Animal Behaviour (2018)

Ok, so this does rather play to stereotype as it imbues half a dozen critters with issues more readily attributed to human beings. Sitting in a circle, they talk politely to “Dr. Clement” about their problems and then an ape arrives in the room and the writing steps up a gear into something I found quite funny. It’s about suppressing, or not, our instinctual behaviour and/or always trying to intellectualise what is innate - like a dog fetching a bone, and I found the scenario engagingly peppered with in-your-face irony. The style of the animation is a little linear, but once the story livens up and the characters take shape, it manages to portray creatures and their foibles warts and all. As the big guy says: “stop naval gazing and get on with your lives”. I liked this.