Ma-Mha
Encyclopedia
Ma-Mha is a 2007
Thai
comedy
-drama film
directed by Pantham Thongsang and Somkiet Vituranich about a pack of stray dog
s in suburban Bangkok
who want to cross a busy highway in hopes of finding a better life on the other side of the road. It is the first Thai live-action feature film to feature main characters that are animals.
living with his middle-class owner and girlfriend and the girlfriend's white Persian cat. After the cat tricks Makham into chewing on her master's shoes, the girlfriend becomes furious and when her boyfriend is gone, sneaks the dog off to a suburban Bangkok
Buddhist
temple, and leaves the dog.
Makham falls in a pack of five stray dogs who live in a burned out neighborhood. An illustrated sequence during the opening credits shows the lives of the strays and how their village came to be burned down. The five strays are led by an old mixed breed
hound named Luang Kaffee. The other dogs are mostly mixed breed as well, except for a poodle
named Sexy. The dogs are starving. They cannot forage for food in the nearby temple because of a rival pack of strays. A neighboring orchard is off limits because of some fierce guard dogs. And there is a gated, high-class housing estate, but the dogs are stopped from entering by a kindly young security guard.
Makham manages to sneak his way into the estate anyway, and his eyes are captured by a female collie
, Nam Kang. A rich neighbor is after Nam Kang's female owner, and brings in his own collie, Tommy, as a potential companion for Nam Kang to woo Nam Kang's owner. The man is angry with Makham because Makham had earlier disrupted a lavish birthday party. The man reveals himself as a cruel person, wanting to poison the strays or shoot them with a pistol.
Hope for the strays comes from Makham, who knows of a "Dogtopia
", where all dogs are well fed and cared for. It is across a busy highway that no dog has survived the crossing. The older dog, Luang Kaffee, is injured in an initial attempt at crossing. So the strays pool their resources to try and cross the road. They find a wagon to pull Luang Kaffee in, and determine that on the full moon
, there is a temple fair when traffic will be stopped and they can cross.
Eventually they do cross and find Dogtopia, where indeed they are cared for. Makham is reunited with his owner, who is at the fair. And all the dogs live happily ever after.
film, but an experience with a trained dog during the making of his 2004 film, Ai-Fak
, led him to believe he could make a live-action film with dogs. Further inspiration came from a call by King Bhumibol Adulyadej
, himself a dog lover, for the police to adopt stray dogs and train them for police work.
The leading dog, a Thai Ridgeback
, was found at a dog competition. Four other members of the starring stray dog pack were all found in dog shelters. A fifth dog, an aging, wounded stray mixed-breed
, was spotted on the streets of Bangkok
by Pantham and trained for the film.
Nearly one year was spent in pre-production, rehearsing with the dogs and training them for specific scenes, such as playing hide and seek
, running makeshift agility
courses, swimming and acting out emotional scenes.
Longer time was spent in actual shooting as well. The majority of Thai films are made in 30 days, but 100 days were spent making Ma-Mha.
The dogs speak, with the voiceover by human actors, but the animals' mouths do not move, as seen in Babe
or Charlotte's Web
. "We wanted to do it the old-fashioned way, which means we had to train the dogs harder and ask them to give us more," Pantham said in an interview.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Thai
Cinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Pantham Thongsang and Somkiet Vituranich about a pack of stray dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s in suburban Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
who want to cross a busy highway in hopes of finding a better life on the other side of the road. It is the first Thai live-action feature film to feature main characters that are animals.
Plot
Makham is a Thai RidgebackThai Ridgeback
The Thai Ridgeback is an ancient breed of dog. The breed was formerly unknown outside of Thailand, but is gaining notice in the Western world. The Thai Ridgeback is one of only three breeds that has a ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat...
living with his middle-class owner and girlfriend and the girlfriend's white Persian cat. After the cat tricks Makham into chewing on her master's shoes, the girlfriend becomes furious and when her boyfriend is gone, sneaks the dog off to a suburban Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
temple, and leaves the dog.
Makham falls in a pack of five stray dogs who live in a burned out neighborhood. An illustrated sequence during the opening credits shows the lives of the strays and how their village came to be burned down. The five strays are led by an old mixed breed
Mixed-breed dog
A mixed-breed dog, also known as a mutt or mongrel, is a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds. A mixed-breed may be a cross-breed dog, a random-bred dog, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations...
hound named Luang Kaffee. The other dogs are mostly mixed breed as well, except for a poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
named Sexy. The dogs are starving. They cannot forage for food in the nearby temple because of a rival pack of strays. A neighboring orchard is off limits because of some fierce guard dogs. And there is a gated, high-class housing estate, but the dogs are stopped from entering by a kindly young security guard.
