Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This is one early effort by famous claymation legend Nick Park. It's the one that came out at the very same time as his first Wallace and Gromit film and also gave him his first Oscar.I think it's a really good film to show your children, for example right after you took them to the zoo. It's about a bunch of zoo animals whose exposure to humans talking every single day has finally taught them a way to speak as well. And not only can they express their words via language, they also know how to gesture the appropriate way during a conversation in order to emphasize their opinion. So they're weighing in on the pros and cons of living on limited space behind bars (or glass walls). What I like the most is that it doesn't try to alter the viewer's opinion exclusively to one side, but approach the issue from both sides that there's good things as well as bad things to it. It's a nicely animated and educating little short film and I'd recommend it.If you like it as well, make sure to check out the TV show with the same names based on this one and made almost 15 years later.

ackstasis Nick Park's 'Creature Comforts (1989)' beat out competition from the likes of Bruno Bozzetto and Nick Park to win the 1991 Oscar for Best Animated Short. In all honesty, I haven't seen nominee 'Cavallette (1990),' but I still think that the Academy got their ballots mixed up. Just for the record, I find 'A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit (1989)' to be the much better short film, with an entertaining, fully-structured narrative and no shortage of imagination. 'Creature Comforts' has a nice premise and some good jokes, but it's all over so very quickly, leaving only a shallow impression that doesn't bode well for repeat viewings. Nevertheless, the animal characters have that wonderful home-grown "Wallace and Gromit" look about them, always a lovely trademark of Aardman Animations, as well as charming British accents that add some sophistication to the zoo inhabitants' gripes. I've always wondered why the British have inherently sophisticated accents.This five-minute short film is basically just a series of very brief vignettes in which zoo animals are interviewed for their opinions on life in captivity. Some animals have some good things to say about it, but most do nothing but complain, particularly a certain South American carnivore who goes on at length about the "lack of space" in his enclosure. There's a family of polar bears who are eager to get their opinions across, and miss having steak in their diets. I also liked the turtle that "tries to spend as little time in here as possible," although that is more easily said than done. The quaintness of the dialogue is probably due to the filming technique, which was to interview zoo visitors off the street, request that they behave like animals, and produce the animation around these results. In 2003, 'Creature Comforts' was expanded into a successful TV series, though the even greater success of the "Wallace and Gromit" franchise validates, I think, my feelings about which is the better film.

bob the moo An interviewer goes to a zoo in order to interview the animals there. Her subjects include polar bears, big cats, an ape, a turtle and others. The subjects of conversation include the weather, their living conditions and what they like to eat.One of the very first projects from Nick Park and it is still very funny now. The animation looks a little dated but the idea is the same so it's not too bad. My understanding is that real people were interviewed for the voices and the animals were matched up to them – i.e. these aren't scripts.The end result is hilarious – the animals are matched to their accents and their subject matter really well. By themselves the words would be dull for the majority, while the animation would be merely cute. Together the film is very funny. Some of it is wise and slightly touching but really it's just funny to hear animals talk about their conditions as if they were humans!This was used for adverts in the UK to great effect and it is responsible for starting Nick park's path to Wallace and Gromit and Oscar fame. Overall a simple idea is turned into a wonderfully bright little short that is worth seeing for anyone who has seen Wallace & Gromit.

scabies Nick Park and co. won a BAFTA nomination for this clay-mation short in 1990, and went on to receive an OSCAR the following year. It's not difficult to see why.This early animated short from the Aardman team shows originality, intelligence and not a little sublimity. Julie Sedgewick (the only credited cast member, whose voice is hardly even featured) went out with a Nagra (or similar) tape recorder and interviewed a selection of people - mainly zoo visitors and people living in council-owned accommodation in the UK.Combined beautifully with some charming and cleverly interpreted clay-mation, the Aardman team have produced 'Creature Comforts', to worldwide acclaim.Very highly recommended.