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''Creature Comforts'' was originally a 1989 Animated Short Film made in Britain about how Animal s feel about living in a Zoo , and later became a series of commercials for Heat Electric. In 2003 a Television series in the same style was released. THE ORIGINAL FILM The original 5-minute film ''Creature Comforts'' was conceived and directed by Nick Park , and produced by Aardman Animations featuring the voice acting of common, everyday members of the British public, in the same vein as the "man on the street", Vox Pop interviews. It was produced as part of a series called ''Lip Synch'' for Channel 4 and can be found online exclusively at AtomFilms . The film shows various animals in a zoo being interviewed about their living conditions. These include Turtles , a female Gorilla , a family of Polar Bears and a melancholic Puma who complains about the lack of "space" and the "grass with pollen that gives me hay fever every day!" The dialogue was created by interviewing residents of a housing development, an old folks' home and a family that lived in a local shop (the polar bears). Clay Animation was then created that attributed the answers to zoo animals. One of the most popular characters was the puma. He was in fact a Brazilian student who lived in a hotel and was talking about his own situation. (Source: DVD audio commentary). The film won an Academy Award for Animated Short Film , beating off the challenge of two other films — one of which, ('' A Grand Day Out ''), was also a creation of Nick Park. This soon led to a series of British Television Commercial s for the Electricity Board which were made in the same style, featuring a closing voice-over by Johnny Morris . Ironically, many members of the public mistakenly believed these commercials were advertising gas heating, the main competitor to electricity. THE SERIES In 2003, a series of ''Creature Comforts'' films was made for the British television network ITV by Aardman, with episodes directed by Richard Goleszowski . On ITV, the series is sponsored by British Gas. This series since aired as re-runs on Comedy Central , usually late at night. Starting in 2005 it has also aired in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , in The Netherlands on Veronica , on pay-TV channel UK.TV and on internet peer-to-peer TV Joost Aardman Animations Channel. Another series of 10-minute episodes was aired on ITV, starting October 30 , 2005 . A 30-minute special in which the regular characters attempt to perform and interpret the Christmas Carol " The Twelve Days Of Christmas " was first aired on 25 December 2005 . The special was broadcast in Canada on the CBC on December 26 2005 . Humour pervades all aspects of the series, for example:
The series gently mocks the constructed ''performance'' sometimes given by members of the general public when being interviewed for television Vox-pops and documentaries. This includes the attempts to present a cogent but simple conclusive answer to a general question — a sound bite — and the attempts to present a cheery spin on a complex issue while the subject attempts to hide their personal issues and problems with the issue. REGULAR CHARACTERS The following characters make regular appearances throughout the first series. These animals are always portrayed by the same interviewees to maintain consistency throughout the series.
MISCELLANEOUS A special short was aired in the UK as part of Red Nose Day 2007 . AMERICAN VERSION Starting June on the CH system. The American version was co-produced by Aardman Animations and The Gotham Group. Seven episodes of this series were produced. However, the series ran for only three episodes before being Pulled by CBS due to low ratings. It is unknown if the remaining four episodes will air in the future or be streamed via CBS's InnerTube.http://www.tvseriesfinale.com/2007/06/creature_comforts_cbs_puts_stops_on_stopmotion_ser.php A DVD of the show's seven episodes is scheduled for release on October 9 , 2007 http://www.tvseriesfinale.com/2007/08/creature_comforts_what_went_wrong_with_the_cbs_ser.php Staff for US version
CREDITS All voice acting was performed, unscripted, by ordinary British people. 1989
2003
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