Creature Comforts

With a handful of nominations and three Oscars under his belt, British animator Nick Park--best known for his wonderful Wallace & Gromit series (also avail. in a 3-volume set for $24.98)--is one of the premiere animators working today. One of his most famous shorts is the Oscar-winning title piece of this animated shorts compilation, Creature Comforts, a claymation mock TV interview of animals in a zoo, who speak matter-of-factly about the poor food, loss of open space, and sense of loneliness. Also included is Peter Lord's Oscar-nominated Wat's Pig, a hilarious tale of a pair of medieval brothers separated at birth--one a king, the other a poor farmer--whose paths humorously cross. Lord gets great comic mileage out of the use of a split-screen (in one sequence, the brothers sit down to eat: the king launching into a feast; the poor brother emptying his small bowl of gruel and leaving the frame in a matter of seconds). The final two entries are Lord's also Oscar-nominated Adam, a playful look at the first man's efforts to get a grip on existence; and Boris Kessmehl's devilish Not Without My Handbag, in which a little girl's aunt buys a Dante's Soak & Spin washer and thereby inadvertently sells her soul to Satan--though she refuses to enter Hell without her handbag. An incredibly gifted collection of shorts. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)