Spoiler alert! The following discusses important plot elements of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
Because a talking raccoon and an alien tree are core characters, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies have been popular with children, though for sensitive little ones – and animal-loving big kids – the new film might be tough to watch at times. But if you hide your eyes, you might miss the point.
In the first 2014 “Guardians,” writer/director James Gunn showed a glimpse of sores and mechanization on the back of Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and hinted at the raccoon’s tragic backstory. And Gunn brings that origin to unnerving but empowering life in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (in theaters now).
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Cover your eyes: Baby Rocket is subjected to cruel experiments in flashbacks
When Rocket is wounded in a sneak attack, his Guardians teammates – including Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Drax (Dave Bautista) – go on a desperate high-stakes mission to save him, which includes tussling with the cruel and ruthless villain, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who “created” Rocket. While Rocket is comatose, the audience sees his memories of how he was experimented on and the close friendships he made with fellow animal prisoners.
Rocket is first seen as a baby raccoon cowering in a cage. The High Evolutionary is trying to create the perfect species and is testing on animals, evolving them and – if things don’t go the way he wants – burning them alive. Rocket gets emotional help weathering these sadistic experiments through the friends he meets who’ve also been cybernetically engineered: His best pal Lylla is an otter with mechanical arms; Teefs is a walrus with wheels; and Floor is a rabbit with a metal trap for a mouth. They teach Rocket at a young age how to talk and Lylla nurses Rocket after his surgeries, including having his brain exposed.
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The abused animals are CGI, but it’s still hard to watch
No actual animals were harmed in the making of the movie – all the critters are created through digital effects. But harrowing scenes of animal cruelty that on one hand bond a viewer more strongly to Rocket and his plight are also at times graphic and disturbing. Not to a problematic level, but moms and dads will definitely want to hold kids’ hands through those parts and be there for questions afterward. It might be too much for some adults to take and that’s OK, too.
In so many movies, a cat is run over for laughs or something bad happens to a dog for shock value. But the new “Guardians” is different: What Gunn has slyly and impressively crafted is a blockbuster superhero movie that tackles, in a substantial and visceral way, real-life animal cruelty and testing. Rocket was “created by somebody who didn’t care for him at all, didn’t have any of his own interests in mind,” the director told USA TODAY. “Compassion is the answer to all your problems on this planet. And if you can have compassion for all living things, it really helps you to live a much more fulfilling life.”
The more graphic scenes have caused an outcry on social media: Some call for “trigger warnings” while others say they “made a good movie unwatchable.” However, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has come out in strong support of “Vol. 3.” On Monday, the organization celebrated the latest “Guardians” as “the best animal rights film of the year” for “helping audiences see animals as individuals and suggesting that just because we can experiment on them doesn’t mean that we should,” PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange said in a statement. “Through Rocket, James Gunn has put a face, a name and a personality on the millions of vulnerable animals being cycled through laboratories as we speak.”
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‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ makes a larger point about animal rights
Rocket’s early trauma has haunted him long after he escaped the High Evolutionary’s clutches. But in the end, he wants everyone to have the same freedom he found. In the climax of “Vol. 3,” as his teammates free a host of young kids who’ve also been subjects of the High Evolutionary’s handiwork, Rocket sees a bunch of cages, including one full of baby raccoons just like he was. He sets them all free and later the Guardians take in all the humans and animals as part of their community. The High Evolutionary’s whole deal is to create an ideal utopia – instead it’s Rocket and Co. who pull that off.
Rocket’s story isn’t at all easy to take in, for sure. It’s heartbreaking and poignant, and chances are you’ll shed some tears. Yet it’s a tough and important step toward understanding the film’s overall goal: for everyone to have a little more empathy toward all creatures, furry or otherwise.
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