Rang-tan

The story

Why it stays with you

An orangutan in a child's bedroom leads to a story about forest loss. Iceland adopted Greenpeace's film for a Christmas campaign that reached audiences online.

This is an unusual entry in a Christmas collection. The connection comes from Iceland's 2018 campaign, rather than a story about presents or Father Christmas.

The film was originally created by Greenpeace, made by Mother London with Passion Animation Studios and directed by Salon Alpin, with Emma Thompson narrating. It first appeared in August 2018 for World Orangutan Day. Iceland adopted it for its Christmas advertising that November, but it was not cleared for television broadcast, so the supermarket released it online on 9 November 2018. This entry records that online campaign, not a television screening.

It belongs in the history of the season's advertising because it broadens what a Christmas campaign can discuss. Its upsetting environmental theme also makes it a different viewing choice from the cosy and comic films elsewhere in the collection.

Scenes of forest destruction and an orangutan losing its home may upset younger viewers.

First shown 9 November 2018. Video availability may change.