Main Cast: Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Ed Asner, Michael Caton
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 84 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider stars in this comedy as Marvin Mage, a wimpy nebbish whose lifelong dreams of becoming a police officer are thwarted by his diminutive stature. But when Marvin is critically injured in an auto wreck, deranged scientist Dr. Wilder (Michael Caton) uses various animal body parts to save his life, leaving the patient with the stamina and physical skills of the organ donors. Marvin quickly gains fame as a supercop, but he's also left with all of the embarrassing animal instincts and urges that accompany his new powers -- a serious threat to his blooming romance with new girlfriend Rianna (Colleen Haskell). The Animal co-stars John C. McGinley, Edward Asner, Norm Macdonald, and Cloris Leachman. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
A comedy without fangs, The Animal actually has a strong concept. The film attempts to poke fun at how helpless humans are to control their animal urges, and occasionally it hits its mark. The scene where Marvin (Rob Schneider) must continually excuse himself from dinner with his girlfriend in order to attend to one of the base instincts she is triggering in him provides a clue as to where this film could have gone. But avoiding a box-office harming "R" rating was more important than playing this Darwinian concept out to its fullest. Schneider has a sweet, likable quality in the film, as does Survivor contestant Colleen Haskell, making her film debut as his animal-loving girlfriend, but neither is given a real character to play. Not extreme enough for the gags to flower, nor written well enough to explore the romantic angle, The Animal settles into bland inoffensiveness. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Domenic Silvestri - Art Director, Nathan T. Reimann - Associate Producer, Roger Mussenden - Casting, Elizabeth Boykewich - Casting, Tracy Kaplan - Casting, Tom Brady - Co-producer, Derek Dauchy - Co-producer, John Schneider - Co-producer, Jim Lapidus - Costume Designer, Bruce Franklin - First Assistant Director, Luke Greenfield - Director, Jeff Gourson - Editor, Peck Prior - Editor, Adam Sandler - Executive Producer, Jack Giarraputo - Executive Producer, Teddy Castellucci - Composer (Music Score), Michael Dilbeck - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gregory Nicotero - Makeup Special Effects, Howard Berger - Makeup Special Effects, K.N.B. EFX Group - Makeup Special Effects, Robert Kurtzman - Makeup Special Effects, Christopher Nelson - Makeup Special Effects, Alan Au - Production Designer, Peter Lyons Collister - Cinematographer, Barry Bernardi - Producer, Todd Garner - Producer, Carr D'Angelo - Producer, Randy McIlvain - Set Designer, Gene Serdena - Set Designer, Erwin M. Cukurs - Set Designer, Manex Visual Effects - Special Effects, David Kelson - Sound/Sound Designer, Paula Fairfield - Sound/Sound Designer, Elmo Weber - Sound/Sound Designer, Roy Arbogast - Special Effects Supervisor, Travis Baumann - Special Effects Supervisor, Tom Brady - Screen Story, Rob Schneider - Screenwriter, Tom Brady - Screenwriter, Gregg Smrz - Additional Cinematography, Jeff Gourson - Additional Cinematography, Gregg Smrz - Second Unit Camera, Jeff Gourson - Second Unit Camera, Steve Berens - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Travis Baumann - Digital Effects, Gregory Nicotero - Makeup Supervisor, Howard Berger - Makeup Supervisor, Robert Kurtzman - Makeup Supervisor, Christopher Nelson - Makeup Supervisor, J.J. George - Music Editor, Manex Visual Effects - Visual Effects, Gene Serdena - Set Decorator
