Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Nick Park, who made his reputation with the delightful Wallace and Gromit shorts, won his first Oscar in 1990 with his clever clay animation impressions of zoo creatures. Inventive vignettes of delightfully designed animals are voiced by real-life elderly London apartment dwellers commenting upon their own confining apartments, and children reflecting upon zoo life. The dryly hilarious and sometimes affecting short packs plenty of visual wit in a very British vein into five minutes, but is only one of the delights Aardman Animations studios has to offer in this collection. Two wordless shorts by Aardman cofounder Peter Lord (both Oscar nominees) offer a different kind of physical humor. "Wat's Pig" combines The Prince and the Pauper with The Man in the Iron Mask to contrast the lives of identical twins separated at birth, one grown into a self-centered prince, the other raised in the forest by a particularly talented sow; and "Adam" offers a distinctly comic take on the genesis of humankind. Finally, Boris Kossmehl's angled sets and tilted cameras on the devilishly delicious "Not Without My Handbag," an outrageous take on the living dead and appliance warranties, recalls Tim Burton's early work in its whimsy and stylish designs. This quartet of charming clay animation shorts will enchant children and adults alike with its inventive designs, clever comic sketches, and distinctly British wit. --Sean Axmaker Description From the creators of the box office smash "Chicken Run" and "Wallace and Gromit" comes "Creature Comforts," an amazing collection of clay-animation shorts from world-famous Aardman Animations. It's a Zoo's-Who of fun! Clay animation animals comment on life at the zoological gardens in "Creature Comforts," winner of the 1990 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Then meet "Wat's Pig," the 1996 Oscar-nominated tale of knights and daze involving two brothers one raised in royal splendor, the other by a kindly pig. In the darkly hilarious "Not Without My Handbag," a dear, deceased Auntie makes the ultimate fashion statement she won't stay in Hell without a proper handbag. And lastly there's the story of "Adam" (1992 Oscar-nominee for Best Animated Short Film), a whimsical in-the-beginning tale about a little clay and a lot of imagination. |
Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
My Aunt Is A Zombie From Hell, Feb 24, 2023 I have been a big fan of Park's claymation work, and it really broke the mold when the Wallace & Gromit and other works started to hit the screen.
"Creature Comforts" is the best of these, in terms of the supposed interviews with zoo animals. The mountain lion is hilarious, and the creatures all have such human like emotions and even their subtle actions are fantastic.
"Wat's Pig" had its moments, and I also liked "Not Without My Handbag."
There are some others out there I'd still like to find, like the BBC Radio announcer who lives in his studio.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Full of Imagination, Feb 3, 2023 I love this DVD! The stories are a little odd but I found them all to be entertaining. As previously stated in other reviews this may not be the best choice for children. The title short "creature comforts" is great. The animal voices and interviews give great insight on what animals in zoos might really say if they could talk. "Wats pig" adds a little twist on the traditional prince and the pauper story and gets its point across without using dialogue. "Not without my handbag" is my personal favorite. The story is about a young girl's aunt who loses her soul to the devil through the purchase of a washer but she refuses to rest in peace until she gets her beloved handbag. Last but not least is "Adam" who just cannot seem to catch any luck and resides on the moon alone. I do not think these shorts sit in the same realm as Wallace and Gromit but definitely leave their own mark when it comes to clay animation. If you would like to preview the show creature comforts check comedy centrals listings the show has multiple times all this March 2005.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Worth it for the Title Film, Nov 27, 2022 "Creature Comforts" is quite possibly the perfect animated short film; charming, funny, well-animated and just a little bit messy. Using real people's testimonies, the film depicts zoo animals talking about their living conditions. Everyone I have ever shown this to has loved it, young or old. Although its lacking in extras and the rest of the films are not as compelling, this DVD is worth buying just to have a copy of the title track.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
GREAT STUFF....BAD DVD!!!!, Sep 8, 2023 Any fan of Nick Park and Aardman studio would expect so much from a dvd like this which unfortunately disappoints badly in all respects.
Beware!!!!! The dvd consists ONLY four short films from aardman. Other than the ever popular, groundbreaking short claymation "creature comforts" which also won Nick Park his very first academy award, there's "wat's pig", academy award nominated "adam" and "not without my handbag". The running time of the disc is barely half an hour. Forget about any extras on the disc, the sound and picture quality is just not of a dvd.
There's much much more about three time academy award winner Nick Park and Aardman studio than just these four shorts! Those who have a multiregion dvd player or watch dvds from different region on their pc, have a brilliant option of buying a dvd named "AARDMAN CLASSICS" from region 2 (also available from AMAZON.CO.UK). It has an astounding 31 (yes!!!!) short films by Aardman, including the four mentioned earlier. It also includes a behind the scenes commentary and directors and animators biographies. It is a real complete collection of award winning short films from aardman studio on one dvd.
Inspite of the four great films it consists, "creature comforts" dvd is just not worth your money. Getting "wallace and gromit" or "chicken run" on dvd would be a much better idea.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Zoo gets 5, the rest bring it down a notch!, Jul 7, 2023 I first saw Creature Comforts as a fill in on PBS. Many years have passed and I still recall the polar kid asking if it was ok to eat the interviewer. The juxtaposition of the creatures of our Earth having such a clear image of human (and arn't they) lives is beautiful. Seemingly trapped to the day and yet somewhat content in their memory of what has, might have, or may be. Lovely! Thanks, Nick.
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