Wow, so I apologize for the last review, I promise to keep this one shorter.
If you are not familiar with the series of Wallace and Gromit short films, SHAME ON YOU! You should immediately rush out to wherever you can find these films and watch them.
Wallace and Gromit are two delightfully-British claymation characters. Wallace is an inventor, and takes the term absent-minded to a whole new level. He has an obsession with cheese (don’t we all), and a kind soul. Gromit is his best friend and loyal companion and roommate. He is also a dog who never talks or makes a sound, in fact, he doesn’t even have a mouth. The series of short films about these characters have won 2 Oscars for best animated short film.
In this tale, Wallace and Gromit are running a pest removal service, which humanely removes rabbits from the gardens of their towns citizens. Their services are in high demand due to the upcoming giant vegetable contest. One of their clients is the Lady Tottington, whose suitor, Victor Quartermaine (a play on the adventurer Allen Quartermain, and voiced by none other than Ralph Fiennes), feels that the cute fluffy bunnies should all be shot.
As the contest nears, strange events start happening. It appears that there is a giant Were-Rabbit (like a werewolf… get it?) attacking everyone’s giant vegetables. Who else can stop it but the crazy inventor and his trusty canine?
Hilarity ensues, and the homages to horror movies come faster than you can count. The fun of this movie, however, is not in the silly story, the romance between Wallace and Tottington, nor in the sight gags or the bad puns. The fun of this movie is all in the relationship between the two main characters. Wallace is as clueless as they come. It’s a wonder his contraptions work, considering how spacey he is. It is up to Gromit, as it has always been, to keep him in line. If mute, claymation dogs could win Oscars, then Gromit would have it locked up. His gentle features express more emotion than an living actor could ever squeeze from even the juiciest dialog. As he constantly fixes Wallaces messes, and protects his master, he switches from hilarious eye-rolls, to loving looks of affection and friendship.
It’s no error that the creator’s fingerprints can be seen on the clay figures, especially Gromit. They have marked these characters as their own, and poured all the love they posses into them. This film took 5 long years to make, and, ironically enough, after topping the box office this past weekend, Aardman studios, where this film (and others such as Chicken Run) were made, burned completely to the ground, destroying everything inside. By shear luck, the Wallace and Gromit figures used in the film were not in the building at the time. The entire history of Aardman studios went up in smoke.
This is a film that anyone with a heart will love. And maybe the most sentimental of you will even squeeze out a tear at the end, with a touching scene between two best friends. If you want to smile, laugh, and generally feel warm all over, then you should not pass over this film.
A+