Save Ralph (2021) review: 
When saying “I’m ok” actually means “Save me”.

source: IMDb

MAC, L'Oreal, Persil, Oral B, and so many more. These are not popular brand names that every one of us has seen or purchased in malls and supermarkets. Instead, they are one of many mass-produced goods that test on animals only just to make sure we will not die from putting lipstick, shampoo and body lotion on our skin.

Produced and distributed for Humane Society International’s #SaveRalph campaign, Save Ralph is a stop motion animated short film that raises awareness of animal testing across the world. With simplistic, yet eye-opening form and style that voice out the longtime effort of animal welfare organizations and animal rights activists, Save Ralph is not a mere animated stop motion film, but a desperate 4-minute-long mayday call from the lab animals themselves.

In Save Ralph, humanity's manipulation of innocent lives on test animals is manifested through the self-negation and self-affirmation of Ralph. To bring such exploitation out of the surface, director Spencer Susser utilized a specific film form – documentary – with a fictional twist; thus, turning Save Ralph into a mockumentary that not only is a mock-up of real-life issues, but also a mockery of human hypocrisy. In the film, we follow Ralph on his daily routine as a test animal accompanied by casual interview-like dialogues between the rabbit and the cameraman. While eating his cereal, Ralph mentions, “They [humans] are far superior to us animals, they’ve even been to space. Have you ever seen a rabbit in a rocket ship?”. Not knowing the sheer fact that a rabbit called ‘Marfusha’ was sent to space in 1959, 2 years before the first human in space – Yuri Gagarin, Ralph echoes the superiority of humans over animals. More like a human dominance I would say. This less-than-10-seconds-long space talk pinpoints that choosing a rabbit to endure a shift in gravitational power and hypoxia towards space was all determined by men. Nevertheless, Ralph keeps on reassuring himself by saying “This thing [testing on behalf of humans] is what we were born to do. It makes us rabbits happy.” He remains like the masses that stay satisfied with hegemonic production and distribution of culture industries. Ralph normalizes his lifelong experience as a victim instead of accusing humans or asking for some help. He tries to smile away, but can't hide the tears falling down.

Moving on to stylistic features of the film, Ralph embodies the form of an anthropomorphic rabbit who can think, make jokes, feel and express emotions. This humanization brilliantly highlights physical and mental damages carved on Ralph in such a realistic way. Our sympathy heightens not only for this fictional animal character, but also towards the real-life animals that are locked up in laboratories. Although represented in supposedly adorable, or at least delightful stop motion animation, the vivid portrayal of Ralph’s injuries - a skinned back, a blinded, murky pupil, a broken ear and neck - afflicts our vision and emotion. From the clip of Ralph sitting in his cozy living room for an interview to the post-test, impaired rabbit in a locker room, aggravation of Ralph’s life bluntly reveals that we, human beings, are the very reason for this crisis.

Save Ralph reminds us that we are the one and only contributors who have initiated the tragedy of Ralph and his bunny friends. In a ceaselessly cruel food chain, humans are just a bunch of apex predators with a lost sense of animal bioethics. The film pleads for our responsibility and consciousness on consuming cruelty-free products – the least every one of us can do. Delivered in the most appropriate and attractive representation, Ralph is a poignant reminder that the move against animal testing is not about freeing our guilt, but solely for the animals to be protected from human cruelty.