This wonderful film says it all in under 4 minutes. I'm hoping this is continually fed into the in boxes of every board member of every company that still tests beauty products on animals, There is no need for it now.
31 Reviews
Save Test Animals!
AhmedSpielberg997 April 2021
Only Waititi's ironic humour accompanied with a hint of meta along with his eccentric, poignant style can render a 4-minute short film about the cruelty test animals undergo packing such an emotional wallop. Nearly flinched at some moments. Better be a wake-up call!
Stop animal testing.
Pjtaylor-96-13804411 January 2022
'Save Ralph (2021)' is a simple but effective stop-motion short film that acts as a PSA about the inherent (and, frankly, obvious) cruelty of animal testing, ending with a plea to end the practice once and for all. It directly calls out the fact that the people who buy animal-tested products are actually helping to perpetuate the practice, regardless of their views on the matter. It also points out the, I suppose, pointlessness (or, perhaps, absurdity) of such a practice. After all, why is an animal's life less important than a stick of lipstick? The piece is styled as a documentary, following its eponymous rabbit as he gets ready for 'work' and discusses the injuries he has incurred from it. The character has been conditioned to think his job is a necessary part of his existence, that he serves only to help humans figure out if a cosmetic product is fit for public release, but he also has moments of reflection that cause his internal sadness to subtly rise to the surface. The performance, which is mostly perpetuated by the visuals but is also helped by Taika Waititi's voicework, is actually really nuanced. As such, it's pretty powerful. The same can be said of the overall affair. Though I was aware of animal testing and its inherent inhumanity, I never actually gave much thought to the products I was using. I sort of naively assumed that animal testing wasn't really a thing in the west anymore. This short proves that it isn't the case and does so in a really empathetic way. It has inspired me to pay attention to the cosmetics I buy; I've already done some research as to what indications should be present on the packaging to ensure the product is 'cruelty-free'. As such, it's safe to say that the piece has served its purpose. It's a profoundly sad experience, but it's one that's rooted entirely in an uncomfortable truth that we all should face. It's easy to dismiss animal testing when it only exists on the periphery; if you feel even a modicum of empathy for Ralph, you owe it to yourself (not to mention the animals) to stop supporting animal testing. 8/10.
Brilliant and heartbreaking!
enalej0117 April 2021
Lovely film, with a great message.
timatton10 April 2021
a tester
Kirpianuscus12 April 2021
A documentary about life routine of a rabbit. A tester rabbit. Dark humor and powerful alarm sign. And a smart way to sensibilize about a very delicate ordinary situation. A good animation for message and admirable craft. And for something very, very human. Short, a film about us in the clothes of a confession of a tester reminding Jonathan Swift writings.
well made with a strong message
zathan-328486 April 2021
Heartbreaking
smckee-4267811 April 2021
I've never reviewed anything on here before but this is worth the effort. Short and not so sweet but hits with such a hard message and is quite difficult viewing given the subject matter. We immediately went through products in our home and threw any away that would do this to animals it affected us that much, amazing that such a short video can impact like this and I encourage more to see it and have it take effect.
Really drives the point home
dnlatour7 April 2021
Ignorance is bliss
noahgibbobaker16 April 2021
'Save Ralph' says a lot that I and many others, some with huge influence, have been saying for years.
I don't say this to undermine what this short has to say, but I am disappointed at the amount of time it's taking to see some action, I'm disappointed in the lack of awareness surrounding animal abuse and animal testing.
Having huge names like Zac Efron, Ricky Gervais and Taika Waititi attached to something that projects this message in an accessible way is a huge deal for getting some people to wake up to these issues and potentially others.
I don't say this to undermine what this short has to say, but I am disappointed at the amount of time it's taking to see some action, I'm disappointed in the lack of awareness surrounding animal abuse and animal testing.
Having huge names like Zac Efron, Ricky Gervais and Taika Waititi attached to something that projects this message in an accessible way is a huge deal for getting some people to wake up to these issues and potentially others.
