Movie Review – “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit”

Right then. Wallace and Gromit are in a rather
cracking full length movie, well worth checking out.
Don’t forget to pick up some cheese from the
confectionary on the way in.

Cast, Crew, and Other Info

Peter Sallis as Wallace

Ralph Fiennes as Victor Quartermain

Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Tottington

Written by Bob Baker, Steve Box, Mark Burton, and Nick
Park.

Directed by Steve Box and Nick Park.

Nick Park was the original creator of Wallace and
Gromit.

Complete information is available from the
IMDB
.

Past movie reviews can be found here.

Premise

Wallace’s latest inventions allow for humane capturing
of the rabbits
which plague the gardeners who plan to enter the giant
vegetable
festival. Unfortunately, attempts to recondition the
rabbits so they
do not crave vegetables at all do not go as planned.

High Point

The lasso chase. Once again, these guys have hit a
new technical
landmark in claymation.

Low Point

The pacing. The most hectic portion of the film comes
in the middle,
not the end. I understand that claymation is hard to
pace, as each
frame has to be individually framed and shot by hand,
but they should
be able to plan better than that.

The Scores

Wallace and Gromit are an example of the classic
comedic pair with a
brilliant member and a bumbler. (Hint: the inventer
is not the
brilliant one.) This is not the most
original pair, nor does
the plot bring us anything that hasn’t been seen
before. It’s
somewhat of a let-down here after the originality of
the original
shorts
, but the
execution is so well done, that I didn’t really notice
until I sat
down and thought about it to write this review. The
originality earns
a mere 2 out of 6, but that doesn’t hurt the film as
much as one would
expect.

The animation is classic Aardman, with some
technological
leaps forward to go along with the amusing images
we’ve come to
expect. Gromit is still very emotive for a being
whose only facial
expressions come from eyes, eyebrows and ears.
Wallace, Lady
Tottington, Victor, and others are all well done, and
the action
sequences are pretty spectacular considering the
limitations of the
medium. Absolutely cracking. I give it 6 out of 6.

The story, simple and predictable as it is,
is quite well
told. The basic structure is well known enough for
some parody of the
genre, and for some rapid scene changes without
filling in the
blanks. There are moments (such as the first
appearance of the
baiting puppet) that are just hysterical. I give it 4
out of 6.

The voice acting is goofy and hammy, which is
what this film
needs. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response wasn’t quite as high
as I’d hoped.
“The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave” are both
better products,
though this was still quite enjoyable. I doubt it’ll
create a fan of
the pair on its own. There are many enjoyable
moments, but none like
the train chase. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production suffers only the pacing
problems I mentioned
above. That masterpiece of a scene had the highest
energy of the
entire film, and shouldn’t have been in the middle. I
give it 5 out
of 6.

Overall, it’s a film worth attending, and
nice family fare to
choose from. If there weren’t a dedicated animation
category, we
wouldn’t see any Oscar nominations for it, though. I
give it 4 out of
6.

In total, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the
Were-Rabbit

receives 30 out of 42.

3 replies on “Movie Review – “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit””

  1. Bunny vacuum
    I can’t remember the exact model number of the bunny vacuum (BV6000? BV100?) but I thought the rabbits floating and tumbling in it were the most impressive bit of claymation. Incredibly well done, complete with eyes looking out at fixed locations, moving appropriately, and left me with a “how did they *do* that?!” feeling…

    • Bright Eyes
      I enjoyed seeing this on the big screen, but it would make a great video movie, too. They’ve riddled it with references and gags.

      • Re: Bright Eyes

        They’ve riddled it with references and gags.

        I was really disappointed that in the two showings I went to, no one else seemed to get the Harvey reference… I was particularly amused by one friend who said he didn’t see it. You couldn’t hardly miss it with it filling the screen when the carrot sign crashes on the truck!

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