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Turtles 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. In order to survive on the island, the family has to fight pirates and wildlife. 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, macaws, along with giant tortoises and sea turtles. When the family lands on the island, there is a giant tortoise on the beach. One of the younger boys and two dogs run up the beach to investigate. The dogs run around it and bark, and the boy climbs on top for a ride. One of the older boys is sailing a small raft when he sees a sea turtle swimming in the ocean. He decides to use a lasso to catch the turtle and make it tow the raft. (This is a bad idea because the turtle might not to swim in the direction one is going, and because of the cruelty involved.)