Creature Comforts

Writing on Video Librarian Online back in 1997, we said of the VHS release of 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--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, 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." On DVD, these shorts only sparkle all the brighter, and with Park's newfound audience following last year's Chicken Run, they've got new legs. Highly recommended (especially since the video is currently out-of-print). Editor's Choice. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)