Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)October 12th, 2005
Say Cheese to "Wallace and Gromace"
by Homer Yen
(c) 2005
Say "Cheese" to our beloved cheese-loving inventor and his long-suffering canine pal. And smile you shall as you watch this playfully inventive animated film that Nick Park fans have waited dutifully to see. It's quite easy to fall in love with a couple of animated fellows like Wallace and Gromit, who has been the subject of three short films, made for British television. Once you watch any one of them, you will be compelled to go and view the other ones (my favorite is "The Wrong Trousers"). And so when a feature-length film is created, we W&G lovers must run to theatres to get our fix in much the same way that Wallace has that nutty craving for all sorts of cheese.
Here is their latest wild adventure involving the mystery of a monstrous rabbit and the destruction of prized vegetables in their sleepy neighborhood. This is not a good situation for the daffy yet prim Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter) whose family has held for over 500 years an annual giant vegetable contest. This Lady looks to be a hybrid of Gumby and Bozo the Clown. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, eh? She hires our heroes to try to stave off the rabbit problem.
At first, it seems that Wallace and Gromit are in control of the situation. Their crazy contraptions are a sheer joy to watch. There is an elaborate series of chutes within their house that lets them speedily change into their proper clothing and then puts them into their awaiting vehicle. And their vehicle hides an enormous vacuum machine that can suck up bunnies without harming them. This humaneness is attractive to the fair Lady Tottington. However, it irks the sniveling Lord Quartermaine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), a would-be suitor. He's the dastardly sort who seems to always want to twist his oily handlebar moustache. His solution to the bunny problem involves methods that would alarm the PETA.
There's a certain undeniable yet peculiar charm the people of this world. They speak with heavy Yorkshire accent, have lipless faces, and have mouths that have more bottom teeth than top ones. It is an eccentric world of British quirkiness. The interesting aspect of the W&G relationship is that the cutely reckless ways of Wallace always put him in danger and it is Gromit, who lacks eyebrows and doesn't make any sounds, who has to come to the rescue. They have a far better chemistry than similarly partnered duos, such as Inspector Gadget and his niece Penny (is it just me who knows who they are?).
Suffice it to say, there is no need to give away any of the plot details. You can pretty much guess most of it from the outset. There is a menacing were-rabbit that arrives. Tottington needs to have the annual contest go on. W&G and Lord Quartermaine are in a race to capture it. And all manner of inspired silliness ensues. There is an inspired finale that seems to be an ode to King Kong. It is worth noting because this film, like "Corpse Bride," uses stop-motion photography (except for about 10% which is CGI) in which the clay models are minutely reshaped and repositioned from shot to shot to give the illusion of 3-D movement. To create one second of film, 24 shots are required. Anything less would be distractingly choppy. All the scenes are wonderfully and incredibly complex, bursting with thought and creativity. And considering the amount of work that goes into creating a film like this, "Wallace & Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is something that is equally enjoyable and admirable.
Grade: B
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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