Over the years, I have come across a variety of family movies that paired children with animals. I’ve seen several “boy and his dog” movies. I’ve seen a “girl and her reindeer” movie. I’ve seen a “boy and his bear” movie. I’ve even seen a “boy and his dolphin” movie. Just recently, I saw a movie that paired a boy and a… seal? I personally never thought seals had the stuff to be in a movie like those other examples before I saw The Golden Seal, but here’s the movie all the same. Read and see if it gets my seal of approval.
Keith Bailey is the proprietor of The Unknown Movies Page.
#1 by Nathan Shumate on September 3rd, 2009
I remember that! I saw it in grade school. I still remember the scene where the storekeeper is loading up the boxes from the father’s weekly or monthly journey to civilization for supplies — part of the supplies was a stack of comics. Yes!
#2 by Joshua on September 3rd, 2009
Wow. It really is about a seal. I figured “seal” meant an amulet or something, and that you were actually reviewing a family-friendly fantasy movie.
#3 by Naomi on September 3rd, 2009
Eleven years later, there were two, somewhat less obscure movies about girls and their seals (“Andre” and “The Secret of Roan Inish” (although the second one might not count, for reasons that would spoil the plot)).
In all these movies, the seals are played by sea lions. The standard explanation for this substitution is that seals are “too difficult to train” (read: really floppy and sad-looking on land).
#4 by Nathan Shumate on September 3rd, 2009
Andre belongs to that special subgenre of “Anti-social problem adolescence finds acceptance and wisdom througgh his/her friendship with X” (a seal, dog, killer whale, orangutan, dolphin, sasquatch, etc.).
#5 by lyzard on September 4th, 2009
…tarantula. Well, no, I guess she never did find acceptance and wisdom, did she?
#6 by Blake on September 4th, 2009
I remember when “Napolean Dynamite” became a sleeper hit and I went to go to see it. I saw Tina Marjorino and my reaction was, “They got the girl from ‘Andre’? Classy stuff.”
#7 by Nathan Shumate on September 4th, 2009
Whereas I thought, “I wonder if she’s still got that big-ass tattoo on her back?”
#8 by Ciaran on September 4th, 2009
Ironically just saw this story this morning
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/09/02/bc-seal-attack-west-vaancouver.html?ref=rss
A seal may not be the best animal for a kid to be paired up with.
#9 by Naomi on September 4th, 2009
Type your comment here
No kidding!