Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Directors:

Steve Box
Nick Park

Writers:

Nick Park (characters) and
Bob Baker (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Wallace=Master, Gromit=Mind

Plot:

Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.

Plot Keywords:

Bullet Time | Fireworks | Spoof | Contest | Love Triangle

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 29 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Peter Sallis	...	Wallace / Hutch (voice)
Ralph Fiennes	...	Victor Quartermaine (voice)
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Lady Campanula Tottington (voice)
Peter Kay	...	PC Mackintosh (voice)
Nicholas Smith	...	Reverend Clement Hedges (voice)
Liz Smith	...	Mrs. Mulch (voice)
John Thomson	...	Mr. Windfall (voice)
Mark Gatiss	...	Miss Blight (voice)
Vincent Ebrahim	...	Mr. Caliche (voice)
Geraldine McEwan	...	Miss Thripp (voice)
Edward Kelsey	...	Mr. Growbag (voice)
Dicken Ashworth	...	Mr. Mulch (voice)
Robert Horvath	...	Mr. Dibber (voice)
Pete Atkin	...	Mr. Crock (voice)
Noni Lewis	...	Mrs. Girdling (voice)

Also Known As:

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Starring Wallace & Gromit (UK) (working title)
The Wallace & Gromit Movie (UK) (working title)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (UK) (poster title)
Wallace and Gromit: The Great Vegetable Plot (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:6 | Peru:PT | Taiwan:GP | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:I | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Ireland:G | Malaysia:U | Philippines:G | France:U | Iceland:L | Netherlands:MG6 | Denmark:7 | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Portugal:M/4 | USA:G | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Aardman Animations

Trivia:

The Were-Rabbit had an internal mechanism that allowed the animators to move the model with minimal touching of the fur covering, thus avoiding the tell-tale impressions left by their fingers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can see the thin metal pole they use for stop motion on Gromits front right foot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wallace: Oh ho ho, cracking job, Gromit!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "South Park" (1997)

Soundtrack:

The Planets Opus 32:2. Venus, The Bringer of Peace

5 years in the making - very impressive

What-ho! This one is jolly good. I say jolly good, ol' chap. Or should I say "ol' bean"? My mastery of British terminology is a little dusty. Anyway, my biker boots and I walked into this screening with no prior viewing experience of Wallace and Gromit. I'm happy to say that my boots and I walked out pleased to have made their acquaintance.

While not as adult-accessible as Toy Story, W & G still manages to be clever enough to provide the grown ups with a little humor that will most definitely soar over the heads of the young 'uns who are too busy guffawing at the Were-rabbit's belches to have any clue that something is amiss. I highly suggest that you pay close attention any time you see books or words on the screen because there are quick glimpses of puns that you'll miss if you aren't paying attention. My favorite is a book of monsters that refers to the Loch Ness Monster as "tourist trappus." If you've ever been known to say, "I can really relate to Kevin Federline," or if you're just illiterate then not only will you miss out on these jokes, but you probably should be spending your time learning to read instead of going to movies. Consider this a public service announcement.

The most impressive aspect about W & G is its clay animation. Thanks to the tedious process, it took FIVE YEARS to finish the film! According to the press notes, there were some days when the optimum goal was to merely accomplish 10 seconds of completed film. Folks, I sometimes have trouble finding the motivation to finish responding to a handful of emails or adding captions to pictures for my reviews (a point that is proved by a lack of pictures in this review); so I can't even imagine having the required patience for that.

I really like the rough, hands-on quality of the claymation figures. The fact that you can see fingerprints in the clay is a nice, personal touch. How can you not be impressed with clay characters that show more expression and emotion than Paul Walker and Keanu Reeves combined? The Curse of the Were-rabbit is, as director Nick Park calls it, the world's first vegetarian horror movie that should entertain both kids and adults alike. Relying on (and as a male who prides himself in his shaggy-haired, cool-bearded masculinity I hesitate to use this word) cute and (oh man, I probably shouldn't use this word either) lovable characters rather than outdated M.C. Hammer references, W & G is proof that DreamWorks can create entertaining animation when it chooses cleverness over the cheap joke.