The hero of this German CGI short film is a hamster racing after the love of his life on a hamster wheel. He chases the other hamster through a dramatic and scenic range of European environments: past the Tower of Pisa, across a canal in Venice, the Parthenon in Athens, along the Eiffel Tower. Viewers aged 8-11 years old will enjoy experiencing his great adventure across so many iconic European sights, opening up the opportunity to discuss which sights were recognised and what effect this has on our comprehension as viewers. As the narrative progresses, the settings become more and more global: the scenery switches to a Japanese watercolour backdrop. As the camera pans out, the premise becomes clear: the scenery is a rolling advertisement on a TV screen at the back of a pet shop, and the hero of the short film is in a different cage to his beloved, who rides its own wheel oblivious to him at the front of the shop.
A twist at the end adds a way to discuss gender, if so desired. The themes raised by this film include freedom of movement, as the sense of freedom and confinement are so present in the two stages of the visual narrative.
