World Environment Day: Whoopi Goldberg highlights the plight of the planet in new short film

The three-minute short is set in 2050 and was made in partnership with Extinction Rebellion

Whoopi Goldberg has teamed up with Extinction Rebellion and Passion Pictures 

Whoopi Goldberg has teamed up with Extinction Rebellion and Passion Pictures to create a short environmental film called The Gigantic Change.

The film launched today, Friday, June 5, across Extinction Rebellion’s various social media platforms, to mark World Environment Day.

Goldberg, a one-time Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, was approached due to “her iconic voice”, which brings a sense of gravitas to the story.

Set in 2050 (the date is significant as 2050 is when many countries have committed to reach net zero carbon), the three-minute animated film starts on a sombre tone. In a dark, sparsely decorated room, an elderly woman voiced by Goldberg offers to read a story to a young girl. “Can it be a happy story,” the young girl asks.

Alas, no.

Goldberg reaches for a book and begins recounting the tale of Earth’s demise. “There once was a planet on the verge of destruction / The people were killing with greed and construction / The people built factories, polluting the air /  Leaving animals homeless, with only death and despair / The rivers were poisoned, the fish couldn’t breath…

“The planet was dying and nobody cared.”

Seemingly overwhelmed, the elderly woman shuts the book and asks her young companion to take over with story time. With all the innocence of youth, the girl recounts a more positive tale – where people “stop doing all those horrible things they did before”, and instead plant trees and plants, ride bikes to school, ensure that animal species flourish in new jungles and forests across the planet, and work together to eliminate plastics from the seas.

“That was a lovely story,” Goldberg says. “Did people try those things?” asks the little girl.

“Let’s hope so,” is the response.

“On our current path, by 2050 up to 1 billion people will be displaced, and almost half of all species on Earth will be extinct,” reads a note at the end of the film.

“This doesn’t have to be our future.”

For more information, visit thegiganticchange.com