More Cephalopod Cinema Please
The Thimble Tickle Giant Squid of 1878 (Image Credit: Julie Potton, CC BY 4.0)
Tag Archives: movie
Marvel-ous Mythology and Bad Biologists
During the two most recent episodes of our podcast Cinematica Animalia, we looked at some of the mythical Chinese creatures portrayed in Marvel’s recent outing, Shang-Chi, and some movie science tropes that always ignite a bit of ire for biologists.
Read moreThe Ecology of The Lion King (With Lion Specialist Maria Gatta)
Image Credit: Wade Tregaskis, CC BY-NC 2.0, Image Cropped.
If there’s one film that I could perhaps credit for sparking my fascination with the natural world, the it’s The Land Before Time. BUT if we’re going with films that do not feature the most gangly Pachycephalosaurids you ever did see, then it has to be The Lion King. The sweeping landscapes, the (at times literal) fountains of species, the Shakespearian drama, the poor understanding of trophic cascades – it’s got it all.
Read moreBreaking Down Biology at the Movies
Ever seen a movie monster burst onto screen and wondered “hang on, how does that thing breed”? Or seen a fictional world full of strange ecosystems and wanted to know how they evolved? Or even just seen a big old predator hunt down humans one by one and asked yourself if they’d ever behave like that in real life?
Read moreSkull Island Biology: The Science Behind Kong’s Home
With the latest incarnation of King Kong hitting the big (and small) screen again this week, I’m naturally getting a bit excited. Obviously I’m keen to see Godzilla romping around smashing stuff again, but deep down I’ve always been more interested in the big primate, and a lot of that has to do with his birthplace, Skull Island.
Read moreLessons From The Lion King
Image Credit: Raymond Santi, CC BY 4.0
After Disney nailed The Jungle Book three years ago (by giving it an actual plot) and made almost a billion USD, it was inevitable that The Lion King was next in big-budget almost-entirely-animal-based Disney capers (I’m guessing the Aristocats is next up). And thus, the Circle of Massive Corporate Cashgrabs Life was completed this summer. Whether you liked it or not, you can’t deny that it was a movie that was made and that at least one child somewhere saw.
So, let’s have a look at it from an ecologist’s perspective.
The Ecology of Godzilla
With the King of the Monsters back for his second turn in cinemas, we go through the big, the bad and the bigger problems that a creature of this size might have if it lived on Earth. Is feeding on radiation useful? Don’t be ridiculous.
The Ecology of Godzilla
3:24 – Cinematic History of Godzilla
13:54 – The Ecology of Godzilla
42:16 – Godzilla vs. No-one
The Physiology of Godzilla
01:41 – 2014 Godzilla Need-to-Know
07:08 – The Physiology of Godzilla
37:14 – Vet’s PSA (Adopting Foreign Pets)
Ecology of a Forest God
Image Credit: The Ritual, 2017
In our discussion of 2017’s The Ritual, we stumble through a large confusing forest riddled with large spinous processes and patches of burnt skin. Should you hang a corpse up in your front garden? Probably not. Not good for the soil.
00:28 – SciComm & the Insect Apolcalypse
07:16 – The Norse Gods in Cinema
15:04 – Ecology of the Forest God
43:43 – The Forest God v. Beowulf
You can also find us on iTunes and Google Play.
The Ecology of a Big Gorilla Wolf Motherf***er
Image Credit: Attack the Block, 2011
We examine the ecology of the BGWMs of 2011’s Attack the Block. Sexual ecology has never been more furry. Or glow-in-the-dark. Actually sexual ecology can get pretty furry. Also we have two fights this week.
3:05 – The Chimera in Cinema
11:41 – Ecology of a BGWM
38:38 – BGWMs vs. Liam Neeson from The Grey
You can also find us on iTunes and Google Play.
The Concept of Certainty in Ecological Science
Image Credit: qimono, Pixabay licence, Image Cropped
Ecology for the Masses 