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

‘The Orange’ from the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation is based on the true story of a young patient and her grandmother

Published On
Sep 30, 2024

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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.

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Credits

Date
Sep 30, 2024
Client :
CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation
Director Communications :
Julie Veilleux
VP Marketing & Communications :
Emmanuelle Ouimet
President & CEO :
Delphine Brodeur
Agency :
lg2
Chief Creative Officer :
Marc Fortin
VP Executive Creative Director :
Marilou Aubin
VP Strategy :
Sophie-Annick Vallée
VP Account Services :
Marie-Christine Cayer
Executive Creative Direction :
François Sauvé
Copywriting :
Guillaume Bergeron
Art Direction :
Mario Pesant
Art Direction :
Miriam Rondeau
Strategic Planning :
Stéfanie Forcier
Account Services :
Julianne Guilbault
Account Services :
Judith Dupuis
Account Services :
Karine Payette
Project Management :
Justine Trottier
Agency Production :
Isabelle Fonta
Illustration :
Manon Rémillard
Layout Artist :
Cedrick Patenaude
Production Company :
Gorditos
Producer :
Veronique Poulin
Producer :
Luka Tremblay
Director :
Raphaël Ouellet
DOP :
Raphaël Ouellet
Photography :
Raphaël Ouellet
Editing :
Pénélope St-Cyr Robitaille
Sound Studio :
Circonflex
Engineering :
Frédéric Laurier
Engineering :
Craig Murdock
Music :
François-Pierre Lue
Music :
Olivier Girard
Music :
Paul-Étienne Côté
Music Supervisor :
Laurence Guichandut
Post Production Company :
Rodeo FX
Animation Direction :
Ben & PH
VFX Supervision :
Erik Gagnon
Production :
Denise Dietz
Animation :
Xavier Sailliol
Animation :
Hannes Stummvoll
Environment :
Eric Stevenot
Colorization :
Benoît Côté
Composition :
Cesar Mion
Composition :
Camille Potvin
Composition :
Anne Georges
Composition :
Aurelie Lafitte
Public Relations :
YPR
President :
Yanik Deschênes
Director PR & Influencer Marketing :
Laetitia Harty
Media Relations Manager :
Pauline Lazarus
Coordinator :
Jasmine Dufour-Grégoire
Media Agency :
Jungle

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Project Type