London, UK \u2013 Oscar-winners Olivia Colman and Dame Helen Mirren, along with Game of Thrones\u2019 Bella Ramsey and Stranger Things\u2019 David Harbour, star in a new animation that highlights the plight of the oceans, released globally today by Aardman Animations and Greenpeace UK. <\/p>\n\n
Award-winning studio Aardman, makers of Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep, have teamed up with Greenpeace UK to create a powerful short film showing the threats our oceans are facing, and the importance of protecting them. The film, Turtle Journey<\/em>, tells the heartbreaking story of a turtle family attempting to get home, in an ocean that is under increasing threat from climate change, plastic pollution, oil drilling and overfishing. <\/p>\n\n Oscar winning actor Olivia\nColman, voicing the turtle family\u2019s mother, said:\u201cHome is the most important thing we have. A safe space for us and our\nfamily to live. But we\u2019re taking that away from turtles, whales, penguins and\nso many other incredible animals. Most of us instinctively love the oceans and\ncare about the amazing marine life that lives there, but far fewer people know\nhow much pressure they are under. If we don\u2019t act now we risk causing\nirreversible harm to our oceans and losing species for good.<\/p>\n\n \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to have worked\non this heartbreaking film with Greenpeace and Aardman \u2013 it\u2019s so important. Our\noceans face so many threats, some I wasn\u2019t even aware of before this, and sadly\nthe story of this turtle family trying to get home in a damaged and changing\nocean is a reality for so many marine creatures that are having their habitats\ndestroyed by human activities. I hope this film inspires more people to take\naction to protect our oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Aardman\u2019s distinctive blend\nof dry humour and painstakingly crafted stop-motion animation are seen in a new\nlight in this short film, as they tackle the crisis facing the planet\u2019s oceans.\nThe film ends with an urgent call for global action to protect the oceans.<\/p>\n\n Will McCallum, Head of Oceans\nat Greenpeace UK, said: \u201cGovernments have a chance to\nturn rhetoric and empty words into action at the United Nations this year when\nthey meet to agree on a new Global Ocean Treaty. A strong treaty would provide\na framework for the fully protected marine sanctuaries our oceans need. A weak\ntreaty will maintain the status quo: a broken, fragmented system of ocean\ngovernance that\u2019s already caused untold harm to our oceans. History will judge\nour governments for their actions this year – they must protect our\noceans.\u201d <\/p>\n\n Aardman\u2019s film was produced\nfor Greenpeace\u2019s global Protect the Oceans campaign. Greenpeace is calling for\n30% of the world\u2019s oceans to be fully protected in a network of ocean\nsanctuaries by 2030. A strong Global Ocean Treaty, currently under discussion\nat the United Nations, is a vital first step towards achieving this\ntarget. <\/p>\n\n ENDS.<\/p>\n\n Photo & video\ncollections:<\/strong> Animation stills and behind\nthe scenes gallery are available here<\/a>; The full animated film<\/strong>,\nTurtle Journey, <\/em>is available to watch under embargo here<\/a>. It will be\nmade available to the public here after the embargo lifts.<\/p>\n\n Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Greenpeace is currently\nsailing from the North Pole to the South Pole to highlight the threats facing\nthe ocean, reaching the Antarctic this month, as part of a campaign for a\nGlobal Ocean Treaty covering international waters.<\/p>\n\n Greenpeace International\noceans report<\/strong>: 30×30: A Blueprint for protection<\/a><\/p>\n\n Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n James Hanson, Press Officer,\nGreenpeace UK: +44 7801 212 994, james.hanson@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n\u201cGovernments have talked for too long, without delivering the level of\nprotection our oceans need to regain health after decades of destructive human\nactivity. The time for talk is over. We now need urgent global action to fully\nprotect 30% of the world\u2019s oceans, a target agreed by scientists as the minimum\nthat marine life needs to recover.<\/p>\n\n
\nPole to Pole expedition gallery is available here<\/a>.
\nHeadshots are available on request.<\/p>\n\n