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Some kids – and some animals for that matter – want presents all the time, keep changing their minds about what’s cool, and even compare them to try to figure out who is most loved. For others, the most exciting thing is the box they come in.

Jean-Philippe Vine’s BAFTA-nominated short, which also had a place on this year’s Oscar shortlist, is all about the value of imagination and looking to the future. It follows a single father pig who, having fallen on hard times, has driven his two little piglets cross-country in a battered van to the new home he’s found, which turns out to be rather less idyllic than it looked in the brochure. As he tearfully piles in their possessions and tries to work out what to do with everything, under the baleful stare of the two tusked redneck porkers in the trailer opposite, the kids find their way into the back bedroom, climb into one of the empty boxes, and have the adventure of their lives.

Vine was inspired by desert landscapes and the resemblance that some of them bear to the landscapes of the Moon. Where the father sees a dead end, the piglets see a landscape full of thrilling possibilities. In their spaceship box, they are hurtling across the galaxy, battling monsters and making one discovery after another. The 3D animation is full of personality, and even though the film sometimes gets sentimental, once the fun starts it doesn’t really matter. It’s always visually interesting, with well-observed details, the father’s first impressions gradually giving way to something more nuanced.

Ultimately the question facing the father is whether he wants to live in the past with his memories of a pretty little house and a happy sow embracing the little ones, or move on and open himself up to the future. It’s a common enough quandary, but it’s depicted with particularity and charm.

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