Directed by Nick Park and Steve Box
85 mins
Floor 1 Yellow Zone R3 (WAL)
It’s the Easter break at the University, let’s celebrate with an Easter themed film! Unfortunately, these aren’t the most common films to find; but we’re all ready for some chocolate from the Easter Bunny so let’s take a look at a film about rabbits, were-rabbits to be precise. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the first feature length film of the franchise keeping the charm and the appeal of the original shorts.
The film sees Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his dog Gromit run a pest-control business in one of their typical entrepreneuring miss-adventures. To protect the crop for the local giant vegetable competition the pair use the ‘BunVac 6000’ and the ‘Mind Manipulation-O-Matic’ to brainwash rabbits to dislike vegetables, unfortunately the contraption malfunctions merging Wallace’s brainwaves with a rabbit called Hutch, to disastrous results. There is a star-studded support cast with Helena Bonham Carter voicing the Lady Campanula Tottington, Wallace’s love interest (and best chance of entering high society), Ralph Fiennes plays the evil Lord Victor Quartermaine, and Peter Kay voices Police Constable Mackintosh.
As with the Wallace & Gromit shorts, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is created in clay and uses stop-motion film. This entails remoulding the clay tiny fractions of an amount and taking photos to give the impression of movement. The film reportedly took five years to make and the dedication shows. To me the best part of any Wallace & Gromit film is the emotion that is able to be conveyed through Gromit. He has no mouth but the expressiveness of his eyes and eyebrows demonstrates how effective subtle changes to clay can be. The dog represents the more sensible of the protagonists, with pastimes of vegetable growing and knitting; his weariness of Wallace’s elaborate plans is clear and masterfully comic.
The film presents many hidden jokes and illusions. There are homages to horror films from King Kong (1933) to Frankenstein (1931), and more unlikely inclusions including references to Forrest Gump (1994) and South Park (1997-). The Vicar (Nicholas Smith) reads the magazine nun-wrestling and Wallace’s morning toast is accompanied with ‘Middle Aged Spread’ – such subtle jokes will mean you will always spot something new whilst watching the film. This really is a film for all ages, not many films would see three generations happy sit down to watch, but the cheese loving duo of Wallace and Gromit do just that, it is British comedy at its finest.
Why It’s Significant?
Wallace & Gromit is a classic British staple. The film won the Academy Award for the best Animated Feature and the BAFTA for Best British Film.
If You Like This, You May Also Like From The Library:
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection – all the shorts on DVD, if you want to see more of the duo alongside an evil penguin and the cuteness that is Shaun the Sheep. Floor 1 Yellow Zone R3 (WAL)
Easter Parade, dir. by Charles Walters (MGM, 1948) – Fred Astaire and Judy Gardland star in the musical where the Easter holidays plays with more prominence. Music is by Irving Berlin. (791.4372 EAS)
Written by Phil Wintle
