Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit [no open spoilers]

Cafe Society
41

[nitpick]Only 2 of the previous W&G shorts won Oscars. The first one, A Grand Day Out lost to another Nick Park/Aardman short: Creature Comforts

I have to say I was disappointed, and I think this is rooted in one simple fact: I really don’t like Wallace. I don’t find him funny or charming, and his particular plight in this film left me completely cold.

The Wrong Trousers is one of the most brilliant animated shorts ever crafted, but it is largely Wallace-free (he’s asleep during one of the major setpieces), with the film emphasizing Gromit. His devotion to Wallace is touching, but the less I see of his master, the better.

Also, there were too many things about this film that reminded me of previous W&G bits, but just not as good. The final chase in Trousers is much better, the plane material in A Close Shave is better, too (and Gromit has an even more formidable canine nemesis there). I even like that the “bad guy” in Trousers, like Gromit, doesn’t speak, leaving the storytelling to visual devices. Ralph Fiennes is humorous as the bad guy, but nothing special.

Also, the transformations of Wallace and Hutch ended up striking me as creepy and disturbing without even being funny or scary. Repeatedly, I either stayed watchful for the subtle jokes and gags (which struck me as a bit too-clever and operated in a vacuum since I didn’t care about the story) or payed attention to the craftsmanship of the model detailing, all because I really didn’t care what was happening onscreen (though the rabbits are terrific and Gromit never fails to appeal). And the music score’s good.

Although Corpse Bride also had moments that reminded me of previous Burton efforts (Nightmare, Beetlejuice), I still found the visual design better, the humor less intrusive, the story (though not particularly deep or complex) more touching, the music superior, and the whole thing more memorable. Simple, economical, but effective. Helena Bonham-Carter is better, too.

Needless to say, I think the Animated Feature Oscar is between these two. I hope Burton wins, because I’d hate to see Park (who has 3 already) win for what I see as a disappointment (regardless of how ambitious it is).

42

I knew that. I always refer to them as “The Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit shorts,” since it sounds nicer than “The Oscar-nominated Wallace & Gromit shorts” (which is technically true), and is easier to say/type than “The Oscar-nominated short A Grand Day Out and the Oscar-winning shorts The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave” (also technically true).

43

The red lips on Lady Tottington and Victor Quartermaine were repulsively distracting.

44

Some of the cheeky jokes wouldn’t have been funny if someone else did them, but they were funny to me here. Not sure why.

I’d forgotten how a-friggin-dorable Gromit is. Must resist urge … to hug 5 inch claymation character … (He’s a dog that knits! He’s a knitting dog! )

45

Enjoyed it thoroughly.

Noticed:

Shop name: “RARE - BIT” (Welsh rarebit/rabbit)

Licence plate of car: HOP2IT

Small sticker on rear window of car: “Eat Cheese Now! / Ask Me How!”

46

Just to nit-pick, the infant in the manger in that window had his mouth mouth wide open as if screaming. I thought the saints were responding to the crying baby.

47

I enjoyed the film for all the reasons mentioned above. I also just love the fact that you can often see the fingerprints of the artists on the figures. There’s something personal and almost (dare I say it?) anti-Disney about it. My biggest disappointment was that I was hoping they’d show some fake out-takes during the credits. Yeah, it would have looked like they were copying Pixar, but I’m sure they could have done some really funny ones.

FYI, all W&G fans, there’s talk of a W&G short in IMAX 3D. Aardman did a very brief IMAX 3D test a couple of years ago (I’ve seen it), and I recently talked to a British IMAX producer who said he’s trying to find the money for it. But don’t hold your breath. It would be very expensive, and hard to justify in terms of the number of theaters that could show it.

48

I totally loved this movie. Anything that has me laughing out loud in a theatre gets thumbs up from me.

49

There was an interview on NPR with the owner of the company that makes Stinking Bishop cheese. Yup, it’s real, but the company is tiny – about five employees – and they have been overwhelmed by orders for it since the movie came out in G.B. He hadn’t a clue it was going to be featured in the movie – presumably Parks liked the name – so it was a complete surprise for him. He had a sense of humor about it, if slightly bewildered. From his description, it’s rather like a brie, with a crusty exterior and a soft interior but, like it’s name implies, pretty smelly. He didn’t say where the ‘Bishop’ came from.

DD

50

Wallace has a thing for cheese- Wensleydale became a big success in England after it was mentioned in one of the shorts (the name was chosen for its sound and the way his mouth moves when he says it, apparently). Actually saved the fromagery from bankruptcy. (I know “fromagery” isn’t a word, but it sounds nicer than “cheese making place.”)

51

Actually, unlike Stinking Bishop, Wensleydale is just a generic name for a type of cheese (rather like Cheddar) . It is made in several “fromageries” and was always quite popular in the UK. So I don’t think the story of the film saving a particular company from bankruptcy can be true.

52

Like many other cheeses, Wensleydale is named for where it originated. Wensleydale cheese production in Hawes, the place of origin, was diminishing until the mention in Wallace and Gromit. Wensleydale Creamery offers official Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale cheese.

53

The “stinking bishop” comes from the solution the cheese is made with, which is a kind of fermented pear juice. The pears are called “sinking bishop” pears.

http://www.teddingtoncheese.co.uk/acatalog/de339.htm

54

I heard that interview, too. Bishop was apparently a no-good thug (although not a clergyman) in the mid-1800s, IIRC, and the cheese was named after him.

55

The link I provide above has a different story. Random googling confirms that stinking bishop is the name of the pear that produces the “perry wash” that is used to produce the cheese.

56

Yes!! I had forgotten that moment–so cute!!

I had been waiting for this since I heard about it in the early spring, esp. since it opened on my birthday. I have to say I didn’t realize in the shorts how unobservant Wallace was. I used to think of W & G as a team but it looks like G is the real player. I’ll have to revisit the shorts (which I got for my birthday, along with a W & G 2006 wall calendar…must buy action figures) and analyze this. I love W anyway though, just for all his teeth fitting in his mouth and fingers fitting on his hands.

I also was unclear until reviewing it with my fellow viewers as to how Wallace escaped the curse. I guess dying for a moment was supposed to have done it??

57

Look at the book of monsters – the first page is the Loch Ness Monster, and underneath it in the parentheses, the scientific name: (touristus trappius) or something along those lines. The other monsters have similarly funny scientific names.

58

Yes, Wallace is quite dense in the shorts. In Grand Day Out he doesn’t notice the dishwasher is animated and almost gets conked on the head by it. In Trousers he doesn’t realize Feathers McGraw is up to something, he doesn’t realize he (Wallace) is alienating Gromit by being friendly with Feathers, and he doesn’t recognize Feathers in his disguise. Similarly in Shave he doesn’t realize Gwendolyn is hiding something from him, or that Gromit has been framed.

59

In fairness, Grommit doesn’t recognize him, either. Apparently, a rubber glove on a penguin is like eyeglasses on Superman.

60

One of my favorite scenes in the whole series is when Feathers removes his “disguise” and Wallace is stunned. “It’s YOU!” Good stuff.

I quite like Wallace. I usually don’t like it when humor comes from people acting dumb, but Wallace has an innocence about him that makes him likable. Sort of like Bertie Wooster.