G-Force - what does this mean for guinea pigs?

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I have sat there and watched the film and thoroughly enjoyed it (*I'm a big kid shhh !) and have to agree that its down to the parents to say no to pet ownership when a child starts with the 'i wants'.
Some parents considerer the request and go out and buy pigs and other animals just to shut the child up with the attitude 'just to keep them quite' its this mis- guided approach that is the cause of the amount of animals in rescue centres, from lack of knowledge and that its really just a 'fad' the child's going through, as soon as there bored off they go the animal suffers as a result.

The problem is not decent breeders or rescue centres etc its the pet shops that will sell to anyone, they need to be educated in animals needs, now i saying pet shops in general but not all are bad i have been to a local shop and the animals are very well treated, the shop is set up correctly, and i have confidence in the staff they have the right knowledge on each animal they sell or care for, but that is an exception to the rule!

I just did a post on the stupidity of pig owners...http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62256

Now from what i can make from it all the behaviour seen in the videos is a direct result of children and adults alike believing there little piggy is a super hero and can do the things in the film.

Now i don't have the right answer to if films with animals is right or wrong but i have the answer to the problems associated with buying a fad, 'education'

If Pet shops were educated they can educate the public but they need to think beyond profit. Rescuer centres and decent breeders are able to educate the public as well as refuse pets if they think that the home is not appropriate.

Makes me wonder what happened to moral standards, they have slipped so far since i was a tot to what i see now, I'm sure we have all seen kids no older then 5 or 6 swearing at there parents these are the generations that are taking over. All i can do along with everyone else here who cares is do your bit to make it right, educate others!
I educated myself before taking home my pigs from the shelter i spent a good few months research on needs, like i believe any good owner of a pet should, and when the time comes for my children to ask for animals i will make them do the same, if they can commit for months on doing the right research on the animal they want then i know they are ready to have one. but even if it still turns to out to be a fad i will happily take over the pet knowing that i said yes in the first place and ultimately I'm the one responsible for the child as well as the animal in there care!

Just my 2 pence worth sorry about the long post needed to get it off my chest!
 
the thing is you could say that about any film that has animals in it 'Polly', 'Homeward bound', 'nemo', '101 dalmations' etc its the responsibility and sense of the adult to control what animals go into the house and not allow theyre kids to force them to buy something they dont want. My son loves 'G force' as he has always liked piggies, and had been going on at me even more to get him 1 since he watched the film, yes I got him 1 but that was due to the fact that I had wanted 1 for a long time as well and I know it will be for life, and as the opportunity arose I got him his piggy and he absolutely dotes on him.
 
I love this film. At the time of its release I will admit I went to see it in 3D. And I made me chukkle. But it certainly didnt make me think...oooooooooooooooooooo i need guinea pigs.
 
i love the film but young kids might get guinea pigs thinking they really have super powers and might not understand that they dont really have powers!:)
 
This film angered me in some ways because some of the ideas about guinea pigs were so wrong!
(Excersize wheels? Glass balls?! Cake?! Tiny cages!? What on earth!


But at the same time alot of kids should learn from the film, those awfull horrible little children who bought blaster and juarez were obviously meant to be 'bad guys' and got their comeuppance, atleast the film tried to make it clear that doing that stuff to guinea pigs was wrong (piercing ears especially!)

But that idea was ruined when blaster was put into a remote control can and was seen to be going 'whoo hoooo"' as though he enjoyed it..

Not cool, not cool!



But hopefully parents would be sensible enough to say 'no' and have the ability to explain to their kids that guinea pigs arent actually superheroes..
 
i think thats a bit of a over reaction it IS JUST a movie sure it might make some people do stupid things but thats unavoidable and if * pay to see it or not disney is still going to make them. I know in this movie they are in small cages and things. BUT also it is just a movie. I'm not trying to be mean to anyone just saying my opinion. I think if kids are too young to understand pets dont have superpowers or talk and need care then MOST parents are responsible and say no. But unfortuntly theyre are SOME out theyre that are irresponsible people.drool
 
It's definitely not an over-reaction. Seriously you should see how much of a certain species of animal is bought whenever a movie featuring them is out.

101 Dalmatians - demands for them run high.
Finding Nemo - Starting of all sorts of salt - water aquariums at home.

Just 2 examples I could think of right now as I type (My brain's not working).

