Wonka (2024)

In the scene where the dog jumps up on the counter and barks at the shop owner, only the trainer handled the dog. The trainers brought the dog to set and placed him on his mark. On action, they cued dog to jump on counter and bark.

In the next scene where the actors sits on a bench and the dog walks over and sniffs his leg, the dog was transported to the studio in the trainers van lined with individual cages lined with soft bedding and water bowls. The trainer took the dog out for short walks and toilet breaks through the morning. The dog and the actor were acquainted before filming. On action, the dog naturally walked to actor and sniffed his feet.

In the same sequence when the actors walk over a small bridge and the dog runs ahead of them, they filmed this scene on stage against a green screen. Rumble was walked on leash 70 yds to set by its trainers. Handlers at start and finish (off camera). The dog was rewarded with biscuits after each rehearsal and take.

When the actors walk into the store and the dog makes a bee line to his bed and lies down, again this scene was filmed in a studio. There were no hazards or obstacles which could cause the dog harm on the set. The trainer was positioned by the door which opened. On action, the trainer cued the dog to lie in his bed in the corner.

In the scene where the actor talks to group of people and the dog stands among them, prior to shooting the handler handed the dog to actress who held him during the entire scene. The handler stays on set off camera during filming.

In the scene where Wonka falls down laundry chute and the dog runs down basement stairs and barks at him, while one trailer stayed at the top of the stairs with the dog, the other handler stood at the foot of the stairs beside camera and verbally cued the dog to walk down slowly.
When the dog reached its B marker after 10 steps, animal handler gave a verbal cue and hand signal for the dog to stay. Once on hand marker handler (Julie) used a verbal cue to ask the dog to bark.

In the scene where the dog runs on the treadmill in the basement, this scene was shot in a studio against a green screen, the curved treadmill was in position. The treadmill is powered by the action of the dog walking, not electricity powered. Prior to shooting, the dog was positioned on the treadmill and the trainer crouched down in front of the treadmill. Another person knelt down behind the treadmill to manually stop the treadmill if needed. On action, the trainer cued the dog to run, the dog ran on treadmill and was rewarded with food.

In the scene where the actors walk past flamingos and open a door to see a tiger inside a room, the vfx were filmed in an indoor studio within a zoological center. The action involved the tiger jumping between platforms, roaring, and running across a studio stage. The flamingos were filmed standing, preening and exhibiting natural behaviors Post Production used the footage taken from this footage and superimposed it in the final cut.

In the scene where the actor is in the barber shop and a hairless cat sits on the counter and the cat suddenly has hair, the cat was filmed in studio, then they used its visage in final cut to make it look like it jumped and grew hair, etc. Prior to shooting, the cat’s trainer hid at end of barber shop next to cat, crouched down, ready to grab cat if necessary. Off-camera another trainer used a bait stick to help cat look at correct areas.

In the scene where the girl looks outside of hole of room and sees a pigeon outside, they filmed this scene on stage in a controlled atmosphere. Production placed a camera inside a coop. On action the pigeon was placed on the ledge of the doorway of the coop and then trainer used a whistle to cue the pigeon to walk towards to her. The pigeon was rewarded with food as soon as he flew from the coop to trainer.

In the scene where the Oompa Loompa scares a cat, prior to shooting the trainer placed the cat on an apple crate. On action, the trainer gave a verbal stay command and stepped away, then used a machine to make a sound which cued cat to jump off crate and run over to other crate, to make it look like the cat was scared off.