"... Every year, if we looked at it historically, we had been in a number of films that were in the running," said Jone Bouman, American Humane communications director.

That fact triggered a thought: "What if we had our own award that would acknowledge and recognize these films, what would it look like?"

"The more we talked about it, the more we realized it was a great idea," Bouman said.

Although the group has worked on approximately 1,000 TV, commercial and movie productions this year, Bouman says the process of naming "the best" films "wasn't hard because they were the ones that sorta came to the top of our minds."

"These films had some interesting, unusual, unique and heartwarming background stories that were important and in some way stood out," Jone explained of the five films chosen.

She was careful to point out that while the named films do carry the "no animals were harmed" end-credit disclaimer, hundreds of other films also did an exemplary job in protecting their animal actors.

"However, we think these five films deserve a little extra applause," Bouman said of the list which could develop into an official award by next year's Oscar season.

American Humane's pick of this year's best films are as follows.

Best Movie Magic Featuring an Animal: "The Dark Knight." The film features a very dramatic sequence in which dogs attack a man and are then attacked themselves. Rest assured, no dogs were harmed. The production used a combination of techniques, including playing with the dogs, filming the dogs from various angles and using prop dogs, to achieve a realistic effect.

Most Poignant Movie Illustrating the Human-Animal Bond: "Marley & Me." If you saw it, you had to dig out some tissues. This movie shows that even an overly rambunctious dog is still a valued and important member of the family, and the loss of a companion animal is truly the loss of a friend.

Best Behind-the-Scenes Rescue Story: "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." According to Chris Obonsawin, American Humane's Certified Animal Safety Representative on the set of this film, one of the lead dogs who played Papi was a day away from being euthanized before a trainer discovered him in a California animal shelter. The dog now lives with the movie's head trainer. Many trainers find their animals at animal shelters -- trainer Frank Inn adopted a mutt from a California shelter in the 1960s. The mutt became "Benji."

Best Group Effort to Protect Horses: "Appaloosa." In Appaloosa, there is a scene in which men on horses cross a stream, then gallop up a ravine. The Animal Safety Representative, Ed Lish, explained that sending the horses through a stream, where sharp rocks or other dangers might be hidden under the water, would be against AmericanHumane's guidelines. The entire crew immediately jumped in to scour both the stream and the ravine to clear the way of debris and ensure safety and comfort for the horses.

Best Rescue by a Snake: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." When Mutt grabs a vine to save Indy, who is sinking in quicksand, they find themselves grasping a snake. The production used a real python for some gentle "establishing shots," then brought in a prop substitute for the "real" action.

This is the first awards list the American Humane has done since the "PATSY" Award ended in the mid 1980s, after more than 30 years of hosting the event to honor the "Performing Animal Top Star of the Year."

"We have considered bring the PATSY back -- and that is a pretty large endeavour -- but we certainly would rejuvenate it," Bouman said of the former event if there was enough interest in it again.

For more information on American Humane, visit www.americanhumane.org.

Source: zootoo.com

Photo credit: ZT Pet News Illustration