Makham manages to sneak his way into the estate anyway, and his eyes are captured by a female collie
Collie
The collie is a distinctive type of herding dog, including many related landraces and formal breeds. It originates in Scotland and Northern England. It is a medium-sized, fairly lightly built dog with a pointed snout, and many types have a distinctive white pattern over the shoulders. Collies...
, Nam Kang. A rich neighbor is after Nam Kang's female owner, and brings in his own collie, Tommy, as a potential companion for Nam Kang to woo Nam Kang's owner. The man is angry with Makham because Makham had earlier disrupted a lavish birthday party. The man reveals himself as a cruel person, wanting to poison the strays or shoot them with a pistol.
Hope for the strays comes from Makham, who knows of a "Dogtopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
", where all dogs are well fed and cared for. It is across a busy highway that no dog has survived the crossing. The older dog, Luang Kaffee, is injured in an initial attempt at crossing. So the strays pool their resources to try and cross the road. They find a wagon to pull Luang Kaffee in, and determine that on the full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
, there is a temple fair when traffic will be stopped and they can cross.
Eventually they do cross and find Dogtopia, where indeed they are cared for. Makham is reunited with his owner, who is at the fair. And all the dogs live happily ever after.
Cast
- Golf PichayaGolf & MikeGolf & Mike, more often credited in Thailand as Golf-Mike , is a Thai pop duo artist consisting of brothers Pichaya "Golf" Nitipaisalkul and Pirat "Mike" Nitipaisalkul, formed under Thailand's biggest entertainment company, GMM Grammy....
as Makham (voice) - Pirachaya Pinmueng-nyam as Nam Kang (voice)
- Suthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngam , also known by his stage name Thep Po-ngam, is a Thai comedian, actor, film director and screenwriter. He played the leader of a gang of inept hitmen in Killer Tattoo...
as Luang Kaffee - Sakawjai Punsawat as Sexy (voice)
- Maneerat Kham-uan as Pikul (voice)
- Christopher Wright as Tommy (voice)
- Chaleumpol Tikumpornteerawon as Security guard
Production
Director Pantham Thongsang originally conceived of Ma-Mha as an animatedAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
film, but an experience with a trained dog during the making of his 2004 film, Ai-Fak
Ai-Fak
Ai-Fak is a 2004 Thai drama film. It is based on the S.E.A. Write Award-winning novel by Chart Korbjitti, Khamphiphaksa .-Plot:...
, led him to believe he could make a live-action film with dogs. Further inspiration came from a call by King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...
, himself a dog lover, for the police to adopt stray dogs and train them for police work.
The leading dog, a Thai Ridgeback
Thai Ridgeback
The Thai Ridgeback is an ancient breed of dog. The breed was formerly unknown outside of Thailand, but is gaining notice in the Western world. The Thai Ridgeback is one of only three breeds that has a ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat...
, was found at a dog competition. Four other members of the starring stray dog pack were all found in dog shelters. A fifth dog, an aging, wounded stray mixed-breed
Mixed-breed dog
A mixed-breed dog, also known as a mutt or mongrel, is a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds. A mixed-breed may be a cross-breed dog, a random-bred dog, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations...
, was spotted on the streets of Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
by Pantham and trained for the film.
Nearly one year was spent in pre-production, rehearsing with the dogs and training them for specific scenes, such as playing hide and seek
Hide and seek
Hide-and-seek or hide-and-go-seek is a variant of the game tag, in which a number of players conceal themselves in the environment, to be found by one or more seekers.-Variants:Numerous variants of the game can be found around the world...
, running makeshift agility
Dog agility
Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles...
courses, swimming and acting out emotional scenes.
Longer time was spent in actual shooting as well. The majority of Thai films are made in 30 days, but 100 days were spent making Ma-Mha.
The dogs speak, with the voiceover by human actors, but the animals' mouths do not move, as seen in Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
or Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web (2006 film)
Charlotte's Web is a 2006 American live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E. B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies...
. "We wanted to do it the old-fashioned way, which means we had to train the dogs harder and ask them to give us more," Pantham said in an interview.