Creature Comforts was originally a 1989 British humorous animated short film about how animals feel about living in a zoo, featuring the voices of the British public "spoken" by the animals. It was created by Nick Park and Aardman Animations. The film later became the basis of a series of television advertisements for the UK Electricity Board, and in 2003 a television series in the same style was released. An American version of the series was also made.
The original 5-minute film Creature Comforts was conceived and directed by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations featuring the voices of British non-actors in the same vein as the "man on the street" Vox Pop interviews. It was produced as part of a series called Lip Synch for Channel 4. The film won Nick Park the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1990.
The film shows various animals in a zoo being interviewed about their living conditions. These include turtles, a female gorilla, a family of polar bears, and a melancholic Mountain Lion who complains about the "lack of space" and the "grass with pollen that gives me hay fever every day!"
The dialogue was created by interviewing residents of a housing development, an old people's home and a family that lived in a local shop (the polar bears). Clay animation was then created that attributed the answers to zoo animals. One of the most popular characters was the Mountain Lion. He was in fact a Brazilian student who lived in a hotel and was talking about his own situation.
The following characters are among those who make regular appearances throughout the first series. These animals are always portrayed by the same interviewees to maintain consistency throughout the series. Most returned for the second season. * Pickles the Guide Dog — A guide dog with an optimistic outlook and a high-pitched, exaggerated laugh. * Fluffy the Hamster — A depressed hamster who has a pessimistic view on everything: the beach, clowns, evolution, Christmas, etc. * Clement the Bloodhound — Clement has gone to see medical specialists several times in his life - and has usually been thrown out without treatment or clear definition of his problems. * Trixie and Capt. Cuddlepuss — A dog and a cat, respectively, who act like a bored, married couple. They argue over cats having bad breath and Yorkshire terriers wearing lipstick. * Spanner and Trousers — Two dogs who hang out at the skips. They debate over subjects like evolution and getting reincarnated as a bird. * Earl the Greyhound — A racing dog, notorious for being interrupted mid-sentence by the race starting. * Toby — A highly-refined Blue Persian cat. He once had a severe cold which was treated with Famel syrup (which contains creosote, leaving him smelling like a fencepost for a week). He is sure that cats are more intelligent than dogs, since they bury their leavings. * Gary and Nigel — Two garden slugs - red and orange, respectively - who seem like gardening professionals and frequently get crawled on by ladybirds. Gary's wife is comparatively overweight and is reported to be on a diet of leaves. * Sid and Nancy, the Shed Rats — Two rats who seem to be married. Sid wishes to build another shed so he can listen to the football, but Nancy thinks he wants to view pornography. * Ted and Stan — Baby birds, possible brothers. * Victor the Geordie Mouse — A friendly mouse with a Geordie accent. His son has diabetes. * Frank the Tortoise — Frank first appeared in the "Heat Electric" advertisements (see above), in which he mentioned going on a "ten-mile slog". He likes a lot of foods involving chips. * Brian the Amoeba — Despite being an extremely primitive lifeform, Brian is highly philosophical. * The Rudges — A group of sea anemones, a female starfish and a silent, timid-looking oyster who suspect that Earth's life originates from another planet, and that they have evolved to their full potential.
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Creature Comforts - 1-02 - Pets At The Vets (AC3-2ch).aviby ransonbranding2,643 views
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