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The creations of British animator Nick Park: Wallace and Gromit debuted in the 1989 short "A Grand Day Out," followed by "The Wrong Trousers" in 1994 and "A Close Shave" in 1996.
The three shorts, available on a single DVD, are required viewing for anyone who appreciates screen comedy.
Clay superstars Wallace and Gromit could teach most flesh-and-blood actors how film comedy works.
Wallace & Gromit, "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is retro even for the retro technique of stop-motion animation.
Wallace and Gromit are the clay Laurel and Hardy.
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Synopsis
Making a tidy profit from their new adventure in to pest control business 'Anti - Pesto' they are engaged by 'Lady Tottington' to save the upcoming Vegetable Competition, by ridding the village of a plague of bunnie rabbits.
Wallace talks up the "humane" aspect of the company, but doesn't mention he keeps the dozens of captured rabbits in his basement. Nevertheless, he wins a fan in Lady Tottingham, who says, "I believe the killing of fluffy creatures is never justified."
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Shortly before the community's 517th annual Giant Vegetable Competition, a veg-devouring monster hops into town and overpowers Wallace's garden-protection devices.
Victor Quartermaine, Lady Tottingham's would-be suitor, urges her ladyship to forget Wallace and Gromit's anti-violent methods and let him blast any rabbit that twitches its whiskers.
Park and his writing and directing partner, Steve Box, are generous to other newcomers in the supporting cast. Several emerge as memorable characters, particularly the paranoid vicar who swears the monstrous rodent is a were-rabbit. |
The parodies in "Were-Rabbit" range from the appropriate and obvious to the appropriate yet obscure. It also makes room to spoof "Tremors" of all things, and the wild climax contains many references to "King Kong" – fitting because the big ape could be considered the patron saint of stop-motion animation.
"Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a hair less satisfying than "Chicken Run" because its plot isn't as rich, but clay superstars Wallace and Gromit could teach most flesh-and-blood actors how film comedy works. |
Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, John Thomson, Peter Kay
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Reviewed by Lawcom |
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