As a fan of the original three 'Wallace and Gromit' short films I was pleased to hear that there would be a fourth outing for the duo. Sadly though, 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' doesn't live up to the standards set by Nick Park's earlier works. There were several reasons for this: Firstly, the pacing of the film was far too rushed, thus preventing the viewer from ever really getting involved with the story on screen. Much of the film seems to jump from one scenario to the next, never giving the story time to build up, as so wonderfully demonstrated in 'The Wrong Trousers'.
Secondly, there seemed to be far greater use of music this time round, but rather than setting the mood, it seemed too 'obvious' in places, and merely felt forced, and comic in nature. In fact I can barely recall a moment of silence within the film at all. Conversely, take the scene in 'The Wrong Trousers' with Gromit hiding in a box and the Penguin slowly advancing towards him. The use of music (and restraint)is so effective, chilling and suspenseful, and really creates atmosphere.
Thirdly, the humour has changed somewhat over the years. In the earlier films, there were more subtle visual gags that weren't so overtly put forth, whereas in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' there seems to be a greater if not equal emphasis on verbal dialogue, which doesn't seem to have quite the same appeal. Plus, much of the humour seems to be 'spoof-like' in nature resulting in contrived humour.
Forthly, 'Piella Bakewell' is simply not that interesting of a character, and ends up more being more annoying than menacing. Also, the whole end sequence falls flat, not only on its own terms, but in comparison to both 'TWT' and 'ACS'.
In summary, it seems that in an attempt to cram in as much as possible in 30 minutes of airtime, and the desire to throw all restraint out of the window, much of the charm, build-up and true brilliance of the original shorts has been lost. Nevertheless, any adventure with Wallace and Gromit is a welcome one, and much requested by fans. Perhaps Nick Park might study his earlier films, picking up on the techniques that made them so good in the first place. Who knows, maybe next time 'Wallace and Gromit' will go on an adventure in another country...................
Secondly, there seemed to be far greater use of music this time round, but rather than setting the mood, it seemed too 'obvious' in places, and merely felt forced, and comic in nature. In fact I can barely recall a moment of silence within the film at all. Conversely, take the scene in 'The Wrong Trousers' with Gromit hiding in a box and the Penguin slowly advancing towards him. The use of music (and restraint)is so effective, chilling and suspenseful, and really creates atmosphere.
Thirdly, the humour has changed somewhat over the years. In the earlier films, there were more subtle visual gags that weren't so overtly put forth, whereas in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' there seems to be a greater if not equal emphasis on verbal dialogue, which doesn't seem to have quite the same appeal. Plus, much of the humour seems to be 'spoof-like' in nature resulting in contrived humour.
Forthly, 'Piella Bakewell' is simply not that interesting of a character, and ends up more being more annoying than menacing. Also, the whole end sequence falls flat, not only on its own terms, but in comparison to both 'TWT' and 'ACS'.
In summary, it seems that in an attempt to cram in as much as possible in 30 minutes of airtime, and the desire to throw all restraint out of the window, much of the charm, build-up and true brilliance of the original shorts has been lost. Nevertheless, any adventure with Wallace and Gromit is a welcome one, and much requested by fans. Perhaps Nick Park might study his earlier films, picking up on the techniques that made them so good in the first place. Who knows, maybe next time 'Wallace and Gromit' will go on an adventure in another country...................