young (director)
Robert William Young is a British television and film director.Young was born in Cheltenham, and in the 1980s and early 1990s, established himself as a leading director of British TV drama. In the 1970s, he directed Vampire Circus and Hammer House of Horror...
.
The story is centred on a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
zoo which has recently been acquired by New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
businessman Rod McCain (played by Kevin Kline) and put under the management of Rollo Lee (Cleese). In order to boost profits, Lee decides to institute a "fierce creatures" policy that means that only potentially deadly animals will be featured in the zoo. The film was dedicated to Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
and Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, and was partially filmed at Jersey Zoo, the zoological park started by Durrell.
Plot
The story centres around Marwood Zoo (named after John Marwood CleeseJohn Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, and also very similar to a real life zoo used for filming, Marwell) that has recently been acquired by Octopus Inc., a corporation run by CEO Rod McCain (Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
), the most powerful man alive. Octopus Inc. requires that all its investments return a 20% profit margin. Retired British Hong Kong
British Hong Kong
British Hong Kong refers to Hong Kong as a Crown colony and later, a British dependent territory under British administration from 1841 to 1997.- Colonial establishment :...
policeman Rollo Lee (John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
) is put in charge of the zoo, and in order to reach the required profit margin he institutes the "fierce creatures" policy where only potentially lethal animals will be kept in the zoo, based on the belief that violence will attract more visitors.
All the animal keepers, including the spider-handler Bugsy (Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
), protest the policy and make various attempts to get Rollo to change his mind. One such attempt involves the caretakers feigning injuries all over the zoo, which they claim was caused by the animals suddenly becoming fierce. Rollo sees through their ruse and calls them on it. When a real zoo visitor is injured in an unrelated accident, Rollo refuses to take it seriously, and his rough treatment of the injured woman (including licking her leg to prove the blood is fake) causes him to be suspended.
At this time, businesswoman Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
) from Octopus Inc. arrives at the zoo to take over, demoting Rollo to middle management. Tagging along is Vince McCain (also Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
), the Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
for Octopus Inc. and frequently insulted son of Rod McCain. Willa and Vince begin obtaining numerous sponsorships for the zoo to raise the revenue. Soon Vince starts using celebrity names and over-the-top advertising that degrades the animals as well as their caretakers. His shallow understanding of the zoo makes him the enemy of everyone there, including Rollo and Willa, who have begun to fall in love with the zoo and with each other.
When Rod McCain arrives in London for a visit, everyone is concerned about the zoo's status. Rollo and Bugsy learn that Rod wants to close the zoo for under-performing, and it is revealed that Vince has been stealing the sponsorship money.
A confrontation takes place at the zoo office, with Willa, Rollo and Bugsy stopping Vince from running off with a bag containing the money. When Bugsy refuses to shut up, Vince loses his temper and grabs a Beretta pistol from the management office. Rod arrives just as Vince is being subdued, and he announces that the police are on the way to arrest Vince for stealing. Vince tries but fails to shoot his father, and when Bugsy takes the pistol it accidentally goes off, shooting Rod between the eyes.
In the panic that follows a plan emerges to fool the arriving police. The animal caretakers work together to dress Vince up as Rod, since he can imitate his father's New Zealand accent fairly well. When the police and Rod's assistant, Neville, arrive, Vince (as Rod) tells them that he has re-written his will, specifying that the zoo will become a trust of the caretakers and Vince inherits everything else, and he wants all of them to be witnesses. After signing the new will, Vince locks himself in a caretaker hut where he feigns Rod's suicide.
Now free, the zookeepers destroy the evidence of McCain's ownership. Vince becomes the new CEO of Octopus (along with firing Neville), while Willa and Rollo begin a new life together while continuing to run the zoo.
Cast
- John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Rollo Lee - Jamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
as Willa Weston - Kevin KlineKevin KlineKevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
as Vince McCain/Rod McCain - Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
as Adrian 'Bugsy' Malone - Robert LindsayRobert Lindsay (actor)Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
as Sydney Lotterby - Ronnie CorbettRonnie CorbettRonald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
as Reggie Sea Lions - Carey LowellCarey LowellCarey Lowell is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Lowell was born in Huntington, New York and spent much of her childhood traveling with her father, James Lowell, who was a geologist. Immediately after graduating from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO., she was signed by the...
as Cub Felines - Bille BrownBille BrownBille Brown, AM is an Australian Shakespearean actor and acclaimed writer of plays.Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at the University of Queensland where he received and Honorary Doctorate of Letters...
as Neville - Derek GriffithsDerek GriffithsDerek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
as Garry Ungulates - Cynthia CleeseCynthia CleeseCynthia Cleese is an English/American actress.The daughter of British actor John Cleese and American actress Connie Booth, she is best known for A Fish Called Wanda where she played daughter Portia to Cleese's character Archie Leach...
as Pip Small Mammals - Richard RidingsRichard RidingsRichard Ridings is a British actor and is best known for his portrayal of Allan Ashburn in the ITV television drama Fat Friends, and for playing Bernard Green in the BBC1 comedy-drama Common as Muck. He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.Ridings was born in...
as Hugh Primates - Maria AitkenMaria AitkenMaria Penelope Katharine Aitken is an English actress, writer, producer and director.Aitken was born in Dublin, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and socialite Penelope Aitken, whose father was John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby. She is a great-niece of newspaper magnate and...
as Di Harding