Ralph my poor sweet baby!!!
ultimatedisneycruisefan15 January 2022
Good message with a fine cast
Hayden-8605520 May 2021
The highlight of the short film is its end message, it has moments of comedy and wit throughout but the overarching feature is to inform people about the cruelty of animal testing for pointless reasons of vanity and highlight how unnecessary and vicious it is.
6/10: Very short but the message holds true.
6/10: Very short but the message holds true.
Strong movie but whats the point?
ivanmessimilos4 July 2021
A topic that cannot be explained in two sentences or four minutes of film. I am against violence in principle, absolutely, but what is our alternative? I was roasting chicken yesterday, does that mean I'm a heartless person or what? Animals have feelings because they are living beings? Then they have plants because by definition they are living beings. Where to draw some limit that is "normal"?
Gets its point across.
xconwombats5 February 2022
This is so well done and really gets its point across. The blind positivity Ralph shows throughout it all is gut-wrenching. It shows reality in a terrifying way... Just as it is.
Props to the cast, crew, and producers and the Humane Society for putting this together.
Props to the cast, crew, and producers and the Humane Society for putting this together.
So short, yet so effective
NoNamerGrit19 April 2021
Lasting less than 4 minutes, this perfect blend of the lighthearted and the disturbing made me squirm in a way I definitely did not expect (if you've seen it, you know exactly what scene I'm talking about).
I have the feeling there's an abundance of shabby PETA videos and extremely cheesy films dealing with this topic, only to inadvertently do disservice to the topics they tackle and the art of cinema, ultimately disrespecting the intelligence of the more discerning audience.
But I can confidently say that Save Ralph, the newest film made with the collaboration of Humane Society International, is not one of them, and I'll be positively gobsmacked if this can be expanded into a full-length feature film, even if it would take a few more years.
In particular, the puppet and set designer extraordinaire Andy Gent (well-known for his work as chief animator on Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and head of puppet department on 'Isle of Dogs') knocked it out of the park here. During the short film's panel discussion, he described his stop-motion animation (which I regard as magnificently detailed eye-candy) for this film as a "labour of love". I mean, the production crew poured an entire year of hard work into the animation. What's not to admire about this film? I'm just glad that it turned out to be good including its animation.
I have the feeling there's an abundance of shabby PETA videos and extremely cheesy films dealing with this topic, only to inadvertently do disservice to the topics they tackle and the art of cinema, ultimately disrespecting the intelligence of the more discerning audience.
But I can confidently say that Save Ralph, the newest film made with the collaboration of Humane Society International, is not one of them, and I'll be positively gobsmacked if this can be expanded into a full-length feature film, even if it would take a few more years.
In particular, the puppet and set designer extraordinaire Andy Gent (well-known for his work as chief animator on Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and head of puppet department on 'Isle of Dogs') knocked it out of the park here. During the short film's panel discussion, he described his stop-motion animation (which I regard as magnificently detailed eye-candy) for this film as a "labour of love". I mean, the production crew poured an entire year of hard work into the animation. What's not to admire about this film? I'm just glad that it turned out to be good including its animation.
I cried
laurasilvaowo13 April 2021
Heart wrenching story
giannapatsy1 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I love animals, and I hate that this is happening to them! I first heard about this short film on YouTube and decided to watch it. It truly was heartbreaking and has a very powerful message. I remember being depressed all day long. After watching it, I made a vow to not use cosmetics that were tested on animals. I remember crying at the part where Ralph says, "My daddy was a tester. My mom, my brothers, my sisters, my kids, all testers. And they all died doing their job! Just like I will,"
Anyways, it was a really great short film with fantastic animation and voice acting. I really hope they'll do a sequel where Ralph and his fellow testers get saved. Thank you!
