THERAPY GOES TO THE DOGS
Animal behaviour inspires short film
It’s been 25 years since David Fine and Alison Snowden made a short film.
Now, a quarter of a century later, the couple has combined to write, direct and animate the hilarious new 14-minute NFB -produced animated short, Animal Behaviour.
The creative couple behind the Academy Award-winning Bob’s Birthday (1989), which grew into the hit TV series Bob and Margaret, have set their new tale in a therapist’s office with a various characters in group therapy. It’s kind of reminiscent of scenes from the classic TV series the Bob Newhart Show, except this group is made up of animals.
“The inspiration I think really came from human behaviour,” said Fine, who along with Snowden has called Vancouver home for the past 15 years.
“We thought, ‘Oh, it’s interesting that a lot of humans have characteristics that could be equated with what comes naturally to animals like aggression or guilt. So that’s where we kind of made the connection that a therapy session with animals expressing ideas that are human would be interesting.”
In the film, six animals meet regularly to discuss themselves and their various anxieties and angst. The session is led by a dog that goes by the name of Dr. Clement (voice of Ryan Beil).
“We wanted Dr. Clement to not be the perfect erudite therapist. We wanted him to show his own quirks and issues,” said Fine. “At the end of the day, he’s an animal.”
“But he’s working on it,” added Snowden, who is also the voice of the obsessive-compulsive cat Linda. “The thing we find funny about Dr. Clement is that he’s desperately trying to keep control of himself and his patients.”
You can visit with Dr. Clement yourself at his helpful Facebook site, Dr. Clement’s Sage Advice for dogs and other creatures.
The issues facing this pack of patients are wide ranging and include: a skeptical gorilla named Victor (voice of Taz Van Rassel) with anger issues and a praying mantis named Cheryl (Andrea Libman), who wonders if it’s her thousands of children or the fact she kills and eats her mates that might be causing a dry spell in her dating life.
“You know, you don’t normally judge animals for ( being animals), so we thought it was sort of funny to put them in a therapy room where they’re being analyzed for those behaviours as if they weren’t socially acceptable anymore,” said Snowden, who grew up in Nottingham, England and met Fine, a Toronto native, while they were both at Britain’s National Film and Television School.
The overriding message in this film is can we, should we, be ourselves? Or do we adapt and change our behaviour to suit everybody else? Does a big gorilla need to count to 10 before losing his cool? Should a praying mantis maybe not kill her lovers?
The film has made some animated festival appearances, but just last month it got the nod from the internationally renowned Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which runs Sept. 6-16.
“It feels like we’re with the grown-ups,” said Snowden about getting into TIFF. “It’s a great honour to be in TIFF. They don’t select very many short films at all.”
The couple always wanted to be live action filmmakers, so they approach their animated work as if they’re writing and working with humans.
“We went to film school,” said Snowden. “That’s why we always write first, because really, we’re interested in the story and the animation is really just a means to communicate it.”
This film, like Bob’s Birthday, seems perfectly suited to spin off a series, so it’s no surprise that topic has come up.
“A lot of people who have seen the film have got invested in the characters and said: ‘Oh, I want to know more about what Lorraine (a leech with separation anxiety issues) gets up to or how it goes with Victor and Cheryl when they go on their date or whatever.’ So there has been some casual interest so far from people about maybe developing it into a series,” said Fine.
“It certainly wasn’t our intention when we made the film. It’s a film in its own right, but I guess our stuff is kind of friendly looking and comedic, and people will maybe see it and think: ‘Could there be more to this?’ ”
Series potential aside, Snowden says it always comes back to one thing for the pair.
“It’s wonderful when you make a film and get a great reaction. Make people laugh,” said Snowden.
They have certainly done a lot of that over the years. Along with Bob’s Birthday and Bob and Margaret, highlights from the creative duo’s resume include the Oscarnominated short George and Rosemary and the Shaun the Sheep (of Wallace and Gromit fame) series for Nick Park’s Aardman Animations. Snowden has also written for Peppa Pig, who incidentally was voiced by the couple’s daughter Lily.
This long-term, successful collaboration started years ago and it’s that early reality of their film school lives that Snowden said gave the partnership its solid foundation.
“I think because we met as equals at film school and we had the same interests and the same sense of humour, we just clicked on a friendship level as well as romantically. I think now we are just a team, really,” said Snowden.
“From my point of view I just love Alison’s talent and what she brings to my ideas and hopefully it’s also the other way around,” said Fine with a chuckle. “It’s fun to work with her.”