Pretty Polly Performs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Treasure Island (1970)

There have been around 15 films based on the novel "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. The parrot is Long John Silver's pet and is named Captain Flint after his former captain. It comes out with expressions like "pieces of eight" and "stand by to go about". Pieces of eight are Spanish silver coins worth eight reales. The other phrase is used when the boat is about to change tack which usually means the sails will need adjusted promptly.

Answer: Aladdin (1992)

In the Disney animated film, Iago is the thief Jafar's sidekick and assists in Jafar's schemes, even providing advice. His character gradually changes as his conscience wins out in the sequels such as "The Return of Jafar" (1994). He takes his name after the Shakespearean character from the play "Othello" and shares some traits such as being a trusted adviser but really just looking out for himself. A lory is a type of parrot found in places like Indonesia, New Guinea and other Pacific countries. It is commonly kept in captivity.

Answer: Rio (2011)

In this animated rom com film, Blu and Jewel are the last known Spix's macaws who are brought together to save their species. Although they escape the smugglers, Blu has not learned to fly which makes things difficult. They survive to make a sequel "Rio 2" (2014). Macaws are a type of parrot and the Spix's macaw is regarded as extinct in the wild. It was endemic to Brazil. The Spix's macaw is also known as the little blue macaw.

Answer: Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Voiced by Matt Friedman, the parrot has a talent for sparking strong reactions in the people it meets and seems to understand how best to achieve this. If a person at first does not to understand what has been said because it seems so outrageous, the parrot repeats himself slowly and more clearly to get the message across. The parrot is named Polly by Cindy and Shorty Meeks but it is not clear what its true name is and it is assumed that it was owned by Hugh Kane, the previous owner of the manor.

Answer: My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)

Voiced by Zoe Saldana, Captain Celaeno is an anthropomorphic parrot who, with her crew, get involved in helping the protagonists in this film. It is an animated musical fantasy aimed at a younger audience with the film starring the regular all-female voice cast from the TV series "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". The parrot is a new character for the film.

Answer: Dolittle (2020)

Inspired mainly by "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" (1922) by Hugh Lofting, this 2020 fantasy adventure film stars Robert Downey Jr. as the title character. Emma Thompson voices the macaw Polynesia who is Doctor Dolittle's most trusted adviser. She also narrates the film. In the books she is a West African parrot with grey and scarlet colouring, whereas in this film she is a blue and yellow macaw.

Answer: 102 Dalmations (2000)

Waddlesworth is a red-and-green macaw who thinks he is a rottweiler dog. He lives with Kevin at the Second Chance dog shelter and orders the dogs around as well as acting as translator between dogs and humans. When alerted by a Twilight Bark about the kidnapped puppies, he helps Kevin get out of prison. He takes an active role in the subsequent puppy rescue. He is voiced by Eric Idle.

Answer: For Your Eyes Only (1981)

In this James Bond film when Max's owner Sir Timothy Havelock is murdered, Max passes to the daughter Melina. After various adventures, Bond and Melina recover the ATAC device but it is soon stolen by Kristatos. Kristatos does not realise that the parrot has taken note of the rendezvous location, enabling Bond to recover it. At the end of the film, the parrot fields a call from the Prime Minister when she rings to thank Bond. The same or a similar bird appears in the Bond film "The Living Daylights" (1987).

Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean

The backstory told about Cotton is that he had his tongue cut out for speaking out of turn and then trained the parrot to speak on his behalf. According to a Walt Disney Pictures press kit, during the filming of "The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003) there were three birds used: a sitter, a talker and a flyer. This was down to two birds in later films: the sitter Chip and the performance bird Salsa. Christopher S Capp voiced the bird in the three first "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

Answer: Tuesday (2023)

This dark fantasy comedy-drama is about a mother facing up to the impending death of her 15-year old daughter Tuesday, who has a terminal illness. Death comes in the form of a parrot to end her daughter's pain and suffering. The parrot is voiced by Arinzé Kene.