Latest news with #Littlefoot
Winnipeg Free Press
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg International Feline Film Festival celebrate cats and the pet parents who love them
The cats have come back to the big screen. • Winnipeg International Feline Film Festival • Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave. • Saturday, June 28; 6:30 p.m. • Tickets $25 at The second edition of the Winnipeg International Feline Film Festival, or WIFFF, takes place Friday at the Gas Station Arts Centre with 13 short films celebrating all things cat. Hosted by the Cats Advocacy Team of Manitoba, the event is part-fundraiser and part-animal welfare campaign. 'It seemed like a fun way to get some information out, but also to entertain and remind people how much fun and joy these little guys can bring to our lives,' says board chair and festival MC Amanda Heslop. The local advocacy group was founded in 2024 with the goal of improving the lives of cats and kittens in Manitoba by educating pet owners and the general public on responsible animal stewardship. The organization also provides funding for animal rescue agencies and trap-neuter-return programs, which aim to manage the growing feral cat population locally. 'Overpopulation is really, really rampant,' says Heslop, a lifelong cat lover. SUPPLIED Local feline influencer Littlefoot is a guest judge at Saturday's cat film festival. SUPPLIED Local feline influencer Littlefoot is a guest judge at Saturday's cat film festival. Last year's festival raised $5,000 for the group's efforts. There will be several celebrity judges in attendance at this year's screening, including Ace Burpee Show co-host Chrissy Troy, Métis singer-songwriter Brandi Vezina and — drumroll please — local feline influencer Littlefoot. Boasting more than 38,000 followers on Instagram, Littlefoot, a.k.a. Footie, is looking forward to his first foray into film critiquing, according to owner Harlyn Mitchell. The animated shorts are expected to be a hit. 'We were watching all the videos and found that he liked the cartoons because things were flying around the screen and they were a bit more playful,' says Mitchell, who will be acting as translator and handler to ensure the 'spicy' two-year-old cat behaves himself. While cat videos exist on social media as a rare form of positive online escapism, this year's WIFFF lineup celebrates the human-feline bond and the challenges faced by cats around the world. On the docket is a French animated flick about a lost kitten, an Icelandic horror comedy about 'Krampuss' and a documentary about a cat who escaped war-torn Ukraine. Littlefoot's own story isn't an entirely happy one. Mitchell found him as a tiny black kitten behind a dumpster near her workplace. He had been left behind after his mom, a feral stray, moved on with the rest of her litter. All of the local rescues were full, so Mitchell scooped him up and started researching how to bottlefeed young kittens. Her husband wasn't thrilled about the new addition to the house, which already contained two cats, but it didn't take long to win him over. 'As soon as he fed him for the first time, he was like, 'I would die for this cat,'' Mitchell says, laughing. SUPPLIED Krampuss was directed by Gudni Linda Benediktsson. SUPPLIED Krampuss was directed by Gudni Linda Benediktsson. To avoid annoying friends with cat spam, she made Littlefoot — named for his funny sleeping posture and the Land Before Time character — his own Instagram account (@littlefootwpg) with no intention of finding internet fame. He quickly amassed a large following thanks to his origin story, quirky personality and unique appearance (a floofy mix of Maine Coon, ragdoll and Abyssinian, according to DNA test results). Littlefoot and his humans have started attending cat conventions and animal welfare events, such as the Winnipeg International Feline Film Festival, in the hopes of helping other young strays. 'We're always trying to encourage people to donate to shelters so they can do their best to help and advocate for pregnant cats and cats with babies, especially ones that are stray,' Mitchell says. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Observer
17-06-2025
- Science
- Observer
First fossil proof found that long-necked dinosaurs were vegetarians
In the movie 'Jurassic Park,' a character proclaims there is nothing to fear from a towering Brachiosaurus, because it's a 'veggie-saurus' that eats only plants. Littlefoot, the 'Longneck' dinosaur in the 'Land Before Time' series, eats leaves, or 'tree stars.' But although pop culture and general scientific opinion have agreed for decades that the long-necked sauropod dinosaurs were herbivores, there was no definitive proof found in the fossil record. But there were hints of a diet full of green stuff. Fossils of sauropods, which stomped across the planet for 130 million years, are plentiful; additionally, herbivores tend to outnumber those of carnivores. The animals had small, peglike teeth, and their huge, lumbering bodies seemed ill equipped to chase down prey. 'Plants were pretty much the only option,' said Stephen Poropat, a paleontologist and the deputy director of the Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Center at Curtin University in Perth. A study published in the journal Current Biology provides what may be the first concrete proof to support this argument, in the form of fossilized plants discovered in the belly of a sauropod. 'It's the smoking gun, or the steaming guts, as it were — the actual direct evidence in the belly of the beast,' Poropat said. Poropat, along with scientists and volunteers from the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, encountered the fossil on a dig in Queensland, Australia, in 2017. — KATE GOLEMBIEWSKI ?NYT
