a short film by Darcy Prendergast 2007 | 7 mins | Australia ›› Ron the Zookeeper animated fun for adults, claymation style. Life is hard at Preystone Zoo and not in the way that Ron, the zookeeper would like it. Not that it helps that Sushi, the last remaining male grey panda in the world has no interest in donating a sperm sample, his sex drive at a time of need, being at an all time low. Desperate to save the species, Ron is determined to do whatever it takes. Only didn’t anyone bother telling him that you should never feed a panda with - er Viagra! Inspired by his father Ron, a zookeeper in real life, this animated comedy from Darcy Prendergast will I dare say divide audiences. Then again, it ended up dividing Prendergast’s family itself, by way of a father who loved it and mother of differing opinion. Certainly this is animated fun for adults, claymation style, given the antics here are of the kind that you won’t find in the latest Wallace & Gromit story. Complete with an authentic zoo soundtrack and with Marc Gallagher as the voice of Ron, as opposed to Ben Matthews as some sources would have you believe, this two year project condensed into one ended up being banned from Prendergast’s graduation premiere. Undeterred, the comical adventures of Mary and Max were set to follow. Hilarious? Offensive? Or a case of how do you like your claymation comedy served in the morning? Gay Visibility - nil.  Nudity - none.  Overall - file under ... 3 stars.    available on DVD as part of the Peccadillo Pictures catalogue - 'Boys on Film 6: Pacific Rim' release 28.03.2011. with the voices of: Marc Gallagher / Ron, the Zookeeper, Darcy Prendergast / Sushi, the Grey Panda, Richard Yang / Asian Tourist, Thomas Jones / Son and Joe Sibley as his Dad. Copyright 2011 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #377 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