MovieChat Forums > Marco Polo (2014) Discussion > Season 2 episode 9! Animal cruelty?

Season 2 episode 9! Animal cruelty?

posted 8 years ago by priyanshirmehta
3 replies | jump to latest

It never really hit me how much animal cruelty was depicted in the series until the beginning of episode 9, the horde of horses on fire, I assume that its special effects. BUT after research online it could be real or special effects 50% - 50%, the American Humane society will only supervise if the series wants to use the "no animals were harmed in the making of" tag. But I've not seen that tag anywhere in Marco Polo (and a lot of other tv shows and movies). Which makes me wonder and thus this question - We're animals in the making of Marco Polo?

[–] rgchapman1 8 years ago

NO ANIMALS WERE BURNED ALIVE DURING THE PRODUCTION.
Almost every battle, large fire, were very obvious CGI. Purposely cartoonish I think.

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[–] willsons-2 8 years ago

I thought it was pretty obvious that it was CGI.

I doubt any horse could have survived that long to run into the camp if they were on fire. There would have been a huge furore if dozens of horses were killed just for that seen.

"I care about the law. It's justice I don't give a toss about." Cleaver Greene

[–] Milliecake 8 years ago

While I think there was some disagreement between the Weinstein Company (MP production company) and the AHA, there's no way they would set fire to horses for any movie or television show. The company would go bust over night at any sniff of deliberate cruelty to animals and end up prosecuted and worse. (Look at what happened to one dentist when he killed a lion!)

That whole scene was so horrific, although unrealistic, with the horses screaming. Season 2 is such a mixed bag with so many lows - killing the little boy Emperor, the horses on fire, Kokachin going mad, everyone turning on Marco at the end. It needs some highs to counterbalance - something GoT gets right - and not even Hundred Eyes scenes could give that pay off.