A child tells her cancer journey through metaphors in hospital group’s emotional animated film

A child innocently explains what it’s like to have a brain tumor—using the metaphor of an orange—in an emotional campaign from the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation, a charity supporting Quebec’s mother-and-child hospital and pediatric research center. “The Orange,” a three-minute animated short film created by LG2, explains the emotional journey of diagnosis and treatment for cancer from a child’s perspective. The film, which is part of GHU’s larger campaign platform “Grow Beyond,” was produced with animations reminiscent of children’s drawings. Throughout the film, the child narrates her harrowing journey in simple terms, as the adults around her, including her grandmother, struggle to cope. At the end of the film, it’s revealed that the animation is based on a true story of a CHU Sainte-Justine patient and her grandmother. Also read: Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne tell a New York survivor’s story in Montefiore film “To tell stories inspired by real cases, we wanted to use the point of view of children, in all their naivety,” said Emmanuelle Ouimet, vice president of marketing and communications at CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation. “Metaphors and parables are often used in everyday life at Sainte-Justine because the staff’s role is to explain and support patients in larger-than-life situations. For example, when we tell a child that we’re going to move mountains to heal him, he literally sees mountains being moved, and that’s also what growing beyond is all about.” “The Orange” is the hero film for the campaign, but other videos will also be released. The film will run on TV in Quebec until the end of October. In addition, a series of out-of-home posters and digital banners in French will display tiny fists raised as a sign of victory over illness to complement the film. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

A child tells her cancer journey through metaphors in hospital group’s emotional animated film

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