Fat Ninja

I’m ashamed to say it, but until now I hadn’t seen a single episode of Wallace & Gromit. Being so in touch with my inner child, you might think I would have pounced on the series, but it just never happened. Well, after a stressful weekend, I decided to trade in some CDs and pick up Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit  for Byron (*cough* me *cough*).

Having never seen any of their previous adventures I didn’t know what to expect. At the same time, I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough background on the world of Wallace & Gromit to fully grasp and appreciate the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie does a great job of explaining who Wallace and Gromit are, and what it is that they do.

As the propietors of “Anti-Pesto”, the resident pest-control service for a small, green-thumbed town, Wallace and Gromit provide the safe and humane removal of the rabbits that threaten the community’s many vegetable gardens. But when a rabbit of beastly proportions suddenly begins to rampage through the top-soil of the townpeople’s beloved gardens, ravaging the fruits (er, vegetables?) of their labors, it falls to Wallace and Gromit to track down and stop the beast before it completely ruins the upcoming annual Giant Vegetable Competition.

What follows is a really fun and entertaining yarn. I’ll tell you that Byron absolutely loves the movie. There were a few moments where he was just cracking up. I can also tell you that it’s full of cleverly placed adult humor, much of which you may miss on a first run-through.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’s success is thanks in large part to the colorful characters that take part in it. Wallace makes for an endearing, yet bumbling hero whose penchant for cheese often gets the better of him. Other characters, such as the Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter) and Lord Victor Quartermaine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes) offer humorous caricatures of society’s elite.

But truly, there is one character who just steals the show, and that is the loveable Gromit. For someone without a single line of dialogue, his demeanor and expressions speak volumes about his character. And you just know from his reactions to and interactions with Wallace that he’s the real brains behind the operation.

This level of character in Gromit is, of course, the result of some brilliant and meticulous work on the part of the animators. The subtleties of expression that come across Gromit’s face just exude attitude and emotion. And while the models and animation style isn’t nearly as clean as that found in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, there’s a certain appeal and character to be found in its rough edges.

Rather than being amazed because you’ve forgotten that the entire movie is stop-motion, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit always reminds you that you are watching a stop-motion picture. Whether through a visible finger-print left by an animator in the moulding process, or in the occassional stutter in character movements, the movie wants you well aware of the fact that it is an animated feature; as though to remind us of the involved human element and the meticulous work that went into pinning down all of the film’s minute details.

Final Thoughts

The short of it is that I sincerely loved Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. As a parent, I’d highly recommend it to anyone with children. At the same time, I recommend it to anyone who happens to love not only animated features, but movies in general. Full of clever humor and loveable characters, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is delightful in its capacity to entertain audiences of all ages.

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