Fierce Creatures

Fierce Creatures is a 1997 comedy film intended as a follow-up to the 1988 movie A Fish Called Wanda, with the same four stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The plot centers on the fictional Marwood Zoo in England, which is taken over by the Octopus corporation. After a strict "fierce animals policy" fails, Vince McCain (Kline) devises corporate and celebrity sponsorships of specific animals, using the likenesses of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Martin, among others. A billboard display of Miss Piggy graces the zebra pavilion, though no precise rationale is given within the film. Piggy can be seen most clearly during the frantic sequence following an accidental shooting.

During the closing credits, both Miss Piggy and Frank Oz are among the various people and companies thanked "for their help in the production of this film, and for having a sense of humour about advertising." Animatronic animals were used in several scenes; though Jim Henson's Creature Shop did not supply any, many veteran Creature Shop puppeteers were used.

Connections

 * John Alexander plays Jambo the gorilla
 * John Cleese plays Rollo Lee, wrote, and produced the film
 * Ailsa Berk plays a fake animatronic panda
 * Jamie Lee Curtis plays Willa Weston
 * Peter Elliott served as gorillachoreographer and performer
 * Terry Jones devised the basic concept of the "Fierce Animals Policy" with Michael Palin
 * William Todd Jones puppeteered various animals
 * Kevin Kline plays Vince McCain and Rod McCain
 * Mac MacDonald plays a TV producer
 * Tim Rose puppeteered various animals
 * Ricco Ross plays a TV journalist
 * Kerry Shale plays a frightened executive