O Human Being

Anomaly and Unreasonable Studios dish up a macabre festive treat in the form of this animated short about a Christmas tree-human role reversal.

In the five-minute film, voiced by actor Richard E. Grant, a family of Christmas trees chop the feet off protagonist Peter, stand him in the corner of their living room, and decorate him in tinsel and lights. To add insult to injury, the cat uses his pot as a litter tray. Cue various heroic and fantastic escape attempts by Peter to make it home to his wife. Will he succeed?

It's not the first time Anomaly has embraced animation, a celebrity narrator and a darker side to the usual sugary fare in its Christmas output: the agency's 2016 offering, The 12 Days of Christmas - A Tale of Avian Misery, featured the voice of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, while last year's Dear Satan, narrated by Patrick Stewart, centred around Old Nick, rather than his saintly seasonal namesake.