Creature Comforts (1989)

Director:

Nick Park

Writers:

Release Date:

1989 (UK)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Short | Family

Plot:

A humourous and thought provoking view of what animals in zoos might be thinking about their captivity and surroundings.

Plot Keywords:

Zoo | Animal | Polar Bear | Turtle | Stop Motion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Julie Sedgewick

...

Interviewer (voice)

Runtime:

5 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 | UK:U

Company:

Aardman Animations

Trivia:

The film's soundtrack is a mixture of actual interviews with shut-ins and zoo attendees, and semi-acting. The leopard was a Brazilian friend of director Nick Park's who hated England. Park told him to pretend he was a leopard in the zoo for the interview.

Quotes:

The Gorilla: You can't get out and about as much as you would like to.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo (2003) (VG)

Nick Park was showing his talent early on.

Before the "Wallace & Gromit" series and "Chicken Run", Nick Park made a splendid debut with "Creature Comforts", in which several animals in a zoo explain how unhappy they are to be in cages. If the cartoon is goofy, then they play it to good effect, and it has a good message. I've always thought that Nick Park not only has great ideas for cartoons, but that his claymation style is quite neat, with the bug eyes and rectangular mouths.

Other interesting cartoons of this style include not only the "Wallace & Gromit" series, but also "Wat's Pig" and "Ident". The last two are fascinating, if bizarre.