Aardman's Short Film for the Protection of Cats - Video
The award-winning animation studio Aardman, collaborated with CatsProtection, the UK's leading cat charity and TV presenter Holly Willoughby, for the Christmas charity campaign "Casper's Magical Journey“, Inspired by the true story of a child and his missing cat. The beautiful three-minute animated short will be broadcast today (November 25) on social media and youtube.
The story of Casper's Magical Journey
Casper, the five-year-old white cat disappeared from his Plymouth home in 2017, much to the chagrin of owner Anna Day and her 12-year-old son Daniel. Three years later, Casper was found nearly 100km away at the Cornish Cats Protection Adoption Center near Truro and, thanks to his microchip, was able to reunite with his family, who welcomed him overjoyed. .
“We were all heartbroken when Casper didn't come back, especially Daniel. We never expected to see him again after so long, so it was miraculous to bring him home, "said Anna Day." The whole family is so excited that Casper's story is immortalized in this way and hopefully it will encourage more cat owners to consider microchipping their pets ”.
Willoughby, who voiced Anna's character in the video, said, “The story of Casper and Daniel is so lovely and, as a cat owner, it really impressed me. It was a pleasure to be involved in such a wonderful project. "
Cat's Protection contacted the Aardman studio to help promote their initiatives and values of animal protection, confident in their creative sensibility and graphic style suitable for this kind of story.
Aardman director Lucy Izzard was delighted to help share Casper's story: “Such an epic real-life story - missing for three years and found 100km from home - gave us so much space to build an animated story. . The hardest part was sticking to the 3 minute duration, because there was still so much to say! It's not often that studio Aardman brings “real world” narratives to life, so we really enjoyed this unique opportunity and were particularly excited to add some Christmas magic to the mix! "
“Our Christmas animation is getting hotter and hotter and we felt that Casper and Daniel's story deserved the extra magic touch, which Aardman always brings to their films,” said Judith Barnard, Cat Protection Director of Communications. “They tapped into that special bond between a cat and its owner that brings so much joy but also anguish when a beloved cat goes missing. Hopefully Casper's story will inspire more owners to microchip their pets! "
According to Cats Protection's 2020 CATS report (compiled by Basis Research), over a quarter (26%) of UK owned cats do not have the chip. The charity is actively campaigning to change this by making microchipping a legal requirement for cats, as it is for dogs.
Cats Protection was founded in 1927 and now boasts a nationwide network of around 230 volunteer-run branches and 37 centers, helping around 200.000 cats and kittens each year.
