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Lizards in Movies
 
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
 
Spoiler Alert !

Some of these pictures and descriptions may give away plot details that you might not want to know before watching the film.
 
It's hard to think there was a time when a family adventure movie like this one could be the biggest box office hit of the year, but that's what this one was in 1960. It takes place in the early 19th Century when Napoleon was emperor. An American family of 6 on their way to New Guinea is shipwrecked on a tropical island. They build a giant treehouse and settle in with the local wildlife which somehow consists of species from at least three continents, including tigers, elephants, zebras, hyenas, ostriches, cheetah, and macaws. In order to survive on the island, the family has to fight pirates and wildlife, including harmless lizards.

Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson

The first lizard scene begins when we see two of the teen brothers hiking through a swamp along with a girl they rescued who has disguised herself as a boy. The girl is scared by a green lizard on a tree that she almost touches, then she sees a larger green lizard on a branch higher up that jumps and makes her scream. The branch the large lizard is on crashes into the water and one of the boys is so frightened he climbs up a tree. As far as I can tell, the two green lizards are Green Iguanas, the first a juvenile, and the second an adult female.

Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson
The second lizard scene happens when the mother, working outdoors on a beach, lifts a large piece of material and finds a large monitor lizard. When she screams in fear, one of her sons lifts his rifle to shoot the lizard, but the lizard gets away.

The monitor lizard appears to be an Asian Water Monitor, aka Water Monitor, native to South and Southeast Asia.