Released on April 6, 2021, SaveRalph, the stop motion 'mockumentary,' follows the interview of a testing rabbit named Ralph and his experience working as an animal tester. According to the World Animal Foundation, it is estimated that more than 110 million animals are killed annually for experimental purposes. In order to spread awareness of animal cruelty, The Humane Society International produced and released this advertisement under the #BeCruelyFree campaign in 2021 to gain support for banning animal cosmetics.
Save Ralph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G393z8s8nFY
Saving Ralph portrays the life of an innocent testing rabbit to expose the harsh environment of testing facilities. The first thing I noticed in the ad was its retro wording and cinematic design. The opening phrase is written in cursive in front of a bare green background which gives me an idea of the director values, leaving room for interpretation. Then the audience is introduced to the narrator, a white, battered, unpolished hare named Ralph, who works at a makeup testing facility.
He wears a worn-down suit as he sits in a retro living room that is vibrant in neutral yellow and brown colors. Everything so far in the ad is being told from his perspective, and despite his charismatic tone, Ralph doesn't seem to be healthy. Ralph’s eye is red and glazed over, his ear is wrapped in bandages and he’s missing most of his teeth. Later, Ralph takes the audience to his job, and once there, he meets up with his rabbit coworkers. The facility itself is a brightly lit lab room with metal tables. There are cages with locks, possibly meant for other testers, hidden away in the corner with no sign of sanitation. This setting is harsh to the eyes compared to the warm living room Ralph was previously in. Typically, warm colors, like red, orange, and yellow, are meant to represent feelings of happiness and passion. While warm tones represent optimism, cool tones like grey or blue are generally used to evoke relaxation and anxiety, as mentioned in this color theory article. Ralph’s friends are in bad shape as well. They try to maintain a conversation with each other, but the glass case around their necks and arms prevents any movement from happening. They start to scream in terror when a clear liquid is injected into Ralph's last functioning eyeball, and the camera flashes to a black screen. The screen comes back onto a green locker room. Ralph is hiding in the corner, out of sight from the camera, until the “director” summons him to come back in front of the camera. Ralph steps out from the corner, his body now badly beaten. His fur is scorched at the edges, patches of fur are missing, his spine is exposed and raw, both eyes are red with blisters, his ears are bent, and he's wearing a neck brace. In spite of grimacing from the pain and walking with a limp, Ralph maintains a happy demeanor. He gives thanks to the audience for supporting cosmetic brands that use animal testing because if it weren’t for them, he would be out of a job. At the end, the director inserts text urging the audience to stop animal abuse with nothing happening in the back and giving us a moment of silence to ponder over what we just witnessed.
The ad itself is based on satire. The setting and aesthetic are meant to be comforting and inviting to draw in an audience of different age ranges so that the shock factor would be, in fact, shocking. It was directed and written by Spencer Susser and animated by Tobias Forace, who used stop motion to do the storytelling. The video has gained 16 million views, and the Be Cruelty-Free campaign has grossed over $147.3 million in donations ( (“Annual reports and financial information”)).
I believe the producer made the ad two different tones to show how humans view animal abuse in general. With a grain of salt. It's meant to inflict emotions of all kinds. The study of characters drawn with big eyes can depict more emotions and make the characters seem more expressive. “People cannot hide their true feelings from showing in their eyes, and huge eyes are often used as a means to make characters seem more expressive” (Srivastava).
The director gave the animals features that would be considered cute: big eyes and white fur to signify innocence, instead of a realistic version of a hare, which people might find disturbing. It ironically calls out its audience for choosing to be naive when the evidence is right there in front of you. I don’t believe it’s meant to make their audience to feel guilty or shameful, but they want animal abusers to be held accountable instead of dodging the issue.
I chose this ad because of its symbolism. I knew I wanted to write about an ad dealing with animal abuse because, typically, political commercials of any type tend to have a lot of symbolism to get the audience to talk about it. I also chose this ad because I loved how the Human Society stuck to its purpose of protesting against animal cruelty. and if you would like to donate yourself, check out SaveRalph to find out more information on how to donate!
Signing off, Curious adolescent
Work Cited
“Animal Testing Statistics - Eye-Opening Facts You Must Know!” World Animal Foundation, 30 January 2023, https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/animal-testing-statistics/. Accessed 15 October 2023.
“Annual reports and financial information.” The Humane Society of the United States, https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/annual-report-financial-statements. Accessed 16 October 2023.
“Humane Society International charity review & reports by Give.org.” Give.org, https://give.org/charity-reviews/national/animal-protection/humane-society-international-in-washington-dc-22447. Accessed 15 October 2023.
Srivastava, Tulisha. “Why Anime and Manga Characters Have Enormous Eyes.” CBR, 4 March 2023, https://www.cbr.com/why-anime-manga-characters-have-big-eyes/. Accessed 15 October 2023.
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