Dec23
Nickelodeon Gets a Lump of Coal
Posted at 10:24 AM | Permalink
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Comments (15)
Ugh …
No, seriously. Ugh!
OK, having turned *mumble* years old last Friday, I'm not really a member of this show's "target demographic." But even 'tweens must find the heartless use of a live baby chimpanzee in Nickelodeon's Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh offensive.
Forget for a moment that this is a program with so little imagination that they named the lead characters—played by Drake Bell and Josh Peck—"Drake" and "Josh." Forget that their idea of family-appropriate humor is to depict a child on the receiving end of a stream of ape urine—and I'm not sure that qualifies as "humor" at all. Still, although these folks clearly aren't very smart or creative, nothing justifies exploiting an animal for supposed "entertainment."
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To get chimpanzees, orangutans, and other great apes to perform, "trainers" often beat and electro-shock them. The rest of the time, most of the animals live in tiny metal cages. And when they're no longer useful to producers, they're often dumped at horrible roadside zoos—usually when they're only about 8 years old and have about 50 years left to stare at the wall.
There's no time like the holidays to remind Hollywood that we're not going to put up with any more "monkey" business. Please join us in telling Nickelodeon that there's nothing less Merry than a lonely, suffering chimpanzee forced to grimace and mug for a few chuckles.
Posted by Jeff Mackey
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Comments
I would love to see someone do a documentary on animals in hollywood.
Posted by: John | December 23, 2008 10:22 AM
Has PETA contacted the two actors (Drake and Josh) and/or their agents involved with this project? Maybe they would be open to some education and help us get the word out...or at least not participate again in films using apes.
Posted by: Jenn | December 23, 2008 01:51 PM
i too wouldn't mind seeing a documentary on hollywood animals used in folms. i am not aware of what really happens to these animals behind the scenes.
as far as drake and josh goes- they should use the "sister" as a chimp. they make her aplay a horrible, mean, and bratty sibling who is constantly causing trouble and being snotty to everyone. i would think taking the lead role as the chimp would be an improvement to her aweful character :)
Posted by: bbr | December 23, 2008 02:22 PM
and this is not the first time that nick has used exotic animals in drake and josh they have hade zebras, orangatang, sheep, and chimpanzee
Posted by: william pantoja | December 23, 2008 05:22 PM
thank you for posting this. Any exotic animal or endangered species(like orangutans) should not be used in the entertainment industry. Whether it is on a korny show it is part of the entertainment demographic that spreads the message to people that it is okay to explot animals for entertainment. Wherther it is a side show bear or a chimpanzee dressed as a kid on a tv show it is creepily wrong and all that exploit should be exposed and confronted. Can we talk more about palm oil>?
Posted by: kk | December 24, 2008 12:01 AM
The show must have no talent to use these poor animals for ratings. sickening
Posted by: roxanne | December 24, 2008 12:08 AM
What a great idea John - a documentary on animals used in Hollywood! People won't believe it until they see it and since the movies always say "No animals were harmedin the making of this film", people rest assured. Even a public service announcement (PSA) showing the training of an animal for a famous movie and the "refuge" where he/she ends up afterwards. The breeding of animals for the shoots being torn away from their mothers, etc. PEOPLE NEED EDUCATION SO THEY REALIZE THIS ISN'T CUTE! PETA - if you can do a PSA, that would be amazing!
Posted by: Carolyn | December 24, 2008 12:20 AM
Interesting post! I like Drake and Josh. It's a funny show. Sure they've used animals on the show before. The parts the animals play in the show are such breif and easy roles that I bet they wouldn't need very much training, if at all, for the part. Whatever training that is done can be done simply and quickly. And their are plenty of ways to train chips and orangutangs without shocking them or proding them. They're not cows! Chimps can understand simple commands and body language, and can be trained to immitate human behavior and facial expressions. Another thing, the producers of Drake and Josh probably rent the animals from zoos or other sources and return them as soon as they're through. Just because a show uses animals for a few small scenes doesn't necessarily mean the animals are being abused, mishandled, or mistreated. Don't bash a good show just because it uses animals.
Posted by: Tom | December 24, 2008 12:36 PM
"The parts the animals play in the show are such breif and easy roles that I bet they wouldn't need very much training, if at all, for the part."
Wrong. You are making alot of unnecessary, ridiculous and downright careless assumptions. There is no need to use animals as souped up props in bit parts. And renting animals from the zoo hits at the root of the problem, and that is it is wrong, in fact insanely greedy to use animals as commodities.
Posted by: vegancoin | December 24, 2008 01:30 PM
Tom, no offense, but the show "Drake and Josh" SUCKS. I watched about thirty seconds of it once and it was an extremely painful thirty seconds. I think I would rather kiss Charlton Heston than watch that show again. Anyway, whether the animals are treated "nice" or not, the point is that they don't want to be on TV. They want to live their lives in peace with their families and do the things they are meant to do. They're not ours to use for entertainment. And no one was bashing the show. "Bashing" is what happened to Matthew Shepard. Here, we are not "bashing". What this is called is DISAPPROVING. Since you sound like you're young, I forgive your ignorance. But please, learn about animals in entertainment.
Posted by: Maria | December 25, 2008 01:34 AM
OMG! HOW CRUEL AND I COULDN'T EVEN WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO! SICK SICK SICK !!!
Posted by: Joanne Marie Sevigny | December 26, 2008 01:54 PM
I would be happy to help with the documentary and will happily air it on my international website
Posted by: jod | December 29, 2008 01:37 PM
i totally agree
Posted by: imavegan | December 30, 2008 01:55 AM
But didnt you watch the movie? The officer didnt like Monkeys but Drake and Josh got him to love them again. You should thank them for their trust in the primates!
Posted by: Chimp-man | December 30, 2008 10:23 AM
Credit where credit is due: Nickelodeon is also the network which brought us Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which the main character is a peace-loving vegetarian who discusses his qualms with killing of any kind... and who takes some time out from saving the world to give zoo animals a better environment. Just sayin'.
Posted by: Greenling | January 8, 2009 01:57 PM