Creature Comforts (1989)

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

Director:

Nick Park

Star:

Julie Sedgewick

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Julie Sedgewick	...	Interviewer (voice)

Storyline

Off camera, with her microphone in view, an interviewer asks creatures at the zoo to talk about how they like their accommodations, what's good and what's bad, and what they miss about their old land. The animals interviewed include a family of polar bears - the youngest of whom likes it there, a large Brazilian cat (who misses the space and the heat of the Amazon), an ape who's a bit bored, a lemur, a turtle who reads for escape, and a chicken who compares her life favorably to the lives of her sisters in the circus. They talk about what they eat, their cramped and smelly quarters, and the technology of zoo life. They're thoughtful, philosophical, and reasoned.

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Plot Keywords:

animal | turtle | bird | interview | no music during end credits | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Commissioned by Channel 4 as part of a 5-part series of Aardman animations called "Lip Synch". The five films in the series were Creature Comforts (1989), Going Equipped (1990), Ident (1990), Next (1990) and War Story (1989).

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Goofs

When the Aye-Aye is being interviewed, the leaves around her keep randomly changing positions.

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Quotes

Andrew Polar Bear: Do you eat lions?
Dad Polar Bear: No, I don't eat lions, Andrew.

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Connections

Featured in I Love the 1990s: I Love 1990 (2001)

User Reviews

Creature Comforts

This is the old version of the soon-to-be TV series of Nick Park's Aardman Animations. Basically they record voices from real interviews talking about a certain subject, for example they mention about food and where they are living. When they have recorded these voices they use their genius to match this talking with a suitable character. All the characters are wild and zoo animals talking. There is a lion, tortoises, polar bears, a panda bear, a female gorilla, a hippo (with one behind her pooping) and many other animals made of the genius Plastercine. There is now quite a good TV series of this one-off show of interview made animation. The quality of this animation is obviously the fact that everything moving is made of Plastercine, it deserved the Oscar! As part of Aardman Animations, it was number 15 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. Very good!

Details

Official Sites:

Aardman Animations Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Creature Comforts

Box Office

Gross USA:

$112,175

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$112,175

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aardman Animations, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

5 min 33 min (VHS)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color