# animate! › Films › The Nuclear Train by Daniel Saul › synopses

Canonical: https://animate.org.uk/films/nucleartrain/synopses

Discovery terms: 2000s animation, hand-drawn animation, live action and animation, digital compositing, nuclear waste, family, fear, disability, drama, filmmaker

The following is the archived page text; discovery terms above are separately sourced metadata.

Archive status: restored in 2026; historical calls, deadlines and services are closed.

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**The Nuclear Train** a film by Daniel Saul

2002, 9 min 03 sec

### animate! synopsis

An animated drama. James is deeply disturbed by the heavy vibrations made by the train carrying nuclear waste past his home. When he runs away from the house and a failing relationship, he enters a surreal dreamscape from which he may never return.

### one sentence synopsis

An animated drama.

### short synopsis

James is deeply disturbed by the heavy vibrations made by the train carrying nuclear waste past his home. When he leaves the house he enters a surreal dreamscape from which he may never return.

### long synopsis

James and his family live by the railway tracks used to transport nuclear waste through the middle of London. Already disturbed, James begins to feel all his problems are related to the nuclear train and resolves to run away from home.

Once outside he enters a dreamscape city falling apart at the seams. He ends up on the waterfront in a fractured wasteland piled high with rubbish.

Full of guilt James uses junk to make a pair of prosthetic arms for his disabled daughter. But he soon begins to fear that his family may never join him on the scrap heap by the river.

**The Nuclear Train** combines video drama with animation to create a mutated world that reflects our fears about the future. It is perhaps a parable about what we should take with us and what we should leave behind.

**The Nuclear Train** film, stills and other materials © Dan Saul 2002