The Animal
Short description
Marvin Mange is a police department employee whose ambition to become an officer far outstrips his ability. After a car accident leaves him badly injured, he is found by an eccentric scientist, Dr. Wilder, who rebuilds him using organs taken from various animals. Marvin recovers with remarkable new abilities, but the animal instincts that come with them surface at the worst possible moments, complicating his attempts to win over the animal-rights activist Rianna and his dealings with the skeptical Sergeant Sisk.
The film is a comedy directed by Luke Greenfield, the first feature he directed, and was written by Rob Schneider and Tom Brady. Schneider stars as Marvin, with Colleen Haskell as Rianna, John C. McGinley as Sisk, Ed Asner as Chief Wilson, Michael Caton as Dr. Wilder and Louis Lombardi as Fatty. It was produced by Happy Madison Productions and Revolution Studios on a budget of about 22 million dollars, and it took roughly 85 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on that investment.
Audience response has been modest: on IMDb it holds 4.9 out of 10 from around 67,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.2 out of 10 from over 1,400 votes. A critics' rating of 4.4 out of 10 from 82 reviews places professional assessment slightly below the audience scores. Greenfield went on to direct The Girl Next Door, Something Borrowed, Let's Be Cops, Half Brothers and Playdate.
What's left behind the scenes
- The Frisbee that Rob Schneider's character catches with his mouth was added to the shot using computer technology.
- A newspaper article about Marvin's father features a photograph of Rob Schneider’s father superimposed onto a picture of a police officer. The actor’s father was also named Marvin, and the film is dedicated to his memory. The car in which Marvin is involved in an accident also belonged to the actor’s father (although cars of the same make and year were also used as duplicates for this scene).
- Rob Schneider's mother played the cameo role of the neighbor, Mrs. Dalerosa.
- Rob Schneider's mother played the episodic role of the neighbor.
- Harry Dean Stanton played the role of the hunter, but almost all of the footage with him was cut during editing. The actor’s name is not in the credits, but he can still be seen in the attack scene – immediately after Marvin (played by Rob Schneider) asks Rihanna (portrayed by Collen Haskell) to tie him up.
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