Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 27-July-03
Spoiler Rating: Medium

The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit

It's not often that a series of animated short films, even a two-time Oscar-winning one, captures people's imaginations enough to warrant figurines on the shelves of Toys R Us, but by gum, it does happen. The myriad charms of Wallace and Gromit, the Plasticine stars from creator Nick Park and Aardman Films, have spawned a flourishing industry and won hearts on both sides of the Atlantic. The Beatles, toffee, and Judi Dench notwithstanding, they are one of the best British exports ever.

For those unacquainted with this marvelous duo, Wallace and Gromit are the heroes of three half-hour and ten 2-minute stop-motion animated films (as well as a feature-length movie currently being planned). Wallace, a cheese-loving human, is a flighty inventor and entrepreneur who lives with his dog Gromit, a sensible, patient, and preternaturally intelligent hound who is generally one step ahead of his "master." Wallace's inventions and the vagaries of life land the duo in amazing (and highly amusing) adventures, which they meet and overcome with a combination of ingenuity, luck, and courage.

The three longer films are available on a DVD entitled "The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit," which is a great way for both old and new fans to (re)discover the pair. You don't have to be an animation lover to enjoy these guys; although their medium allows them to live in a world of colorful fancy and limitless imagination, the personalities and idiosyncrasies of Wallace and Gromit, and of the antagonists they meet, are the movies' greatest appeal. So much care and affection has been poured into these characters that they really take on a life of their own. "The Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit" isn't just worthy of a rental; it would make a cracking contribution to any collection.

A Grand Day Out (1989)

Park began the original film while still in art school, and it definitely has an amateurish feel. I recommend watching this one after the others, when you have fallen in love with the characters and want to learn about every one of their adventures. The episode finds Wallace and Gromit building a spaceship and flying to the moon to partake of its legendary cheese. It falters due to an overabundance of silent, empty moments and an awkward shift of focus that sends the heroes to the background in the middle of the story. (In their stead is a truly strange character who is very memorable but doesn't fit well in the W&G universe.) Still, "A Grand Day Out" does introduce some of the delightful hallmarks of the series (in addition to W&G themselves), including fantastical contraptions, amusing reading material (e.g., "Cheese Holidays" magazine), and smashing interior décor (the wallpaper of the lunar rocket is a particularly nice touch).

The Wrong Trousers (1993)

In his sophomore W&G effort, Park abandons the far-out approach of the first adventure and finds inspiration in old-time thrillers and film noir. The change is remarkable. Not only is the animation better, but "The Wrong Trousers" does everything right: its staging, cinematography, music, and plot are seamlessly woven into a delicious (and remarkably sophisticated) work of mock suspense which brings out the best in the characters. Wallace and Gromit weather a crisis in their relationship and develop into a classic hero-sidekick team when they have to deal with a pair of robotic Techno-Trousers and a dodgy new lodger, a penguin whose stoic exterior hides a dangerous secret. (He's the best W&G villain so far.) Although its cinematic influences are evident and the train chase at the end recalls such films as Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt," "The Wrong Trousers" succeeds in highlighting W&G's particular brand of charm: once again, we find such things as an automatic dressing/feeding machine for Wallace, wallpaper that speaks volumes, and Gromit reading "'The Republic,' by Pluto."

A Close Shave (1995)

Although it's well nigh impossible to criticize anything about "The Wrong Trousers," my favorite of the W&G series is undoubtedly "A Close Shave," which, quite simply, has it all. As Park says on the DVD commentary, "it's got the thrillerness to it, but it's also melodrama and a bit of action-adventure, [like] Indiana Jones . . . ." Building upon the same noir tone and look of "Trousers," the third adventure deals with a sheep rustling operation and a sort of alternate universe version of the heroes: Wendolene, a wool shop owner with whom Wallace becomes smitten, and her dog Preston, who makes Cujo look cute and cuddly. The action comes in the form of a high-speed chase involving a truck, a motorcycle, and a herd of sheep, as well as a nifty little flying machine equipped with a high-powered porridge cannon. The old running gags are back — the invention of a Knit-O-Matic device and Gromit reading "Fido Dogstoyevsky" — along with a deeper appreciation of the heroes' many facets (such as Wallace's amorous impulses and Gromit's development into a dashing matinee idol). If the upcoming movie is anywhere near as good as this, I'll be in heaven.

Copyright © 2003 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.