User Reviews

Using a mix of songs, animation and archive footage an American peanut looks at how his experiences are compared to other nuts around the world. The end result is an amusing look at Trade Liberalisation and why it works for some countries but not for others.

I work for an environmental charity, but I do dislike all these `greens' who harp on about the evils of world trade and organisations like WTO, IMF, The World Bank as if they were Satan on earth! So this short really won me over because it took a reasonable line, was fun but actually said what all the hippies say! Using nuts as an example of a commodity the film looks at several examples of how free trade has failed to be just that. We are taken on this journey by a country- singing, all-American peanut who has been protected by free trade. He looks at several other cases from Africa and South America where the nut trade has collapsed due to free trade and the influence of organisation like the WTO, IMF, The World Bank and even the EU itself.

This is all delivered in with animation, puppets and songs - all with a great sense of fun and wit that amazingly comes across despite the subject material! It is very funny and very educational. Whereas many protestors against globalisation tend to just group together and chant slogans to no great effect (how am I supposed to learn from you?) this actually sets out the facts and shows you why it may not all be a great idea.

The animation and editing is superb, the voice artists are great and the songs are clever and funny. It's such a mix of styles and content but it works very well.

Overall I really enjoyed this and felt I learnt from it. Next time you see armies of teenage protestors throwing stones at the police, with their point lost in a sea of violence, switch off the news and instead try and find this short film which will make the case against Trade Liberalisation in a much better way.

The purpose behind making this film is interesting--how global economic policies might have negative unintended consequences for small and less advantaged countries. Not exactly a "sexy topic", I understand and I respect the filmmaker's attempt to make the topic more interesting to a wider audience. The problem is that this talking peanut (yes, I talking and singing one at that) is really, really dull and not especially inspiring. For little kids, the whole thing would look cute but make no sense because it's an adult topic. For older audiences who could perhaps understand the topic, the presentation will probably turn them off since it looks like a film for young kids. A nice try, but dry and dull and not especially inspiring.