Tatler Asia
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Millennial movies: the low-key traumatic films responsible for a generation's paranoia
2. 'The Land Before Time' (1988) Technically, a children's film. Spiritually, a grief seminar. This animated saga about orphaned dinosaurs was our gateway to intergenerational trauma. Littlefoot loses his mum in the first act, then wanders a desolate prehistoric wasteland learning hard lessons about death, scarcity and betrayal. For many, it sparked a lifelong fear of abandonment. That, and quicksand. 3. 'Brokedown Palace' (1999) Two girls. One drug bust. Zero justice. This film was the sole reason entire school trips to Thailand were vetoed. Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale's sun-soaked holiday devolves into a Kafkaesque nightmare involving corrupt systems, filthy prison cells and years lost to legal purgatory. Millennial movies did warn us about drugs and terrified an entire generation into law-abiding submission. 4. 'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997) Presented as a romantic comedy, this movie is actually a psychological thriller where the protagonist ruins lives with shocking ease. Julia Roberts plays the deranged anti-hero whose 'grand gesture' is essentially emotional sabotage. Somehow, this got filed under "feel-good film" in DVD rentals, despite teaching us that even best friends are capable of Machiavellian manipulation. 5. 'When a Stranger Calls' (2006) It was supposed to be a disposable horror remake, but to millennials babysitting for extra cash, this was a PSA with lasting effects. The line 'the call is coming from inside the house' wasn't just a jump scare but a foundational fear. Today, it continues to echo as a millennial threat disguised as a fun internet meme. Landlines became ominous, babysitting gigs felt like Russian roulette and houses with glass windows and a second floor? No, thank you. 6. 'The Devil Wears Prada' (2006) Is it a fashion fairy tale or corporate horror with decked out in couture? Anne Hathaway's character spirals into a soul-crushing career path, sacrifices every personal relationship and learns that 'success' often looks like burnout in an expensive (not cerulean blue) coat. Millennials entered the workforce fully expecting to be emotionally razed for a vague shot at editorial glory. This is why we girlbossed so hard for expensive shoes and lattes. Thank goodness we're over that. 7. 'Final Destination' (2000) This wasn't just a film—it was a permanent shift in consciousness. Every mundane moment became a death trap. Log trucks transporting logs? Never drive behind them. Tanning beds? Absolutely not. Shower cords? Dangerous. This millennial movie warned us that death is not only inevitable but also ironic, complicated and vindictive. Yet in true millennial fashion, we're still watching Bloodlines . Millennial movies were all fun and games until someone was fired, imprisoned or orphaned. Yet, we walked out of those theatres with our spirits high because they played an upbeat pop song over the credits. The emotional whiplash was dizzying. But somehow, we accepted it—maybe even expected it. After all, if Sixpence None the Richer is playing while your life falls apart, is it really that bad? NOW READ 11 K-Drama villains with unexpectedly heartbreaking stories 10 books about travel that will spark your wanderlust 11 cancelled TV shows we still can't stop thinking about
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Land Before Time: Chester girl, 11, cast in remake of classic
An 11-year-old girl from Chester has been cast in the lead role of a remake of the 1980s classic, The Land Before Saunders will play the character Littlefoot in the reboot of Steven Spielberg's 1988 animated film was given the role after a successful second audition, in which she put pencils in her mouth to sound like she was "eating like a dinosaur".The new movie, Littlefoot, will be directed by British filmmaker Joey Lever, who is best known for creating fan film, Spiderman: Lost Cause in 2014. Speaking about the audition process, Saunders said: "There weren't many actors in [the studio] because the actor I was with was from America, on a little computer."For some parts I had to put pencils in my mouth because I'd be eating like a dinosaur and there was lots of moving around." Summer-Joules is the daughter of talent agent Joanne Saunders, who founded the Chester-based Majestic Academy of Performing Arts."I grew up in this and as I grew up with my mum's talent agency so I joined that.", Summer-Joules told BBC Radio Merseyside."When I'm older I still want to be an actress and a performer, but also a barrister."I'd like to use my acting to be a barrister because it's like you're on a stage and having to push your case to the judges."Her mum added: "I'm really, really proud. I just open doors and let [Summer-Joules] decide whether she wants to keep them open."This kind of environment helps raise confidence and self-esteem, all issues children are going though at the moment." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
