The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Zany, delightful, appealing horror spoof chronicling the feature length adventures of Wallace (voice of Peter Sallis), our beloved cheese obsessed gadget creator, and his faithful dog Gromit. Here, Wallace & Gromit operate a company called Anti-Pesto, which disposes of pests such as rabbits in humane ways. Seeking to curb the destructive nature of rabbits, Wallace tries out his new mind control invention. You guessed it: he creates a monster, but not in the way that you might think.

The uniquely British humour of this upbeat, energetic animated feature is in full bloom. These characters are completely endearing and played to the hilt by a peerless cast. Sallis is wonderful as the voices of both Wallace and Hutch. Helena Bonham Carter voices a potential love interest for Wallace, the regal Lady Tottington who wants to rid her land of critters without harming them. Ralph Fiennes is hilarious as Victor Quartermaine, the obnoxious jerk who thinks *he's* going to marry Lady Tottington. And of course there's the lovable Gromit, who's at his most priceless reacting to other characters, particularly Wallace, as he rolls his eyes, does a facepalm, and shakes his head.

Top notch clay animation and deliciously goofy character designs combine in this superior bit of entertainment that can appeal to both older and younger viewers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I fancy a bit of cheese...

Eight out of 10.

This first (and hopefully not last) Wallace & Gromit feature lives up to expectations. There are plenty of jokes (some a bit cheeky) as well as some great tributes to past Science Fiction movies. With the barrage of awful and formulaic movies being spewed forth from Hollywood it's great to see such a great film like this that's enjoyable for almost everyone. If there is any justice it will be top of the box-office and be at least nominated for best animation at the next Oscars. The animation is wonderful; the characters are remarkably expressive and their adventures are great fun. This is one of those films that the whole family can enjoy. Charming, clever, fun and well made, what's not to enjoy?

Wallace & Gromit have been around for some time, but this was their first foray onto the silver screen. Fans of the British TV series, like myself, were eager to see them and the film did quite well in the theaters. Much of the reason is that the film is fun and quite original. In a world of CG movies like SHREK and TOY STORY, this stop-motion film is a nice alternative to the trend in children's movies as well as being totally unlike a cartoon. Plus, compared to much earlier stop-motion films (such as KING KONG and the Ray Harryhausen films such as SINBAD), the quality and movement of the characters are light years better--looking very fluid, natural and more alive.

Apart from the quality of the animation, this movie also deserves kudos on every other level. First, the voice actors do a great job. Second, the script is very simple but also very cute and enjoyable--with a few double-entendres that should probably go way over the kids' heads. Third, they manage to make this not only a movie for kids but people of all ages as the film is neither saccharine nor aimed solely at the younger crowd. In particular, I was captivated by incredibly cute the film was--and especially the adorable bunnies. I especially liked them in the closing credits--which made me very happy I stayed to watch the entire film.

The bottom line is that unless you are a real stick-in-the-mud, you will enjoy this film. It's fresh, funny and amazingly clever. I hope we see a sequel--and this is saying something, as I usually hate sequels.

A very enjoyable film. You can see there's much more subtlety in the characters with regard to facial expressions. The voice actors did a great job, and there are some great gags, some of which are not for children, but are not overt in their adult-ness. Much more empathy for the characters in this film than in Chicken Run. Fortunately, the film is still wonderfully British, so has not suffered from Dreamworks' influence on the production. It is also good to see something hand-crafted on the big screen instead of the raft of CG animated films that usually lack a strength of script; that you could see fingerprints in the plasticine in no way detracted from the quality of the production.

The film starts with a very funny short featuring the Madagascar penguins. Curse of the Were Rabbit isn't as good as the three classic shorts, and the recent Matter of Loaf and Death, but the visual jokes and the memorable characters delight. I particularly loved the one about stinking cheese, and when Victor Quartermine puts the rabbit on his head by mistake. The plot is inspired, about a were rabbit who eats all the vegetables, and Wallace and Gromit try to stop him. The voice talents are superb, with Peter Sallis a standout with his vocal characterisation of Wallace, as does Ralph Fiennes as Victor. Helena Bonham Carter also does well, but the highlight was Gromit, with his facial expressions. The script sparkled with wit, imagination and inspiration, and the ending had some poignancy. Technically, the film is faultless with superb claymation. Overall, I award Curse of the Were Rabbit 8/10. Bethany Cox