One of this week’s new releases stars Steve Coogan and a penguin, so here’s a film quiz about other actors and their animal co-stars.
They say you should never work with children or animals, but that’s not stopped movie stars teaming up with animal co-stars. There are usually mixed results – even the can’t-lose buddy pairing of “Tom Hanks and a French mastiff” definitely didn’t end happily for both of them (spoilery details here). Now in UK cinemas, Peter Cattaneo’s new movie The Penguin Lessons teams up Partridge and penguin, so we’ve got some quiz questions about other live-action animal star vehicles as part of your usual movie-related trivia safari.
Once you’ve completed this week’s film quiz, you’ll find a link to a separate post with the correct answers at the bottom of this post. As always, this is just for fun, but please let us know how you did in the comments (scores out of 30 this week!) and give us any other lovely feedback. If all this penguin chat has lost you already, don’t worry, you’ll p-p-p-pick it up…
ROUND ONE – This Week In Movie History
This round is about UK cinema releases and general film history from this month in years past – we’ve given you the year at the start of each question to help out!
1. 2025 – In cinemas now! Which new release marks the fifth collaboration between Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler?
2. 1974 – Born this week, who directed 2021’s Last Night In Soho?
3. 2013 – Who plays Secret Service agent Mike Banning in Olympus Has Fallen and its sequels?
4. 1981 – In which decade is Escape From New York set?
5. 2001 – Which former Spice Girl covered “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls for the soundtrack of Bridget Jones’s Diary?
6. 1984 – Ren McCormack is the main character in which musical drama?
7. 1996 – Which action thriller connects John Travolta, Christian Slater, and Delroy Lindo?
8. 2008 – Who plays optimistic learner driver Poppy Cross in Happy-Go-Lucky?
9. 1967 – Also born this week, Maria Bello replaced Rachel Weisz as Evie O’Connell in the third Mummy movie: what was the threequel’s full title?
10. 1986 – “The junk food movie that just eats you up.” Which sci-fi horror satire used this tagline?
ROUND TWO – When Actors Meet Animals
Can you name these movies from just an actor’s name, their animal co-star, and the year each film was released?
11. Owen Wilson and a yellow Labrador retriever (2008)
12. James Cromwell and a Yorkshire pig (1995)
13. Suraj Sharma and a Bengal tiger (2012)
14. Charlize Theron and a giant mountain gorilla (1998)
15. Jordan Peele and a tabby kitten (2016)
16. Jason James Richter and an orca (1993)
17. Jeremy Irvine and a bay Irish hunter (2011)
18. Virginia McKenna and a lion cub (1966)
19. Michael Caine and a great white shark (1987)
20. Samuel L Jackson and a Burmese python, among others (2006)
ROUND THREE – Pot Luck
Let’s finish with a random selection of pot luck film quiz questions – these could come from any era, any genre, or any level of difficulty. Enjoy!
21. Which 2023 movie completes this sequence: Murder On The Orient Express > Death On The Nile > … what?
22. Who directed, wrote, and starred as multiple characters in 1940’s The Great Dictator?
23. In the Rocky franchise, which character does Rocky face in three different boxing matches?
24. Which UK city connects Four Lions, The Full Monty, and Threads?
25. Who was born earliest: Alicia Silverstone or Alicia Vikander?
26. In the news! Which James Cameron film is now available to stream uncut in 4K on Disney+ UK?
27. In which 2017 comedy does James Franco play actor and filmmaker Tommy Wiseau?
28. Complete the title of the 1953 Doris Day musical: Calamity… who?
29. Who connects the 1990s films Edward Scissorhands, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Alien: Resurrection?
30. And finally, “No penguins were harmed in the making of this film. Jim Carrey, on the other hand, was bitten mercilessly. But he had it coming.” Which 2011 comedy ends with this disclaimer?
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Ready for the answers?
That’s the end of this week’s film quiz – when you’re ready to check your answers, click here to get them (it’ll take you to another page) and let us know your scores in the comments below. We’ll be back next Friday with another film quiz, but until then, check out Issue 54 of Film Stories Magazine, which features 50 more questions about trilogy toppers, dogs on film, and the movies of 2007!
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