MovieChat Forums > Rio (2011) Discussion > Inter-species interaction

Inter-species interaction


Tell me, why is it that animals can interact with completely different species (in this case birds, dogs and monkeys) but not with humans? There are so many films that have this scenario. Why would a bird be able to talk to a dog but not to a human?

Please note: this is not a complait about the movie itself, which I really enjoyed.

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I very much enjoyed this movie, too. I thought the story, characterization, animation, and voice work were all very strong. However, that's a good question. It happens that way quite often in movies: non-human animals are able to communicate in "words" (so that we understand them) with different species, but not with people. I'm guessing it's just assumed that other animals have their own language that can be understood by most non-humans.

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We, the audience, may understand every word the human and animal characters are saying. However, when it comes to different animal species interacting with one another, their communication seems to derive from their own set of language that seems to be universal among them, which is something people won't be able to understand at all.

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But the animals don't have a universal language. Dogs bark, cats mjau, etc...

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True, every animal in existence has their own animal sounds they make, thus making it not look like it's universal at all, but nonetheless these different animal species may probably be able to understand one another as, to us humans, it's just noise.

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In reality animals understand each other much better than most humans understand them. They also understand us much better than most of us will ever understand them. that is simply because to them it doesn't matter what sound someone makes, they don't communicate with words, they communicate with energy, body language, sounds that are mostly universal. It's not the sound they bake it's how they make it. A dog will understand if a cat's meow is scarred, a warning, dominant, submissive... We use that too but we're not as much aware of that because we focus on the words spoken. So it makes a lot of sense that in cartoons animals can understand each other but humans can't. Because it's very similar in the real world.

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That does seem to be the way it works--in most animal movies/stories, at least.

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NO REASON

"This isn't TV, it's real life. Can't you tell the difference?"
"Sure - I just like TV better."

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Because in Toon Land that's how things are.




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New Siggy: Some people on IMDB whine just as bad as 2 yr olds.

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[deleted]

Is this a serious question?

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Your question is akin to the "Goofy-Pluto" conundrum - you know, Goofy can talk to Micky, yet Pluto can't because it seems he is a pet (of Micky).

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