The Worst Film Ever

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is about half-wits who keep tigers, lions, chimpanzees... as pets – for the same reason that normal people have normal pets as in dogs and cats. They don't seem to realize that these pets will get bigger and significantly stronger – and that essentially these are wild animals.One feels extremely sorry for the two lions (a lion and lioness) kept in a make-shift cage by railroad tracks. Here are animals that should be roaming the savannah for miles and miles and are kept in a rusty cage forced to lie in their feces. We actually see the lion die on camera, he is electrocuted due to faulty wiring. It's so depressing.We also get these constant news clips of people who are maimed or killed by their "pets" – crocodiles, chimpanzees, venomous snakes...I felt most of those depicted in this film should have been prosecuted for cruelty to animals. It's all so horrid and dismal.

As someone in America who frequently watches Animal Planet and the National Geographic channel with my wife, this is not a subject that I was unfamiliar with. And I must say it was a very well done story. The fact that it takes place primarily in the Dayton, OH area was an excellent choice, because if stuff like this happens so frequently in a non-major market like Dayton (no offense to Dayton intended), this kind of thing must truly be happening all over the United States.Before I saw this film I thought it would show multiple stories of people having exotic animals. It really focuses on just one story, about a guy with two (then six) lions, and the story is such an interesting one that I was glad that's what they did. You do see news clips about other exotic animal attacks, some shows/supermarkets where exotic animals are sold (all legal, by the way), and some wacky people from Nevada (one couple, and one "professor") who defend ownership of exotic animals. As they say in the movie, this is a disaster waiting to happen

REXANO was featured in this documentary. The movie follows an Oakwood, Ohio public safety officer Tim Harrison, who is a failed former exotic animal owner. He admits giving up his pet lioness years ago, when she grew big and he couldn't handle her. It is not clear how he went from a failed pet owner to an exotic expert; it appears he is self-taught, just like most exotic animal owners.Tim claims that over 10 years ago, he used to receive less than 10 calls a year regarding exotics, but nowadays it's over 100 calls per year. The movie doesn't give us the breakdown of how many calls ended up with animals sighted and captured, and how many were a case of mistaken identity by liquored up house wives. The movie only offers old pictures or supposed re-enactments of old cases, Tim holding gators, or two kids supposedly playing with a Gabon viper in a garage (It is strange there is no media coverage of the Gabon story, other than Tim claiming it happened in his interviews). When it comes to the recent reports of people claiming to see big cats at large, the cat is never found. The movie revealed Tim's concerns over two lions owned by Terry Brumfield, a depressed disabled truck driver, who got the cubs without any forethought. The cubs helped him with his depression. Even though Terry loved his lions, it is impossible not to get angry at him. After his male lion escaped his poor caging and chased cars, Terry successfully recaptured him without incident. Afterwards his two lions, were housed in a nasty horse trailer where four cubs were born, bringing the total of lions to six. Tim helped Terry rebuild the cages; the reconstructed caging was nasty, not worthy of a "king". With the continual showcasing of Terry's lions horrible living conditions and not showing responsible owners' caging, the viewer undoubtedly believed that all private captive lions live in such deplorable conditions. Tim spoke in absolutes and falsely claimed there were no "happy ends" pertaining to private exotic and wild animal ownership. Tim browses through Animal Finder Guide (AFG), which is a publication for exotic animal owners to learn and post want/sell ads. The majority of animals currently for sale in AFG are exotic hoof stock, not big cats or apes. Tim shows few examples of big cats given away for free. Those were not exotic pet cats; those were cats from a USDA licensed facility that is closing and looking for another USDA facility to place their animals for free. He showed AFG pages with pictures. One showed baby tigers; this is an ad for milk replacement formula, not a tiger for sale ad. Another was a cover picture of a white tiger with Christmas theme. This tiger was definitively not for sale; this is our 13 year old tigress Pepper when she was younger, and we provided this picture to AFG .We have no intention of ever selling her! Director Webber followed Tim with hidden camera to the reptile show. In one case a father and son buy a small alligator, in another case a father and son buy a 10 foot constrictor. In both cases, the film crew talked to the kid and asked if that was his new pet, in both cases kids said that it was indeed their new pet. This is the same joking that occurs when parents are buying a car, and the salesman jokes with kids if this is their new Ford Cobra, Dodge Viper, Mercury Cougar or Jaguar. Venomous reptiles for sale were properly packaged with red tape. Tim bought a venomous Puff Adder, took it outside and did exactly what he criticizes others for: he removed the snake from the plastic container, handled it with his bare hands, while milking it with a hook. No mention of anti-venom is made in case the snake escaped and bit somebody.If Webber wanted to only show the developing story between Terry and Tim, he should not have included all the sensational captive exotic animal attack news clips throughout the movie. He should have only featured these two men, so it would be clear to the audience there was no hidden agenda/propaganda to the story. If Webber wanted to include the sensationalized clips, he should have included more PRO exotic footage for fairness; show footage of our proper big cat cages to demonstrate how responsible exotic animal owners build quality enclosures. Instead, mostly the "bad stuff" was featured, and the viewer will unfortunately leave the theater with the wrong impression that Terry is the typical big cat irresponsible owner, which is far from the truth. Terry was a great choice for a tear-jerker documentary--a man with problems who owned dangerous animals, needed help and the hero savior Tim Harrison comes to Terry's rescue. In reality, Terry was a horrible choice, it painted exotic owners as weak, irresponsible people, who cannot responsibly handle our animals we love, and unless we get outside help, we are incapable of making it on our own. For the movie to be fair (aka boring for ratings), a strong responsible person should have been cast against Tim and Terry. Unfortunately, this movie, even if well intentioned to bring the attention to the occasional bad owner, will seriously hurt the responsible exotic animal community. Since 1990, captive big cats kill on average one person per year in USA, venomous snakes 0.9, non-venomous snakes 0.5, elephants 0.8, bears 0.25 and non-human primates 0. Those killed by exotics are owners/handlers/trainers/family.It is occupational/hobby hazard, not public safety issue. The lion owner Terry died in fall 2010, when his car collided with a train. He didn't die as a result of an animal attack; he died in traffic accident which kills up to 45,000 people each year in USA, which is approximately 123 deaths each day.

This is the most amazing movie we have seen on the big screen in years! We were privileged enough to see the premier of this film in Dayton, Ohio tonight. We laughed, we cried, we were on an emotional roller coaster throughout the movie. Cant wait until its available to buy! You wont be disappointed! Eye opening on the issues we have in our country. It was enlightening, heartwarming, educational, and funny. My kids enjoyed it just as much as we did. This is the first time a documentary film has impacted me in such a way that I felt the need to get involved and help with the cause. It was amazing to see many of the problems in our own back yards that we never knew existed.