'A Pig's Tail (2012)' is, ostensibly, about ethical farming. It portrays a pig farm as it actually is: filled with restrictive enclosures, given no sunlight, ruthlessly organised and inherently cruel. However, it does so in a relatively subtle way (no pigs are actually seen being sent to slaughter, for example) and ends on a surprisingly happy note. It's, essentially, a sort of wish-fulfilment, a plea to move away from industrial farming and back to the apparently more ethical 'open-air' farming of old where pigs are allowed to roam free before they're shipped off to become sausages. The short is nowhere near bleak enough to have a proper impact; it certainly won't scare anyone into going vegan. It also won't educate them to the point that they feel the need to do so, as it takes an incredibly simplistic look at is subject matter and is entirely uncritical of so-called 'free-range' farming (which is pretty much just a pretty label in most cases). The animation is sort of lacklustre, with relatively restrained stop-motion for the pigs (it's some of Aardman's worst work I'd say) and fairly cheap-looking 2D animation for the humans. The voicework also seems a little amateur in places. However, the short is engaging enough for what it is and its heart is in the right place. It would have perhaps been better suited with a darker tone and a more realistic look at both sides of its farming debate, but it's good enough as an introduction to the cruelties of farming that would likely work as a good conversation starter when it comes to educating children. 6/10.
