On October 10, after getting the news that his new Wallace and Gromit film topped the charts in the US for making money, Nick Park got the news that a major storage facility of Aardman Animations had burned down.

Now mind, this is a huge loss – they lost sets and all sorts of stuff from “Chicken Run” and the other W&G movies, from “Creature Comforts”. Those of us who are fans of this Brit, or of stop-motion animation, of the warm sweet silly humor they’ve brought us for years are just dumfounded by the fact that it’s gone in a second. And it was Park himself that brought perspective to it all. While stating that yeah, it was a huge loss, “in light of other tragedies, today isn’t a big deal”. Good going, Nick Park.

He said sure, it’s bad – we didn’t lose anything from "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” or what we’re working on now, but we can’t replace what was lost. Given however the world situation, it’s not so awful.

And he’s right. It’s a huge loss, of a very tiny part of our lives. Even of Park’s life and that of all the animators and studio folks who are alive and well.

In a year, hell a few months, a few weeks, where we’re so unbelievably weary of bad news, never mind politics. We’re talking 20,000 dead as the headline YESTERDAY for Pakistan and you know it’s way more. The devastating earthquakes. And rain and hail. Guatemala’s floods of mud from Hurricane Stan leaving 10 foot walls of mud, village just GONE, people dazed, alone, hungry and hard to get to. Of COURSE they’re in remote areas. I mean of course. Jesus, the tsunami victims are still trying to rebuild and are living in extreme conditions. And our own citizens, scattered all over, folks in New Orleans, and Mississippi finding comfort in teeny things – yesterday’s paper carried a story of the first jazz funeral in the Big Easy since Katrina hit.

So you know? No big thing. Other people might whine and fuss and talk about how devastating the loss is to cinema and to Britain and to his career. Nick Park just shrugged and said “well, darn”. So hats off to Nick Park for getting it right, in more ways that one.

SO DO go see "Wallace & Gromit, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit". It’s wonderful and he deserves it. It’s warm, it’s cute, it’s funny, it has bunnies. BUNNIES. They’re not penguins but they are just perfect. Then see if you can dig down one more time and give. I’ve been using “Charitynavigator.org”(link above) and it’s awesome – you’ll find the best charity for whatever your cause that will use your donation the best way. Go. Then giggle and give.