One night just before the Oscar ceremony, my boyfriend decided to catch up with the Latvian animated film “Flow”, which earns the best animation features. When I returned home from dinner, I discovered that the film was attracting the attention of another viewer – my dog Daisy, Corgi Mix.
If you search Tiktok, you will find several videos of dogs and cats watching the “flow” with dog and cat owners, and it appears to recognize themselves in the gentle saga. This trend is especially cute coda for what was one of the soothing stories of the awards season, where dialogueless indie was made with open source software and directed by Ginto Zilbalodis.
Watching “Flow” in the theatre is a wonderful and immersive experience with full display of visual cinema sights. On the big screen, you can lose yourself in animation, realize how water ripples, and succumb to the beauty and fear of the universe that this little kitten is trying to navigate. Seeing “flow” (streaming on Max) at home with animals is an equally enjoyable experience, but another experience. Your attention may be pulled in two directions as you try to contemplate what this means to your pet and what it means to you.
I was trying to decipher what was going on in daisy for one. Certainly, she didn't understand all stories of climate change, but her huge ears stood up straight as she stared at the heroic cat, so I found her running to the TV for the sequence of her and her capybara allies falling from their boat. The at-risk character highlighted her on a level.
Matiss Kaza, who produced and co-authored the film, said in an email that he suspects it is the sound of the real animals used in production that attracts the attention of his tame friends. “We don't consider pets to be a potential target audience when making movies, but we're pleased that 'Flow' has proven to be an experience of a special bond between the audience and the dog and cat. ”
When I spoke to a social media user who posted a clip of a family beast responding to the “flow,” they explained that their animals are usually not attractive on screens.
Chayse Orion, 24, had seen other Tiktok posts about the film before he decided to watch it. He thought it was cute, but he was very unmet. That was the fish bones of his cat. “Fishbone was obsessed with the film,” Orion said. “He was hooked on it. It was really weird because I've never seen him interact with such shows. He wasn't really interested in television.”
Orion knew it would make great internet content. He not only began filming Fishbone, but also brought the Cat Tower closer to the TV for a better view. “I actually dressed it again yesterday for him to see while I was working,” he said. “It's certainly his favorite movie now.”
Daniel Gao, 32, posted a clip of a cat Karma, designed by Zilbarodis, who appears to look surprisingly similar to a cat. His caption? “Lol why was she so locked up?” But Gao admitted to me that Karma sometimes left when the behavior got more intense.
“She thinks, 'Oh, I think this is too scary for me,'” Gao said. “I felt the same way.”
Dogs like Daisy are also taking part in the action. Celine Orozco, 29, discovered that the dog Samson, a golden retriever, was also invested in “Flow.” She said it was the first film he'd ever seen. He was particularly excited, she noticed whenever Labrador joining a cat traveler group came on screen. “He really loved the dog,” she said.
Of course, we don't know what our animals actually think when they see the “flow.” Did Gao's Black Cat actually recognize himself? It's difficult to say. My boyfriend initially speculated that Daisy liked the lemur, carrying a basket full of trinkets, and perhaps she was mad at it. I know she didn't follow the plot – I love her, but she's not that intuitive. However, she heard the characters' so-called voices and responded to whatever they were conveying, intrigued in her own way.
Still, we love seeing our pets “flow” for the same reason we love to see “flow.” The film understands that subtle personification of these animals is a powerful tool. Their movements are carefully tuned to replicate the way creatures behave in real life, but their actions are human enough to make the story feel more approachable.
Do cats, dogs, capybara, big birds, lemurs all rise up teams to save each other when a massive flood occurs? It's difficult to say. But that's a good rationale for how empathy can be a relief.
Similarly, we recognize the character of our furry companions and believe we fully know that we are merely projecting our sensibilities onto them. We want to believe that they think the way we do, even if we know that they are not. But when they see the “flow” as we see the “flow,” we get a little closer.
