Aardman's disabled animals
Making the news headlines just about everywhere today is a new campaign by , which aims to challenge and change attitudes towards disabiled people. And it's grabbing the headlines because they have teamed up with , the award-winning team behind Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and, for those of you who are a bit older, Morph.
The campaign is called (geddit?), and is based on the much-loved Creature Comforts series that was so responsible for bringing Aardman to wider public attention. It features the company's signature plasticine animals with various impairments, combined with the real voices of disabled people describing the negative attitudes and barriers they've experienced in society. So there's Brian the bull terrier, who uses a wheelchair, Slim the stick insect, who uses a walking stick, and Tim the tortoise, a one-legged crutches user. Crippled Monkey is disappointed to note that there is no Cuthbert the crippled monkey, but I suppose you can't have everything. Check out some stills of the characters below (each pic is a pop-up, so click it to reveal the full image):
*Crippled Monkey wanders off, still grumbling about the lack of a monkey character. Me wanna be a plasticine animation, yes please!*
Comments
Brilliant - Gets the point about disability & discrimination over perfect!!
Will educate kids n stuff...Me thinks there will toys available for the x-mas period - Anyone remember Paraplegic Barbie that was launched to coincide with the Sydney Paralympics in 2000?
I don't think it gets the RIGHT message across when it only deals with certain mobility impairments. Disability is about more than impairments anyway.
I think its brilliant!!There'd need to be thousands of characters to deal with every challenge we face, both physical, sensory and emotional etc. In fact, I think that every single disabled person is unique and different from the next.
The huge lack of awareness of the general non disabled population can be influenced by this campaign, for a start.
Change of attitudes is what we need and thats a MASS thing. I#d love to see a communication aid using character. My friends would like learning disabled animals etc, but this is a great start. I must say I'm surprised at Leonard Cheshire for coming up with this!!
It's a start, at least it will get people thinking more. It needs to be followed up with messages not using at specific impairment groups, but spread the message that all disabled people whatever their impairment, still get a raw deal when it comes to employment, housing, education and training, transport, you name it.
Good idea to have characters but why no Visually impaired ......when I was teaching at a VI school the kids were always on about blind dogs.... and one memorably asked if a Guide dog could have glasses to help it do it's job...........that could have been a fun character perhaps?
The idea is good but when I asked, the Leonard Cheshire Organisation, how many disabled artists worked on the project they couldn't tell me and didn't even know if Aardman employs anyone who is disabled. If an organisation such as LC doesn't bother to check on a companies equal opportunities policy before employing them, what hope is there that others will bother?