Poor Things (2023)

In the scene where the actress rides the tricycle towards the front door followed by a chicken that barks like a dog, animal handlers brought the rooster in a cage to set and put him down near the tricycle to get him used it. On action, the actress rides the bike with the rooster following close behind. Soon after we see the actress peddles to the door with a dog following behind. For this scene the wranglers brought the dog to the set, placed him next to actress and on action they cued dog to run towards them off-camera.

In the scene when the actors walk outside the house and get into a horse and carriage, prior to filming, the horses were kept in an area next to their float tethered to the handler’s truck on a stretch of concrete road. They were supervised at all times by their handlers. In their holding area they were supplied with food, water, and rest.
When called to set, horses had their costume harness affixed and were hitched to their respective carriages by their handlers. On action, they pulled their carriages with horses driven by their handlers approximately two hundred yards to the set over a clear concrete road.

In the scene where we see the actress feeding a chicken with a dog’s head and a goat with a chicken’s head, before shooting the scene the director asked the trainers to bring the animals close to set. Animal trainers brought the pig, goat and two dogs to set. On action, the actress fed all the animals by hand. The animals were changed in post.
In the scene where the dog jumps into the bed and wakes actor up, trainers placed food on the bed near the actor. On action the trainers let the puppy go, he jumped near the actor to where the food was placed.

In the scene where the actress smacks the frog, killing it, production provided us with the documentation for the fake dead frog.

In the scene where the actor proposes marriage to the actress and we see a rabbit and goat in the background, the animal handlers placed the animals in their spots. On action, the trainers stood off camera watching them.
In the scene where the man wakes up to a rooster with a pig’s head on his chest, they placed the animal on actor’s chest. They changed it to a pig’s head in post.

In the scene where the actor arrives at the house in the horse and carriage, the drivers of the carriages where professionals in wardrobe. Between takes the horses were watered and fed.

In the scene where the actors are in bed in the bedroom and a bird lands on a dresser, the handlers brought homing pigeons near the room in cages. The balcony was covered with a net. The other windows were closed in the room. There was a 1m diameter whole on the ceiling, it was covered with a net as well. The handler stood behind the closed bedroom door outside with a net for safety. They used a total of 3 birds, to make sure they were not get overtired. On action, the handler released the pigeon who landed on the dresser.

In the scene where the actress walks down a street in Lisbon and we see someone walking a dog, a donkey and horses in the background, the horses were shod with rubber shoes. Carriage horse was properly harnessed with breast-collar harness. The carriage had enough space at the starting point and arriving point to turn around and grooms helped turning the carriage. Carriage horse was uneasy waiting.

Dogs arrived to set on leash and stayed on leash all the time. Dogs were comfortable on set, well trained and cooperative with extras. Animal trainers gave treats to extras, so they could reinforce the dogs. Animal handlers were off camera and helped to reset the dogs between takes. Animal handler watered the dogs between takes.

In the scene where the actress walks on the streets and encounters a large aquarium filled with fish, animal handlers brought fish in plastic bags and were properly tempered to the tank water before releasing. The fish tank had a heater and air pump. Fish wrangler used a water conditioner prior, water quality was appropriate for the fish. Production wanted to see the fish in the tank, so animal wrangler brought fish food to set and showed the extra how to sprinkle a little to the water. Fish wrangler stood off camera and checked the fish between takes, also turned the air pump on between takes.

In the scene where the actor kills a seagull on the boat, this scene was achieved with the mixture of a fake bird and a real one. Animal trainers brought the birds near set in separate boxes. Production wanted the actor to hold the bird on the deck, while the bird was flapping his wings. Just before filming, the trainer took the bird out of the box, and showed actor how to hold the bird safely. On action, the actors talked with the bird in his hand. The dead bird was a taxidermy bird.

In the scene where the actor calls to dog who stares at actress aggressively, Dog was well socialized and trained for the action. The dog’s wrangler brought him to set and put him on his mark. On action, the trainer cued to the dog to stare at him off-camera.

Due to limited resources and scheduling issues, American Humane missed some of the horse, dog, goat and chicken action