Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Creature Comforts—Animal Magnetism

Creature Comforts is a show produced by Aardman, the folks behind Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Flushed Away. It's been broadcast on BBC America, and last night its American incarnation premiered on CBS.

From the CBS website: "In this new half-hour, stop-motion animated series, excerpts are culled from real person interviews and placed in the mouths of a wide variety of animated animals to produce humorous, charming and insightful commentaries on everyday life."

In tonight's episode, claymation animals talk about what attracts the opposite sex. No, really. And claymation pug dogs talking about their sex lives is one of the funniest things I've seen on TV in a long time. I found this show hysterical in a sneaks up and smacks you with the funny when you least expect it kind of way. The humor is often in the detail on the claymation characters--expressions of the character in the background, or even a character not involved in the conversation--are often what sends me rolling off the chaise laughing. My only complaint is that it seemed really short due to commercial overload--unfortunately a growing trend.

The official Creature Comforts website: http://www.creaturecomforts.tv/

The US production blog: http://eyeballsandfishlips.blogspot.com/

The first two seasons of the original British version of this show are available on DVD.