Anyways, it was a really great short film with fantastic animation and voice acting. I really hope they'll do a sequel where Ralph and his fellow testers get saved. Thank you!
nice short film
gnanapiccino21 April 2021
Emotional short
gcbeaton-8717813 March 2023
I found this short very hard to watch beacuse of the fact that rabbit was basically abused. This did have a few bad things like the style of the short . It followed a simple story about a rabbit that is being tested and is abused. It try's to stay focused but the way the bunny looks is quite distracting. But the message does leave you thinking. I do believe this isn't taika watits best work, sorry if I spelt that wrong. I belive that he could have done some more stuff like the cinematography better. I definitely don't think this is Tristan Oliver's best Either. Beacuse he did fantastic Mr fox. Overall 7.1/10.
TRUDAT.
andrewchristianjr22 April 2021
We should star re-thinking several aspects from our relationship with animals
Rectangular_businessman24 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The animation is quite great, and the message is very important.
Also, like another reviewer mentions, it shouldn't be something to merely watch and then forget in order to move into the next thing (A very common occurrence in the modern era, with many people simply accepting all kind of horrible injustices as a part of every day life without thinking too much about them...Remember that line "oh my God that's horrible, and then go on eating their dinners" from Hotel Rwanda? Still rings true to this very day, now more than ever...)
There is a certain "manipulative" element here, however. Yes, the message is very important, but animal testing is not only done in rabbits. It is also done in rats, pigs, frogs and cows, but I feel rabbits were deliberately chosen in orden to awaken an emotional response from the viewer.
Because rabbits are cute and fluffy, and pigs and rats wouldn't be able to inspire the same reaction from people. And also Ralph, despite all his suffering, has no ill feelings towards humans, and it's very nice, so people can find him to be more "relatable".
I see why these narrative choices were made, but still, it kinda saddens me that to this very day, animals need to be cute in order to make people care about them. And there is also the fact we as society even have accepted some animals are merely destined to slaughter (Such as cows), so the idea of people being affected by the suffering of cute sympathetic stop motion rabbit, but totally indifferent to the suffering of millions of other animals just because humans find them ugly or consider them stupid and non-sentient (Despite all the evidence to the contrary) is a constant, bitter reminder of human hypocrisy.
We should care about the unfair suffering of all animals, not only the cute ones. But in order to do that, we would have to examine closely many unfair foundations of the society we live, and that would be very inconvenient for the people in power.
Nothing will change until we decide to stop being silent accomplices of the perpetual cycle that keeps feeding most of society's ills. This short has very noble intentions, but good intentions are simply not enough.
Also, like another reviewer mentions, it shouldn't be something to merely watch and then forget in order to move into the next thing (A very common occurrence in the modern era, with many people simply accepting all kind of horrible injustices as a part of every day life without thinking too much about them...Remember that line "oh my God that's horrible, and then go on eating their dinners" from Hotel Rwanda? Still rings true to this very day, now more than ever...)
There is a certain "manipulative" element here, however. Yes, the message is very important, but animal testing is not only done in rabbits. It is also done in rats, pigs, frogs and cows, but I feel rabbits were deliberately chosen in orden to awaken an emotional response from the viewer.
Because rabbits are cute and fluffy, and pigs and rats wouldn't be able to inspire the same reaction from people. And also Ralph, despite all his suffering, has no ill feelings towards humans, and it's very nice, so people can find him to be more "relatable".
I see why these narrative choices were made, but still, it kinda saddens me that to this very day, animals need to be cute in order to make people care about them. And there is also the fact we as society even have accepted some animals are merely destined to slaughter (Such as cows), so the idea of people being affected by the suffering of cute sympathetic stop motion rabbit, but totally indifferent to the suffering of millions of other animals just because humans find them ugly or consider them stupid and non-sentient (Despite all the evidence to the contrary) is a constant, bitter reminder of human hypocrisy.
We should care about the unfair suffering of all animals, not only the cute ones. But in order to do that, we would have to examine closely many unfair foundations of the society we live, and that would be very inconvenient for the people in power.
Nothing will change until we decide to stop being silent accomplices of the perpetual cycle that keeps feeding most of society's ills. This short has very noble intentions, but good intentions are simply not enough.
Creepy rabbit
pedrohq25 June 2021
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
