October 10, 2005 -- “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” is another in the classic line of animated comedies from the team that brought you “Chicken Run” and the Academy Award-winning Wallace and Gromit short films. In the 21st Century, animation is supposed to be ruled by computers. How strange then, that the two best animated films of the year, this film and “Corpse Bride,” are not computer animated. Instead, they use stop-motion animation, a technique as old as movies themselves. The most famous example of stop-motion animation can be found in the classic 1933 film “King Kong.” The technique, as used in Wallace and Gromit, uses models made of a special blend of plasticine (clay is also used in this process by some filmmakers, hence the term “Claymation”). The models are moved slightly as each frame of film is shot, creating the illusion of continuous motion. It is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process.

The result of this process is dazzling. The animation looks a lot more three dimensional than so-called three dimensional digital animation does. The images practically pop off the screen. The faces of the characters are very expressive. The two main characters are Wallace, a mad cap inventor of Rube Goldberg-like contraptions, and his faithful dog Gromit, who is the smarter of the two. The two best known voice talents on display are Ralph Fiennes, who does the voice for the trigger-happy Victor Quartermaine and Helena Bonham Carter (who also did voice work in “Corpse Bride”) as Lady Campanula.

Wallace and Gromit operate a pest control service called Anti-Pesto (one of many puns in the film). Most of their work involves live-trapping rabbits from people's gardens. Wallace invents a mind control device. He makes an ill-advised attempt to use the device to brainwash the rabbits so that they won't like vegetables anymore. Soon after this, a frighteningly large, voracious rabbit begins attacking local gardens by the light of the full moon just before Lady Campanula's annual vegetable-growing contest. It is up to Wallace and Gromit to catch the fearsome were-rabbit.

This incredibly good-natured romp features very wry British humor as well as lots of good sight-gags. There are numerous puns and movie in-jokes, such as references to old werewolf movies, Frankenstein movies and even “King Kong.” A good example of the humor in the movie is the following exchange between Wallace and Victor Quartermaine, whose toupee has just been sucked into Wallace's rabbit vacuuming device:
Quartermaine: “My hair is in there!”
Wallace: “Oh, no, only rabbits in there. I think you'll find the hare is a much larger creature.”
The story offers gentle humor and a pro-animal message. The morals of the story are don't mess with mother nature and honesty is the best policy. This film, like its predecessors, is a delight. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2005 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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