'Save Ralph' is an animated short that advocates against animal testing in cosmetic products

Hollywood filmmakers and Hollywood stars joined hands with Humane Society International (HSI) to produce "Save Ralph," a powerful animated short film against animal testing for cosmetics.

HSI released "Save Ralph" which featured a "spokesbunny" named Ralph voiced by Taika Waititi.

In the film, Ralph is being interviewed for a "documentary" as he showed his daily routine as a "tester" in a toxicology lab.

At the latter part of the video, Ralph was shown all worn out and weak from the laboratory tests. He looked terrible too, with red eyes and a wounded back.

Ralph said, "I just like to say to anyone out there still vying animal tested cosmetics like eyeliner, shampoo, sunscreen, pretty much everything in your bathroom: Well without you and countries that allow animal testing, I’d be out of a job. I'd be out on the streets, well not the streets; more like a field, I guess. Like a normal rabbit."

With Taika Wititi are Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, and Tricia Helfer.

Meanwhile, writer and director Spencer Susser (Hesher, The Greatest Showman) and producer Jeff Vespa (Voices of Parkland) teamed up with the Arch Model studio of puppet maker supreme Andy Gent on the production to bring Ralph to life.

According to a press release from HSI, the campaign tackles "the disturbing issue of animal testing in an original and unexpected way — using the story of one bunny to shine a light on the plight of countless rabbits and other animals suffering at this very moment in laboratories around the world."

"It engages viewers to help ban animal testing of cosmetics once and for all," it added.

The short animated film will also be launched in several other languages including Portuguese, Spanish, French and Vietnamese.

Rodrigo Santoro, Gad Elmelah, Denis Villeneuve, George Lopez, among others, will be voicing the characters. Maggie Q providing a video message of support.

HSI president Jeffrey Flocken said "Save Ralph" is a "wake-up call that animals are still suffering for cosmetics, and now is the time for us to come together to ban it globally."

"Today we have an abundance of reliable, animal-free approaches for product safety assurance, so there’s no excuse for making animals like Ralph suffer to test cosmetics or their ingredients," he added.

Meanwhile, HSI's ASEAN campaign manager Aduane Joseph Alcantara highlighted the importance of consumer support in ending cosmetics testing. He pointed to a 2019 Ipsos poll commissioned by HSI that found "93% of people in the Philippines and an average of 87% of citizens across the ASEAN region, support a ban."

"The #SaveRalph public advocacy and awareness campaign aims to show the terrible suffering that animals endure in testing," he added.

"Save Ralph" he said, should remind lawmakers "that we need robust animal testing bans in place because no animal should suffer and die in the name of beauty."

HSI said the campaign is focused in 16 countries including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, and 10 Southeast Asian nations.

Meanwhile, 40 countries have already banned animal testing for cosmetics. HSI and partners were instrumental in securing bans in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Korea, Guatemala, Australia and 10 states in Brazil.

It is also banned in Turkey, Israel, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and in the U.S. states of California, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia. 

— LA, GMA News