The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Duma
Adventure · Drama · Family · 2005
An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.
Movie details
Duma
“Some friendships are wilder than others”
2005 Adventure · Drama · Family 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.4 / 10
Community rating
An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Duma?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
A Dog's Way Home
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The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
Storm Boy
Drama · 2019
Storm Boy lives a lonely life with his reclusive father on a desolate coastline, but when he forms a close bond with a pelican, Mr. Percival, his life takes a new and unexpected turn.
Max
Adventure · 2015
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Saving Flora
Adventure · 2019
Flora is a circus elephant who can no longer perform her tricks. The night before she's scheduled to be euthanized, the circus owner's 14-year old daughter, Dawn, sneaks Flora from the circus. All that stands between them and the safety of the elephant preserve is two hundred kilometers of woods, one raging river, two elephant hunters and the fear of not making it.
Eight Below
Adventure · 2006
In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission.
Old Yeller
Adventure · 1957
Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.
A Dog's Purpose
Adventure · 2017
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Animation · 2022
The unlikely friendship of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse traveling together in the boy's search for home.
I Am David
Drama · 2003
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Young Black Stallion
Adventure · 2003
When courageous young Neera becomes separated from her family in the desert, she chances upon a wild colt. Together they find friendship, trust, and their way back home only to discover her family is about to lose everything!
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Carroll Ballard
Written by
Karen Janszen · Carol Cawthra Hopcraft · Carol Cawthra · Xan Hopcraft
A
Alex Michaeletos
Xan
Campbell Scott
Peter
M
Mary Makhatho
Thandi
N
Nthabiseng Kenoshi
Lucille
Hope Davis
Kristin
Jennifer Steyn
Aunt Gwen
Eamonn Walker
Ripkuna
Court is in session
Put Duma on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.