Two prehistoric CG mastodon-like elephant creatures cavort in the mud.
“This is the life,” says Harry the elephant.
“You got that right,” responds Phil.
Harry then notices that something is different. “I don’t remember this mud being quite so deep and black and sticky.” He goes on to observe that it “smells like molten tar. Some kind of tar pit, Phil.”
Phil doesn’t reply, prompting Harry to look around and discover that Phil has disappeared.
Obviously Phil has sunk to his demise in the tar pit. And once that realization sinks in, the spot fast forwards to live action today with real elephants frolicking at the zoo.
A voiceover relates, “Elephant Odyssey, an exhibit 12,000 years in the making at the San Diego Zoo.”
“Mudbath” is one of two spots in a package directed by Ruairi Robinson of Alturas Films, Santa Monica, Calif., for agency M&C Saatchi North America in Santa Monica.
The agency creative team included creative director Martin Dix, art director Sean Ohlenkamp, copywriter Maria Smith and producer Rebecca Silverstein.
Marshall Rawlings exec produced for Alturas with Roger Hunt serving as producer. Mark Williams was the DP.
CG/visual effects were produced by The Moving Picture Company, Santa Monica and London.
Editor was Adam Parker of Chrome, Santa Monica.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More