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

In the Gorilla's enclosure, a tally chart is seen on the wall behind her. One of the tallys has five downward strokes instead of the normal four.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Spin-off Creature Comforts America (2007)

User Reviews

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.

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