Cheap Creature Comforts (DVD) (Julie Sedgewick) (Nick Park) Price

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Customer Reviews of Creature Comforts

1) Creature Comforts - directed by Nick Park, this short is only five minutes long. It is a funny concept: animals are interviewed at a zoo, and they talk about the advantages and drawbacks of captivity. This, however, gives no space to the excellent action scenes that charactherize Park's best work. It is just the animals talking in front of the microphone.

2) Wat's Pig - this one narrates the story of two brothers separated at birth: one ends as king, the other is raised by a pig. There is no payoff here at the end.

3) Not without my handbag - this one is weird, in the line of Beetlejuice. Some people say it is a little scary for small children. I don't think is scarier than other cartoons in TV. This is the funnier of the lot.

4) Adam - a small (and naked) man in a small planet, "a la The Little Prince", while his creator (God) works on him. Interesting, and more in line with the visual humor that we expect.

Somes notes regarding the price. Ten dollars sounds cheap for a DVD disc but consider that it is only 35 minutes long, it is not close captioned and lacks any extras. The transference, as noted by other reviewers, is not great (while maybe better than VHS, but that is expected).

I will recommend this disc only to the die hard fans of clay animation.

Not a moment of disappointment!
Aardman animation has produced some of the best stop-frame, claymation adventures I've seen--ever. I'm an animation addict, so I know what I'm saying.

"Creature Comforts" is a bit different than some of Nick Park's other work. I'm sure you've heard of his newest adventure, "Chicken Run," and maybe you know about "Wallace & Gromit." All three of the W&G adventures are fantastic and if you do know of them, then you'll probably enjoy "Creature Comforts." The witty British humor can't be beat.

This video is a collection of four shorts. Each short has a feeling of its own and brings a different level of humor to the whole collection.

The first short is the namesake of this collection. "Creature Comforts" is a documentary, of sorts. The viewer gets an inside look at life in a London Zoo. The animals are so cute! Even the feces is crafted in a "cute" way (if you can say that about excrement). As the characters discuss their lives in the zoo they comment on what could be improved: the temperature, the food, and as the large cat says (with a notable Brazillian accent), "More space. We need more space." It is a funny short, but there is a deeper meaning if you care to look for it. It's played occasionally on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon between commercials--keep your eyes peeled for it if you decide not to purchase this collection. You may like it.

The second short on the tape is called "Wat's Pig." This is a cute-sy story of twins separated at birth; one boy becomes the King and the other becomes a farmer. Wat is the farmer, but the question is...is he unlucky? Through the course of the adventure a viewer is entertained, but also is shown the lesson that power and money do not necessarily bring happiness. This one is not the best on the tape, but it is enjoyable and fine viewing for the whole family.

If you're still reading this review, I'd like to talk about the next short--it is the best on the tape! "Not Without My Handbag" is a wacko story of a lady being sent to hell because she did not make her washer payment on time. Some French/English tension that exists in the world is displayed in a comical way here. Aardman chose to portray the devil as a gluttonous Frenchman--the underwriter to the washer payment contract. Oh, it's quite funny and some of my favorite lines have come from this short, such as a complacently phrased: "My Auntie is a zombie from hell." This comes from the little girl pictured on the cover of the video (in the polka dot dress).

Although I often stop the tape once I've enjoyed the third short (can you tell it's my favorite?), the last film on this video seems to be an experiment in clay and creation. "Adam" is fairly simple. A male figure is created by live-action hands and wanders a small clay globe looking for something to do. The hands of god (the animator) play a dominant role as well. There's not too much to this short, but it is worth watching at least a couple of times.

Overall this video is filled with fun and laughter and meaning. "Not without my handbag" isn't for the small kids, but it certainly would entertain older children and your over-active inner child. If you liked W&G or "Chicken Run," then buy this collection--you won't be disappointed.

Zoo gets 5, the rest bring it down a notch!
I first saw Creature Comforts as a fill in on PBS. Many years have passed and I still recall the polar kid asking if it was ok to eat the interviewer.

The juxtaposition of the creatures of our Earth having such a clear image of human (and arn't they) lives is beautiful.

Seemingly trapped to the day and yet somewhat content in their memory of what has, might have, or may be.

Lovely! Thanks, Nick.