Although I have used the poor lemming in a few cartoons now, it would be remiss of me not to do my bit for this adorable little rodent and put an end to the myth that lemmings have a predisposition to jumping off cliffs. Well, it’s just not true.
The origin of this misunderstanding is believed to have come from the Walt Disney 1958 animal documentary White Wilderness. Filmed in remote Canada, where lemmings are nowhere to be found, producers decided to bring in some imports for filming purposes. To illustrate the cliff plunge scene, a group of lemmings were pushed via a rotating platform, forcing them to run off a small cliff into a river, and so the myth began. Apparently the movie didn’t suggest it was a mass suicide attempt, but rather a migration undertaking, but the myth still remains today.
I would say lemmings got the shaft on this one. Thanks for another interesting factoid. 🙂
I must admit, the facts are about just as much fun as the cartoon making.
Marti
PS. The pressure is on to continue to meet your high factoid expectations! 🙂
Leave it to Hollywood to mess up the message. Or outright lie.
Sandy
http://www.sandysays1.wordpress.com
Ah yes, but isn’t it amazing how the myth has continued for so long?
Marti
I’m glad you clarified that…!
It needed to come out. They’re not up there (or should I say down there) with our peanut brained dinosaurs. I still reserve the right to cartoon them in future, but feel cleansed for my ill doings for now.
Marti