Out of the mouths of stop-motion animated plasticine animals come life's hard-earned wisdom in the 13 episodes (on a disc including the original 1989 Oscar-winning title short) from the 2003 first season of Creature Comforts, from Britain's famed Aardman Studios (Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run). Built around a brilliant “fun with audio” conceit, in which actual interviews with humans serve as the dialogue spoken by a menagerie of animated animals, the 9-10 minute episodes include "What's It All About" (a rumination on the meaning of life spoken by a microscopic amoeba), as well as "Pets at the Vets," "Working Animals," "Feeding Time," and "Cats or Dogs?" Creature Comforts may be a bit dialogue-heavy for younger children, but they will delight in the animal figures, while adults will bask in the clever bits of comic business and visual asides that grace each episode, inviting repeat viewings to catch what might have been missed the first time around (in “The Garden,” for example, a cat and dog, while sharing a couch, debate the merits of slugs—you may not immediately notice the claw marks defacing the furniture). DVD extras include behind-the-scenes and voice work featurettes, as well as a compilation of the filmmakers' “Favorite Bits.” A pure pleasure, this is highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)
Creature Comforts: The Complete First Season
Sony, 133 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 Volume 20, Issue 6
Creature Comforts: The Complete First Season
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