Ong Bak: The Brutal Story Of Animal Cruelty

According to our Scopo-Meter, we check the following in Ong Bak:

FilmScopes wants to bring awareness to our readers that animal mistreatment in any form is not acceptable and is often illegal. Filmmakers and other professionals in the entertainment industry need to follow ethical guidelines and prioritize the welfare of all living beings involved in their productions.

Thai martial arts film is well-known worldwide for its furious action scenes and gorgeous cinematography. However, many spectators might not be aware that the film’s success is actually the result of a horrifying tale of animal abuse. We’ll explore the upsetting truth about how animals were treated while Ong Bak was being made in this post.

Introduction to Ong Bak

The movie titled Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior was directed by Prachya Pinkaew in 2003. It follows the journey of a young man named Ting from a rural Thai village to Bangkok, where he aims to retrieve a stolen Buddha head that was taken by a menacing mobster. Along the way, Ting faces several challenges and engages in thrilling action-packed scenes that have made the movie highly popular among the audience. With its impressive box office earnings, Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior has established a dedicated following of fans who relish the intense martial arts sequences featured in the movie.

Animal Cruelty in Ong Bak

Animal rights organizations have extensively recorded multiple instances of animal abuse that occurred during the production of Ong Bak. One of the most heinous instances of animal cruelty in the film was the moment in which Tony Jaa, the lead character, wrestled a live crocodile in Ong Bak 2.

Other incidents of animal cruelty during the making of the film included the use of live roosters in a cockfighting scene and the use of live snakes in a fight sequence. The snakes were reportedly injured during filming, and some died as a result.

This was not the only time the movies would injure its animals as Ong Bak 3 reported multiple injuries to the two elephants that were used to shoot the film.

Did You Know This About Ong Bak?

• In order to prepare for the movie, Jaa spent four years practicing the traditional Muay Boran style. He was already a Muay Thai practitioner, which was helpful.
• In the climax, Humlae is crushed under a toppling statue. In one interpretation of the resolution, he returns home with Ting still alive but bandaged. Ting brings Humlae’s ashes back into the finished product.
• The picture signaled a new approach with aspects like wireless stunts, relentless pacing, and cringe-inducing hard fight scenes. It was a welcome work with a young new name in a film genre increasingly dominated by older performers. Even Donnie Yen would acknowledge that the movie fueled his own late-career ambitions.

Impact of Ong Bak‘s Animal Cruelty

Animal rights advocates were outraged by the treatment of animals in Ong Bak, which sparked a debate over using animals in entertainment on a global scale. The film received a lot of backlash for encouraging animal abuse and creating a risky precedent for other movies.

Many viewers have called for a boycott of the movie in response to the animal cruelty depicted in it. The movie’s box office performance was further influenced by the controversy surrounding the animal brutality depicted in the film, as several theatres refused to screen it.

Also Read: Parasite: The Murderers Of The Wealthy