I've already started seeing blooming of people breeding cavies to sell in Singapore - And demands doesn't seem to run dry yet. More Guineapigs are given up almost everydays.
 
Rilenceny said:
It's definitely not an over-reaction. Seriously you should see how much of a certain species of animal is bought whenever a movie featuring them is out.

101 Dalmatians - demands for them run high.
Finding Nemo - Starting of all sorts of salt - water aquariums at home.

Just 2 examples I could think of right now as I type (My brain's not working).

I've already started seeing blooming of people breeding cavies to sell in Singapore - And demands doesn't seem to run dry yet. More Guineapigs are given up almost everydays.
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maybe that is true i havnt noticed it here in australia but the excersize balls and everythingwas just poor study on the owners part. AND wasnt finding nemo about fish escaping? just a friendly argument :))
 
Haveyougotaguineapig? said:
maybe that is true i havnt noticed it here in australia but the excersize balls and everythingwas just poor study on the owners part. AND wasnt finding nemo about fish escaping? just a friendly argument :))
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And?

People think they're cute, and started on the fish-keeping without once again, proper read ups.
 
Rilenceny said:
It's definitely not an over-reaction. Seriously you should see how much of a certain species of animal is bought whenever a movie featuring them is out.

101 Dalmatians - demands for them run high.
Finding Nemo - Starting of all sorts of salt - water aquariums at home.

Just 2 examples I could think of right now as I type (My brain's not working).

I've already started seeing blooming of people breeding cavies to sell in Singapore - And demands doesn't seem to run dry yet. More Guineapigs are given up almost everydays.
Click to expand...

Not forgetting the 80's teenage mutant ninja turtles films that had hordes of snapping turtles purchased as "pets" - thankfully now you need a licence for them, but as the name suggests they are not pets at all, so the rspca and other welfare societies were having to rescue these turtles that are not native to our country from being released into the wild. The traditional type of turtle faired not much better but the ecological impact from these alien species was immense not to mention the strain on zoos, wildlife parks and rescue centers that had to try to house these pets.

Then there is the harry potter films - a not so publicised influx of people buying owls as pets (and this is worldwide not just uk).

Lassie - lots of people think that every rough collie will go and tell someone they are in trouble

and then there is crufts, a slightly different slant on the idiocy of the general population but what ever breed wins (and this has become uncommon now that it isnt so televised), there would be a higher demand for puppies of that breed, and specifically that colour. Thefts of poodles were high due to the white standard poodle winning years ago.

I dont think they should ban animals in films, but I do think the industry could give a balanced view on having pets and if a film features a cute animal, then there should be as much drive to educate the implications for having them as pets.
 
I think this shows that all pet shops/breeders need to have much stricter policies about people getting animals. A basic test on the customers knowledge of the pet they're about to buy before they buy it would be a really good idea.

At the moment, things are scary. As I'm a 'grown up'. I can just go into any petshop I like tomorrow, and buy whatever the hell I want to, and all the petshop will do is ask for a 'phone number and a name'. How awfull is that?


Is there no security? No tests? No way to ensure that some idiot isnt buying an animal just to do horrible things to it, or doesent even know the basics about the level of care it needs?


This issues says less about films with animals in it, and more about how uneducated people can be about animals, and how alot of petshops dont really give a damn about their animals and just care about the money..

:(
 
bekked said:
I think this shows that all pet shops/breeders need to have much stricter policies about people getting animals. A basic test on the customers knowledge of the pet they're about to buy before they buy it would be a really good idea.

At the moment, things are scary. As I'm a 'grown up'. I can just go into any petshop I like tomorrow, and buy whatever the hell I want to, and all the petshop will do is ask for a 'phone number and a name'. How awfull is that?


Is there no security? No tests? No way to ensure that some idiot isnt buying an animal just to do horrible things to it, or doesent even know the basics about the level of care it needs?


This issues says less about films with animals in it, and more about how uneducated people can be about animals, and how alot of petshops dont really give a damn about their animals and just care about the money..

:(
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* need backround checks on dogs and cats and house checks but not for rats and mice and guinea pigs Etc. Sadly
 
My first response when i saw this title was

G-Force - what does this mean for guinea pigs?

