2008 Woodie Awards
Wallace and Gromit Battle the Were-Rabbit
Christopher Erat
Issue date: 10/10/05 Section: Entertainment
Back in my junior year of high school, my chemistry teacher (named Mr. Head) introduced my class to Wallace and Gromit. Since he was an old, nearly retired, grey-haired creature, I immediately assumed the British stop-motion animation feature was beyond my generation's grasp.
After watching a few short Wallace & Gromit films in class, however, I began to see the appeal. The style of humor is unique with a mix of British comedy, sight gags, creative yet unreasonable technological inventions, and a dog as a main character that never speaks. Sound weird? It is.
The appeal of the Wallace & Gromit shorts of the past have, thankfully, made a successful jump to the big screen in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
This time around, Wallace and Gromit have started a business of saving the town's precious gardens and vegetables from pesky rabbits. When Wallace, an ingenious yet unfortunate inventor, creates a machine that will rid the town of rabbit invasions forever, he inadvertently creates the dreaded Were-Rabbit. With his dog Gromit, he sets out to save the town from this vegetable ravaging fiend in time for the annual vegetable contest.
Not only is the film ridiculously funny, it is also ridiculously cute. From the rabbits, to Gromit's endless attempts to correct Wallace's mistakes, to the meticulously animated British town, everything about this film seems too good to be true.
This is not crude humor; rather it is innocent, playful humor that person of any age can enjoy. If the film looks too "cutesy" for you, you are more than likely completely wrong about the style of the film. It is something that has to be seen to be enjoyed, and if that means forgetting your stereotypes about animated films, then so be it.
After watching a few short Wallace & Gromit films in class, however, I began to see the appeal. The style of humor is unique with a mix of British comedy, sight gags, creative yet unreasonable technological inventions, and a dog as a main character that never speaks. Sound weird? It is.
The appeal of the Wallace & Gromit shorts of the past have, thankfully, made a successful jump to the big screen in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
This time around, Wallace and Gromit have started a business of saving the town's precious gardens and vegetables from pesky rabbits. When Wallace, an ingenious yet unfortunate inventor, creates a machine that will rid the town of rabbit invasions forever, he inadvertently creates the dreaded Were-Rabbit. With his dog Gromit, he sets out to save the town from this vegetable ravaging fiend in time for the annual vegetable contest.
Not only is the film ridiculously funny, it is also ridiculously cute. From the rabbits, to Gromit's endless attempts to correct Wallace's mistakes, to the meticulously animated British town, everything about this film seems too good to be true.
This is not crude humor; rather it is innocent, playful humor that person of any age can enjoy. If the film looks too "cutesy" for you, you are more than likely completely wrong about the style of the film. It is something that has to be seen to be enjoyed, and if that means forgetting your stereotypes about animated films, then so be it.