Will This Greenpeace Deforestation Animation Make You Question Your Food Choices?
Emotive spot by Mother highlights the impacts of meat consumption on the environment
LONDON—When Greenpeace and agency Mother enlisted the actress Emma Thompson to narrate a powerful animated ad exploring the plight of orangutans in 2018, the spot caused a storm, proving so popular that it exploded on social media and was reported widely in the British national press.
The spot, in the style of a children’s story, told the tale of a young orangutan who finds itself in a child’s bedroom, where it begins raising a ruckus upon seeing products made with palm oil. The ad, titled “Rang-tan” takes a dark turn as the girl learns about how palm oil deforestation drove the orangutan out of its homeland and into her bedroom.
Mother is back with an animated sequel called “There’s a Monster in my Kitchen,” which is voiced by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura of Narcos fame with a cameo from Beatles star Paul McCartney.
The spot, produced by Cartoon Saloon, is created in the style of a nursery rhyme. It connects the viewer to their world and how their everyday consumer choices impact the region, reiterating that we are all connected.
It takes aim at deforestation across South America caused by industrial meat production and tells the story of a displaced jaguar called Jag-wah who has been forced from his forest home to make way for grazing cattle and animal feed plantations.
According to Greenpeace, meat is the single biggest driver of deforestation worldwide driven as forests are cleared to make way for cattle and animal feed crops including soya. Jaguars are also under threat by record wildfires, the environmental advocacy group said.
The film will run across paid social and cinemas globally, with the narrators of the film localized to each major market for maximum cut through.
“The impact of industrial meat production in South America is so vast and challenging to visualise that we chose to bring it to life through a human story, which makes the issue more relevant to our audience’s lives and offers them tangible action for positive change,” Ana Balarin, partner at Mother, said.
“The world’s forests are truly irreplaceable. They’re home to indigenous peoples, amazing wildlife and are vital in our fight against the climate crisis,” McCartney said in a statement about the campaign. “But, as Greenpeace’s ‘Monster’ animation so powerfully shows, these forests are being cleared at a shocking rate to farm more industrial meat and dairy. This is why reducing our meat is so important.”
McCartney noted, though, that individual action isn’t enough and has to be amplified by changing corporate practices.
“To solve this problem, we need supermarkets and fast food restaurants to clean up their supply chains and make the switch to less destructive, plant-based alternatives,” the famed musician said. “Our forests—and all our futures—depend on it.”
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK added: “Meat is at the heart of much of South America’s habitat destruction. Our relentless desire for meat on ever-increasing industrial scales is having lasting consequences for the health of our planet and ourselves. If we protect nature, nature will help protect us. Everyone can make a difference. But it is the retailers and suppliers of meat who can have the most dramatic impact by cleaning up their supply chains.”
CREDITS:
Client: Greenpeace UK
Creative: Mother
Strategy: Mother
Animation: Cartoon Saloon
Directors: Tomm Moore and Fabian Erlinghäuser
Coordination: Nicole Storck
Art Direction : Maria Pareja
Storyboards: Iker Madigan
Design: Maria Pareja and Federico Pirovano
Backgrounds: Maria Pareja and Ludo Gavillet
Animation: Emmanuel Asquier Brassart, Laurent Kircher and Fabian Erlinghauser
Clean Animation: Herbie Cans, Darragh Herlihy, Marie Post Riggelsen, Alice Guzzo, Fraser Thomson and Gaia Ruggenini
Ink & Paint: Cal Mcloughlin and Helena Melin
Compositing: Serge Ume, Morgan Fontana and Benjamin Zurstassen
Edit: Alan Slattery at Cartoon Saloon
Post: Coffee & TV
Sound: 750mph
Score Composer: Bruno Coulais
Score Performed By: Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra
VO: Wagner Moura
