Nick Park's animated stop-motion short Creature Comforts was one of Aardman Animations' greatest triumphs, winning an Oscar in 1990 for its hilarious clay animals talking about being in a zoo—using audio of real interviews with British people talking about the same subject.
Now, Aardman has done a PSA in a similar style for a U.K. group called Bristol Ageing Better—to illustrate the elderly's experiences of social isolation and what they can do to be less lonely. The animation is much simpler, but it's got the same kind of charm.
"Hearing the voices of older people in Bristol talking about loneliness helped us to understand just how easy it is for people to become lonely," says Heather Wright, executive producer at Aardman. "They gave us real stories that touched our hearts and minds. Our job was simply to bring them to life in a memorable way while addressing what is undoubtedly a serious issue for us all."
"We wanted to reach out in a fun way to people who may not be in contact with anyone else, and invite them to contact us," added Judith Brown, deputy chair of BAB. "Aardman used the voices of local people, and I think the film is brilliant, and will help people to be less lonely."
Jackie Prescott, one of the volunteers whose voices were used for the animation, said: "I was excited and very comfortable with it, it was lovely, it was really fun." Joan Owens, whose voice was also used, added: "If I can make people laugh I'm happy and I think if we can laugh with older people we'll live longer."
Check out the original Creature Comforts film here: