(CNN) Distressing images of natural disasters, starvation and dead, plastic-filled whales dominating our screens are enough to make anybody defeatist about the world around them.

It is even more challenging for children to digest these horrific events.

With this in mind, broadcasters and media companies around the world have come together to produce a series of short films that offer young children "stories of hope."

The initiative, called Hope Works, launched on World Children's Day on November 20 with 12 inspirational films aimed at children aged five and up.

One of the films created by Cartoon Network UK follows a whale as it journeys around the ocean catching plastic waste in a giant net.

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