This short was made by the same team that made Wallace and Gromit shorts. In fact, in 1991, both this film and the first Wallace and Gromit film (A GRAND DAY OUT) were nominated for the Oscar's Best Animated Short Film category--so both films were competing against each other. Because of this, technically speaking, both films were very similar--using stop motion claymation with gorgeous scenery.
However, when it came to the stories themselves, there was a major difference. While A GRAND DAY OUT had a fully developed story (with a defined plot and characters), CREATURE COMFORTS was a one concept film--showing zoo animals in cages talking about their lives as if they were real people. Frankly, I hated CREATURE COMFORTS and thought the novelty of seeing these animals talk about the most mundane things was interesting only for the first few seconds--whereas the Wallace and Gromit film was brilliant. So, of course, the Academy chose CREATURE COMFORTS for the award! I've seen CREATURE COMFORTS twice--because I thought maybe I was too critical. But, the second time I noticed the exact same thing--great animations and a story that was about as compelling as watching grass grow!! Take my advice, watch the Wallace and Gromit film and you'll see what I'm talking about--after several more followup episodes of Wallace and Gromit AND a feature length film, it's pretty obvious I might just be right about this one--the Academy gave it to the wrong Nick Park film.
I give this one a 6--the animation quality was lovely.
However, when it came to the stories themselves, there was a major difference. While A GRAND DAY OUT had a fully developed story (with a defined plot and characters), CREATURE COMFORTS was a one concept film--showing zoo animals in cages talking about their lives as if they were real people. Frankly, I hated CREATURE COMFORTS and thought the novelty of seeing these animals talk about the most mundane things was interesting only for the first few seconds--whereas the Wallace and Gromit film was brilliant. So, of course, the Academy chose CREATURE COMFORTS for the award! I've seen CREATURE COMFORTS twice--because I thought maybe I was too critical. But, the second time I noticed the exact same thing--great animations and a story that was about as compelling as watching grass grow!! Take my advice, watch the Wallace and Gromit film and you'll see what I'm talking about--after several more followup episodes of Wallace and Gromit AND a feature length film, it's pretty obvious I might just be right about this one--the Academy gave it to the wrong Nick Park film.
I give this one a 6--the animation quality was lovely.