Olivia Colman and Helen Mirren have collaborated with the creators of Wallace & Gromit for a film called Turtle Journey to raise awareness about climate change and marine pollution.
Climate change in today’s time is a serious issue and is already affecting the habitats of sea turtles. Changing ocean currents are damaging the coral reefs on which some turtles rely on to survive, while rising seas threaten to destroy their beach habitats. Plastic, which has been found in hundreds of marine species, poses another danger. In the film, the adult turtles try to warn their children about the threat, as well as the young turtles who are at higher risk than their elders of swallowing plastic waste.
Turtle Journey tells the tragic story of a turtle family travelling home through an ocean under growing pressure from climate change, plastic pollution, oil drilling and overfishing. The animated short film was produced by Aardman and campaigners Greenpeace to highlight the plight of the world’s oceans.
Greenpeace, oceans campaigner Louisa Casson said, “Our oceans are in crisis. I hope the film will spur action ahead of the 2020 UN Ocean Conference in June. The film ends with a call to action, urging viewers to sign Greenpeace’s petition calling for a global ocean treaty.”
The characters in the film are voiced by two Oscar-winning actors, Colman and Mirren, alongside Bella Ramsey from Game of Thrones, David Harbour of Stranger Things, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter and comedian Ahir Shah. “If we don’t act now we risk causing irreversible harm to our oceans and losing species for good,” said Colman in a statement.