Nothing, just more plushies/merchandise for Guinea pig owners :))
 
It's on at the moment on Sky comedy, we have it on DVD but I still haven't got round to watching it yet so I have it on tv now.
My little girl is getting agittated by it as a little girl as just gone in to the pet shop (my girl says "no hamsters & piggies shouldn't be kept together" ) then she says I wanna put make up & nail varnish on her (my little girl goes " no mummy she can't it's dangerous" ) and the little girl has just picked the guinea pig wrong (my little girl goes "nooooo she'll drop her" ) just trying to explain although she's right it is only a film so it's pretend, bless her at least she knows her stuff.
 
Humm I agree, I like the movie but still parts of it botherd me like the little girl dressing up the pig and putting nail polish on it... Also the fact they said they wanted a hamster and she pointed to the pig, if i was the pet store owner I would have corrected them sooo fast! Even if it is just a movie...
 
I dont think its the films fault if there was an increase in abandoned piggies, the responsibility lies with stupid people who get a pet on a whim, its not hard to research animals these days, it takes 5 mins to google and read a caresheet!

I like to think most parents are responsible enough to know if they agree to an animal they are responsible for it not the child, my daughter is desperate for a pony, she thinks it could live in the back garden, obviously she is told no, my other daughter wants a tarantula *shudder* and a snake, I know I could not care for them (though I like snakes) so she is told no, we have our piggies and hamster because we (me and oh) are happy to take responsibility for them, any parent that isnt willing and still gets a pet needs there heads testing imo.
 
I have to say we had our piggies before the Gforce film came out and having my children watch the film has only had a positive impact on them really.
The piggies were initially bought for my children who soon lost interest as they do. Luckilly they captivated me from the moment I saw them.
Seeing the film made my daughter a lot more interested in the piggies and she came out with me to clean them out. - Making sure the newspaper lining had a good page for them ro read from haha! She talks to sonic all the time now and chats to him about his superhero activities when she is asleep Its all very cute and ofcourse supervised at all times.
Sonic has also taught my son who has learning difficulties to be patient and a lot more caring he will gladly sit and stroke sonic on my lap and chat away to him.
I think the film renewed their interest in our pig and I cant say its a bad thing to be fair.
 
I hope it doesnt result in a guinea pig buying fest. But thats all I will say on it.

But - I hope parents seriously research guinea pigs before buying them randomly. I bought mine for me and I adore them and certainly wouldnt leave them with my children who would have no idea to take care of them.
 
Added to say both of mine have watched the g force film and imogen has not asked me for anymore guinea pigs, but she does go and talk to them all and see of they fancy talking, she much prefers the wheeking!
 
There are two sides to this fence...

Of course, the negative side that people will impulse shop because they want one from the movie, realize it was a lot more work then they anticipated, and then neglect them...

but disney actually does a pretty good job of getting the pets they do 'use' from shelters, and at the end of most of their animal movies it does promote adopting pets that need homes and there has to be quite a few people out there who do the right thing (like us!).
 
I see where you're coming from but it isn't the fault of disney! It's the parents giving in to their childrens demands if they know they won't pproperly look after them!
 
I love the film G-force. Darwin's named after well Darwin in the film :))

One thing i really disagree about the film is the fact they ride around in what looks like a hamster ball, which is going to make people think guinea pigs can use them!

My wee nephew loves the film, but i think thats just because i have piggies and he loves my boys. He even says Dustin is his. He did make a comment that the guinea pigs shouldnt be in a hamster ball :)
 
just wondering if anyone had watched the disney film 'bedtime stories'..i was pretty horrified about the way they 'cared' for the guineapig in that film...giving him burgers and doughnuts to eat....letting him sit on peoples heads etc........
 
Spishkey said:
just wondering if anyone had watched the disney film 'bedtime stories'..i was pretty horrified about the way they 'cared' for the guineapig in that film...giving him burgers and doughnuts to eat....letting him sit on peoples heads etc........
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I havent seen it. Is that the one with adam sandler?
 
Grrr, it annoys me that people slate Disney for these sort of things! Anyone with a brain should know not to look for Disney to learn to care for their animals. Whoever heard of two people in a London terraced house having 101 Dalmatians, or frogs that could talk, or mice that rescue small children..:x Disney films are fab, they'll always be my favourite films, but they are fairy tales!
 
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