The Animal World (film)

The Animal World
The Animal World
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Irwin Allen
Written by	Irwin Allen
Produced by	Irwin Allen
Narrated by	Theodore Von Eltz
Cinematography	Harold E. Wellman
Edited by	Robert Belcher; Gene Palmer
Music by	Paul Sawtell
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	May 30, 1956 (New York);
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States

The Animal World is a 1956 American documentary film that was produced, written and directed by Irwin Allen. The film includes live-action footage of animals throughout the world, along with a ten-minute stop motion animated sequence about dinosaurs.

Irwin's intention was to show the progression of life over time, although he noted, "We don't use the word 'evolution.' We hope to walk a very thin line. On one hand we want the scientists to say this film is right and accurate, and yet we don't want to have the church picketing the film."^[1]

Plot

The special effects in the film's dinosaur sequence were produced by Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien. Irwin originally planned to film the scenes as a series of static dioramas with plastic models, but Harryhausen suggested that the scenes would be more memorable if they were animated.^[2] The dinosaurs that appear include a spikeless Lexovisaurus; a pair of Genyodectes; a Triceratops; a Tyrannosaurus (which doubles as a Megalosaurus); and a female Dicraeosaurus, along with one of her hatchlings.^[2]

Reception

The film ended up with a profit of over $500,000.^[3]

Comic book adaptation

Dell Four Color #713 (August 1956)^[4]^[5]

References

^ Oscar Godbout. "From primordial ooze to primates". The New York Times. 13 February 1955. p. 113.
^ ^a ^b Roy P. Webber. The Dinosaur Films of Ray Harryhausen. McFarland & Company, 2004. p. 87-88.
^ "Irwin Allen's Slants on Stars". Variety. 9 October 1957. p. 21.
^ "Dell Four Color #713". Grand Comics Database.
^ Dell Four Color #713 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)