Movie Review: Mirror, Mirror
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Mirror, Mirror Monitored: Outstanding “No Animals Were Harmed”®
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Based on the famous Brothers Grimm fairytale, an evil queen takes control of a kingdom while the exiled princess enlists the help of seven rebels to win back her right to be queen.
Featured Animal Action:
All grounds were inspected for hazards and sets were closed off and secured. Cast and crew members were introduced to the animals and instructed on their proper handling.
Throughout the film there is ample horse action. All horseback riders were stunt riders or experienced actors who were skilled at riding, mounting and dismounting. All running/galloping scenes were well choreographed, and actors used caution while on and near the animals. In the scene where the horse kneels down, the horse was specially trained to kneel on cue on a soft landing area. Horse rearing was also a trained behavior. Whenever horses were seen tied to trees, they were attached to lead ropes. When teams of horses pulled wagons or carriages, the drivers were experienced and teams of horses were familiar with each other and accustomed to the pulling action.
In the scene where snow falls on a horse, spooking it, and results in horse kicking an actor, trainers used a horse trained to kick. The horse never actually made contact with the actor. When the snow falls on the horse, causing it to kick, the snow was artificial and nontoxic.
In the scene, where two men jump on horses and ride them side by side, experienced stunt riders performed the scene. Likewise, in the battle scene where the actor falls off horse and another jumps off, experienced stuntmen performed the scene without a hitch and horses were trained and accustomed to this kind of action.
In the scene where bird flies in through the window, sits on top of a chair and actress feeds it, trainers placed the bird on the top of the chair, which was sanitized and they gently attached a tether to its leg to make sure it would remain still. Trainers were just off-camera.
In the “beauty treatment” scene where two birds are in a cage, trainers placed bird seed in the cage to keep them still and allowed them to act naturally. In the series of scenes where we see snakes, snails, scorpions and other insects on actresses’ body, trainers were off camera and quickly retrieved the different species after filming each scene. In the scene where fish in a bowl bite the tips of the actresses’ fingers, trainers used fish which were naturally inclined to bite dead skin. In the conclusion to this series of scenes, a fake bee is extracted from a glass jar filled with other bees and then seen stinging the actress’ lips. The jar was properly ventilated and the bees were placed in the jar moments before filming took place, and retrieved after the scene was complete. In the scene where the centipede crawls into the queen’s ear, the centipede was made using Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).
In the scene where the actor turns into a cockroach, crawls into the room and turns into an actor again, trainers released a cockroach on mark, had it walk to another mark, and retrieved it after filming.
American Humane Association’s On-Set Oversight
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