I Am Not an Animal
2004
Original language: English
- animation
- comedy
- sci-fi & fantasy
The story
I Am Not An Animal is an animated comedy series about the only six talking animals in the world, whose cosseted existence in a vivisection unit is turned upside down when they are liberated by animal rights activists.
What it’s like
Flat, bright, deliberately cheap-looking cutout animation with clean lab-white rooms, fluorescent-lit corridors and drab British suburban exteriors, the kind of stylised ugliness that reads as a joke about institutional blandness. The sound is a sardonic mix of clipped British voice work, deadpan narration and dry, mocking pauses, with little score beyond light incidental tinkling. Its vibe is sardonic and satirical, with a streak of bleak absurdity, best suited to a late-night laugh, a sharp half-hour with friends, or anyone who enjoys mockery of self-important people. Pacing is brisk and sketch-like, each short episode built on a quick set-up and a sour punchline, and the tone runs cynical and cutting, the emotional register kept cool and ironic. Its central figures are a pampered group of talking lab animals who discover that freedom is not the paradise they expected, so the arc is a slow reckoning with their own vanity and naivety. Intensity is moderate: the premise involves animal testing and some crude adult humour, with frequent sexual innuendo and profanity, and a few grim moments of cruelty played for laughs rather than gore. It is for viewers who enjoy caustic satire, dark British comedy and animation aimed at adults.
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