Western Animation / Creature Discomforts: Life In Lockdown

For Us, Lockdown was Temporary. For some animals, it’s for life.

A 2020 Animated Short Film based on Creature Comforts directed by Peter Peake as part of a collaboration between Aardman Animations and Born Free Foundation, using peoples' stories from the COVID-19 Pandemic in order to highlight the lives of many wild animals in Zoos, Circuses and Aquariums living under lockdown.

This short film was made by Born Free Foundation to highlight their work to help rescue vulnerable animals from exploitation, mistreatment or abuse.

The Short Film

Tropes

• Bad People Abuse Animals: Animals are shown living in either poor conditions or show clear evidence of being mistreated.
• Endangered Species: All the characters are endangered species.
• Tragedy: The film uses people’s experiences in lockdown to highlight the tragedy of the animal characters, some are happier than others but they are all in poor or isolated conditions.
• Menagerie of Misery: The film invokes this trope by showing wild animals that are neglected or abused in captivity, even still in some zoos (which we normally associate with better standards of animal welfare).