Alison Snowden and David Fine return with ‘Animal Behaviour’
Alison Snowden and David Fine – the creative team behind such animation milestones as the Oscar®-winning Bob’s Birthday and Bob and Margaret, the series it inspired – have teamed up again with the National Film Board of Canada for their latest film Animal Behaviour, the trailer for which you can see below:
Depicting a group therapy session of five animals led by a canine therapist, the film is produced by the NFB’s Michael Fukushima and will be taking major festivals by storm in the coming weeks, with official selections at Animafest Zagreb, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Anima Mundi.
The group includes Lorraine, a leech who suffers from separation anxiety; Cheryl, a praying mantis who can’t seem to keep a man; Todd, a pig with an eating disorder; Jeffrey, a bird with guilt issues; and Linda, an obsessive-compulsive cat.
But this week’s session proves to be a challenge for the group when they’re joined by a reluctant new member: Victor, an ape with anger-management issues. As we watch him navigate his first session, we learn about each animal’s issues and how they’re trying to deal with them, but Victor just doesn’t get it. He sees the group as a bunch of self-obsessed navel gazers.
This hilarious yet emotional short deals with animal issues that are not unlike our own. Should we learn and adapt, or should others just accept our true nature?
Animal Behaviour (©NFB)
Snowden and Fine’s other notable collaborations including the multi-award-winning films In and Out, George and Rosemary and their Oscar®-nominated NFTS film Second Class Mail.
Visit the directors’ website at snowdenfine.com