Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

I went in to watch the new Wallace & Gromit movie with a little bit of bias. Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers happens to be one of my favorite short animation pieces and although just because it's a Wallace & Gromit film, doesn't mean that I'll love it, I went in expecting to be charmed.

And I was.

The film was true Wallace & Gromit in form and fashion, this time featuring Wallace & Gromit as humane pest control operatives "Anti-Pesto." Again, featuring many cute Rube-Goldberg-type inventions, cheese, and menacing, but somewhat silly, villains, the film is full of things to adore.

There were a couple moments that threw me off, namely a couple of jokes that belong in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, but I suppose it will fly over the heads of the target youth audience. Actually, I haven't seen a General Audiences rated movie this enjoyable in a while, and minus those moments, this film is good clean fun.

Wallace & Gromit's sense of humor is less the laugh-out-loud humor but more the grin-inducing chuckle-laden charming type, with some punny moments, and it works to great effect. In particular, Gromit is perhaps the best silent character in recent film history. Without saying nary a word or making a single sound, he manages to convey a great deal of emotion and comic excellence, which is quite impressive considering that Gromit is made entirely of clay.

The plot is simple and not particularly original, but I was surprised by the inventiveness by which Nick Park and company took a few old stories and refreshed them. I really can find no solid wrong with the film minus those unexpected moments of adult humor.

Highly recommended. 8/10.

When Wallace and Gromit burst onto the scene in their academy award winning short, "A Grand Day Out," they created a fresh new look at claymation. After two more shorts, Aardman's dynamic duo returned for this thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining movie. It has an excellent Voice cast, humorous jokes and good animation as only Aardman could do!

In this movie, Wallace and Gromit run "Anti-Pesto," a rabbit removal company. When word gets out about a "Were-Rabbit" eating all the vegetables in town, a frenzy ensues. Of course, Victor Quartermaine, the town's handsome, toupee-brandishing huntsman, wants to get his hands on the rabbit to impress the lovely Lady Tottington...but can our favorite Aardman duo save the day before chaos ensues?

The jokes, I should say, were hilarious. One point, the villain, Victor Quartermaine's, booty-crack was showing, prompting a character to cry out: "BEWARE...THE MOON!!!" Vintage Aardman!

The characters are crisp and hilarious. Our favorite Aardman team of Man and Dog entertains us as only they could do, earning them their second Oscar (remember "A Grand Day Out?"). Helena Bonham Carter was terrific as the lovely Lady Tottington, Wallace's love interest. Ralph Fiennes was especially funny and foreboding as the cunning, toupee wearing hunter Victor Quartermaine. But the one who really stole the show was the priest, whose antics proved to be some hilarious comic relief.

Hats off to Aardman for creating another Wallace and Gromit masterpiece!

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?

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.

I saw it at a German press screening. Without giving too much away: Most critics really seemed to like it very much. There was even applause afterwards, which is quite unusual for that species. From my point of view and until now, it was the funniest movie of the year. It keeps the charm and wit of the three W+G shorts and it is enlarged with many references to these and other movies. Of course, there are obvious allusions to monster- and werewolf-movies, especially to "An American Werewolf in London", "Jaws", "King Kong" and even to Peter Jackson's "Braindead"/"Dead Alive", but also to other genres.

Characterization was better done in "Chicken Run", but that movie had a complete new "cast" where introduction was necessary. Here, you are already able to know the two main characters. So, the new "Wallace and Gromit"-movie is enjoyed best if you watched (and liked) the shorts already, yet it also works on its own. "Chicken Run" had the more convenient, but also more "storytelling" plot. Instead, this new Aardman masterpiece keeps that crazier and somehow more "isolated" feeling of the W+G shorts. Children should also enjoy it very much, especially because of the sweet rabbits (if you love cute bunnies, this is a must-see for you!!!) and because Gromit has a lot do to and really steals the show (children also love dogs... :-) ). But many jokes are thought for a more adult audience (there are even soft sexual allusions in it). The movie manages, like "Shrek 1+2" and "The Incredibles", to fulfil high level entertainment for the whole family, with adding a British and at least a little bit darker edge to the humour of American animated movies.

The animation is – as expected – superb, and they kept true to the Aardman style because they didn't put in too many digital effects - I realized just a few when it came to Wallace's inventions.

Finally, the score works fine in the movie, although one of the main themes definitely is "borrowed" by Randy Edelman's "Dragonheart" score.

The bad thing is: It will probably take another six years from now until we can see a new animated gem from Nick Park & Co.