''Save Ralph'' is a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

animated short film written and directed by

Spencer Susser Spencer Susser (born 1977) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Susser is the only American member of the Australian filmmaking collective Blue-Tongue Films. His short film '' I Love Sarah Jane'', featuring Mia Wasikowska, ...

. It stars

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

, Zac Efron,

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming netwo ...

Pom Klementieff Pom Alexandra Klementieff (; born 3 May 1986) is a French actress and model. She was trained at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris and appeared in such French films as '' The Easy Way'' (2008) and '' Sleepless Night'' (2011), before making ...

Tricia Helfer Tricia Janine Helfer (born April 11, 1974) is a Canadian-American actress and former model. She played the enigmatic Cylon model Number Six in the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' series (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in ''S ...

, and

Rodrigo Santoro Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes in the movie ''300'' (2006) and its sequel '' 300: Rise of an Empire'' (2014). Other famous movies include ' ...

. The plot follows an interview with Ralph (Waititi), a rabbit who details his life as he is used for

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

and the damages it has caused to his body. Produced by

Jeff Vespa Jeff Vespa (born 1970) is an American photographer, known as a co-founder of WireImage and the editor-at-large of LIFE.com. Photography career Vespa is most widely known for being one of nine co-founders of the photo agency website WireImage.com ...

, the 4-minute short film was released by

Humane Society International Humane Society International (HSI) is the international division of The Humane Society of the United States. Founded in 1991, HSI has expanded The HSUS's activities into Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. HSI's Asian, Australian, Cana ...

on April 6, 2021, to critical acclaim.

Plot

Ralph is a rabbit. Speaking with

for a documentary, he talks about his life as a " tester" for cosmetic products. Ralph tells the production crew how he is blind in one eye and partially deaf. While preparing for work, Ralph explains with a sad tone how he does not necessarily care about his life, as he feels sacrificing his body to help humans is worth it. At a laboratory, Ralph's rabbit friends beg for the production crew to free them from their trials as Ralph is injected with an unknown chemical into his only working eye. Now completely blind and visibly in pain, Ralph says his final remarks; without animal testing, he would be out in a field "like a normal rabbit". As the video ends, Ralph gives a worried thumbs-up towards the camera, claiming "It's all good".

Voice cast

as Ralph, a rabbit *

as the interviewer * Zac Efron as Bobby, a rabbit *

as Marshmallow, a rabbit *

as Cinnamon, a rabbit *

as Cottonballs, a rabbit *

as a rabbit In the Spanish and French dubs,

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...

and Pom Klementieff lend their voices as Ralph respectively. Additionally, Santoro,

Wilmer Valderrama Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama ( , ; born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, producer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in the sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Agustín Madrigal in '' Encanto'', and as Carlo ...

, Denis Villeneuve, and

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

also appear in the Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Vietnamese iterations.

Production

The animated project ''Save Ralph'' was announced on March 24, 2021, "conceived as part of the #SaveRalph campaign", in an effort from

to ban

around the world. That same day, a teaser video for the short film was released, with actor

sharing the official promotional poster for the film and writing on Twitter that the project was "a cool thing that is coming soon. If you don't watch it and love it then you hate animals and we can't be friends anymore. #SaveRalph". The models of each character were hand-made and created by puppet maker Andy Gent from Arch Model Studio, who said that the process of creating Ralph took over four months and covering him in fur took five weeks. On producing the short film,

said he wanted to create a project where people would want to watch and learn about the dangers of animal testing, deciding an animated film would be the best approach. In casting an actor to portray Ralph, Spencer said the first person he contacted was Waititi, who quickly agreed to star. Filming for the short took place over 50 days, with each day accounting for the making of approximately four seconds of the film.

Reception

Upon its release, ''Save Ralph'' was met with critical acclaim. From ''

/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...

'', Ben Pearson praised the high level of detail in the short and compared the characters' designs to those in the 2009 film ''

Fantastic Mr. Fox ''Fantastic Mr Fox'' is a children's literature, children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970, by Allen & Unwin, George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Ch ...

'', writing that the film was "disturbing and heartbreaking and manipulative and powerful, all at the same time." Josh Weiss, writing for ''

Syfy Wire Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

'', gave positive remarks to the voice acting and humor, stating that "Waititi once again proves that he is among the most prolific entertainers working today". For ''

Animation Magazine ''Animation Magazine'' is an American print magazine and website covering the animation industry and education, as well as visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outsi ...

'', Mercedes Milligan complimented the story's main message and referred to the short itself as "powerful".

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, tt14220316 2020s stop-motion animated films Animated films about rabbits and hares Films about animal rights Films about animal testing Films about animal cruelty Stop-motion animated short films 2020s English-language films Films directed by Spencer Susser