AnimationWorld Magazine — September 10, 2018
Walk on the Wild Side: Alison Snowden & David Fine Talk ‘Animal Behaviour’
To get a better understanding of human nature, sometimes we have to take a walk on the wild side. In Animal Behaviour, the latest animated short film from Alison Snowden and David Fine, the Oscar-winning team behind Bob’s Birthday, five animals meet regularly to discuss their personal struggles in a group therapy session led by Dr. Clement, a canine psychotherapist.
The comical yet moving short presents a menagerie of animals with issues and anxieties not so different from our own. 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 Victor navigates his first session, learning about each group member’s issues and the techniques employed to manage them, he resists the therapy process, upsetting the group dynamic and ultimately giving in to his own animal nature.
Produced by Michael Fukushima at the National Film Board of Canada, Animal Behaviour had its world premiere at this year’s Annecy Festival, in June, and was selected to screen at TIFF, currently underway in Toronto. The NFB short also screened at Anima Mundi and Animafest Zagreb, and is headed next to Edinburgh, Vancouver, and Ottawa, where it will screen in competition in the Canadian Panorama category.
Created with digital hand-drawn 2D animation, Animal Behaviour marks the return of the Vancouver-based duo to the NFB 25 years after they produced Bob’s Birthday, which inspired the acclaimed Comedy Central/Channel 4/Global TV series Bob and Margaret. Snowden and Fine previously collaborated on two other Oscar-nominated films: the NFB short George and Rosemary (1987) and Snowden’s student film, Second Class Mail (1984). The prolific pair also created the animated TV series Ricky Sprocket, Showbiz Boy and co-created Aardman’s epic stop-motion series, Shaun the Sheep with Richard Starzak.