A FRISKY lion, a curious buffalo and a flock of irritable penguins have helped turn the production of a modestly budgeted family film into the most nightmarishly expensive comedy in Hollywood history.

Evan Almighty, the sequel to the 2003 Jim Carrey hit Bruce Almighty, has run way over budget as film executives ignored the dictum about never working with children or — even more riskily — animals.

To complicate matters the filming of the light-hearted story, about a politician ordered by God to rebuild Noah’s Ark, was delayed by torrential rains.

The budget, originally set at £80m, is expected to rise to more than £135m before the film opens next June, exceeding the cost of past record- breakers such as Titanic and Waterworld.

Part of the blame lies with the animals. While many of the beasts are still being shaped on computers by Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects company behind Star Wars, 500 real animals were marched two by two onto a 65ft-high, 450ft-long wooden ark constructed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, but the animals did not always get along.

Mark Forbes, the chief animal handler, said they were dealing with up to 40 species at a time, ranging from lions to camels and bears. “I have never seen so many different exotic animals used in a film,” said the veteran of Dr Dolittle and 101 Dalmatians.

Early in the shooting a male lion took a fancy to a lioness, resulting in scenes familiar from nature programmes. A flock of penguins was required in order to find two who would not snap at each other, their trainers or any other animals that came within beak range. “They are not as cute or cuddly as they look: they can be mean critters,” said a Virginian extra.

Another Virginian said that during a shot where animals were supposed to parade down a street past stalled traffic, one buffalo took a liking to his steering wheel. “It kept sticking its head inside my car, and a buffalo has a very big head, and very bad breath,” he told a local reporter.

Predators such as lions had to be filmed on different days from the giraffes, who are prone to skittishness when exposed to the lingering scent of a big cat. One monkey threw food at actors with deadly accuracy, and the star, Steve Carell, was covered with bird droppings, which was not in the script.

Gary Barber, one of Evan Almighty’s producers, said: “Is it costing more than we wanted? Yes. Is it worth it? Definitely. This could be bigger than the original.”

Filming has ended in Virginia but Tom Shadyac, the director, bought a thank-you memento for the locals: an arboretum, with all the trees planted, like the animals, two by two.

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