Wallace & Gromit - Auf der Jagd nach dem Riesenkaninchen

Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in some of the best cartoons ever crafted. The excellent mix of visual humor and claymation makes "A Grand Day Out," "The Wrong Trousers," and also "A Close Shave" some of the best animated footage ever put on television. Winning several Oscars and also countless other awards, Nick Park became quite the popular man in the U.K., yet his impact on the United States has not been big. After the third Wallace and Gromit short, there was all this speculation about a full-length Wallace and Gromit movie, yet for years nothing had happened. Then in 2000 instead of a full-length Wallace and Gromit film, we get another brilliant claymation film from Nick Park, which was Chicken Run, which almost got nominated for best picture in the Academy Awards. Perhaps it was the success of this film that ultimately drove Park to finally work on a Wallace and Gromit project.

5 years later (these kinds of films do take long you know) and a lot of anticipation, Wallace and Gromit finally hits the big screen. Despite the rather weak trailers and marketing campaign, this movie delivers in so many ways. This film will be a delight for both kids and parents. With tons of adult humor hidden beneath the brilliant animation, Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit is one of the few films that perfectly manages to equally appeal to both kids and adults. This rather difficult technique is one that only Pixar has already perfected and DreamWorks has had a lot of trouble doing lately. Despite the DreamWorks logo slapped onto the poster, this film is mainly from the very creative staff of Aardman Animations.

Wallace and Gromit are first seen running a business that protects the townspeople's crops from being ruined by rabbits, which apparently had been running around wild and in great numbers lately. Their business has gotten them plenty of respect from the others living in the town because a gigantic vegetable contest was rapidly approaching and the crops needed protection. Complications arise when Wallace attempts to manipulate the rabbits into not liking vegetables and then a great eating machine is unleashed on the area. It is up to Wallace and Gromit to find the gigantic animal and stop it from eating away through gardens and also their approval from the townspeople. To add to that, Wallace wants to impress Lady Tottington, which also captured the attention of a snobby suitor by the name of Victor. Simple plot yes, but there is more than meets the eye, be prepared for a few fun surprises along the way, kind of like in the other Wallace and Gromit cartoons.

In animated films with little dialogue, it is the animation that has to set the pacing and the mood of the film. Despite requiring 5 years to produce only 85 minutes of footage, the payoff is fantastic. There is a massive amount of detail that requires more than one viewing to truly notice. Even more incredible than the detailed and nearly flawless animation is the truly unspeakable amount of visual humor put into the film. Whether it is a creatively placed shot or normal labels put into the funniest position possible, or it is the oh-so-adorable rabbits that is constantly shown in the film, most Curse of the Were-Rabbit's humor comes strictly from just watching the movie itself and catching all the references before it is too late. Just picture the movie Madagascar, except funnier much fewer pop culture references, and better animation.

Casting was great, even though in a film with not much dialogue, it was not that important. Peter Sallis yet again does a wonderful job as Wallace, even though in this movie there was no stand-out quote that can be used anytime (The Wrong Trousers: "It's the wrong trousers Gromit, and they've gone wrong!"). Ralph Fiennes does a superb job as the lead villain Victor and also Helena Bonham Carter (known as the crazy female lead in the cult hit "Fight Club") lends her lovely voice as she plays Wallace's love interest. Even though nothing could top the final chase in "The Wrong Trousers," Curse of the Ware-Rabbit did have plenty of action scenes, including one fantastically done chase scene between Gromit and Victor's evil dog. Last but not least, the rabbits really steal the show at some moments. Whether it is their cute expressions, their funny movements, or their howling, the rabbits in the film even take some of the glory from the main stars. The funniest rabbit in the movie is the "cursed" rabbit himself, to the very end of the movie he had the audience rolling in laughter.

Bottom Line: Despite not being as memorable as "The Wrong Trousers", this film is just as good and entertaining as Chicken Run. Unlike almost every movie to come out this year, the movie does not drag at all, clocking in at a short 85 minutes yet containing so much joy and fun, it will leave everyone watching it asking for more. There is very little wrong with the film; it was a pure delight to watch. This film is a total contrast of the decent yet vulgar, uncut, raw movies that have made a surprising amount of money earlier this year (40-Year-Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, and Sin City) and for families and those who want harmless entertainment; that is a good thing. Highly recommend, this is the top animated movie to come out this year and among the best we have seen this decade. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit: totally harmless fun from second 1 to second 5,100.

What-ho! This one is jolly good. I say jolly good, ol' chap. Or should I say "ol' bean"? My mastery of British terminology is a little dusty. Anyway, my biker boots and I walked into this screening with no prior viewing experience of Wallace and Gromit. I'm happy to say that my boots and I walked out pleased to have made their acquaintance.

While not as adult-accessible as Toy Story, W & G still manages to be clever enough to provide the grown ups with a little humor that will most definitely soar over the heads of the young 'uns who are too busy guffawing at the Were-rabbit's belches to have any clue that something is amiss. I highly suggest that you pay close attention any time you see books or words on the screen because there are quick glimpses of puns that you'll miss if you aren't paying attention. My favorite is a book of monsters that refers to the Loch Ness Monster as "tourist trappus." If you've ever been known to say, "I can really relate to Kevin Federline," or if you're just illiterate then not only will you miss out on these jokes, but you probably should be spending your time learning to read instead of going to movies. Consider this a public service announcement.

The most impressive aspect about W & G is its clay animation. Thanks to the tedious process, it took FIVE YEARS to finish the film! According to the press notes, there were some days when the optimum goal was to merely accomplish 10 seconds of completed film. Folks, I sometimes have trouble finding the motivation to finish responding to a handful of emails or adding captions to pictures for my reviews (a point that is proved by a lack of pictures in this review); so I can't even imagine having the required patience for that.

I really like the rough, hands-on quality of the claymation figures. The fact that you can see fingerprints in the clay is a nice, personal touch. How can you not be impressed with clay characters that show more expression and emotion than Paul Walker and Keanu Reeves combined? The Curse of the Were-rabbit is, as director Nick Park calls it, the world's first vegetarian horror movie that should entertain both kids and adults alike. Relying on (and as a male who prides himself in his shaggy-haired, cool-bearded masculinity I hesitate to use this word) cute and (oh man, I probably shouldn't use this word either) lovable characters rather than outdated M.C. Hammer references, W & G is proof that DreamWorks can create entertaining animation when it chooses cleverness over the cheap joke.

A very enjoyable film. You can see there's much more subtlety in the characters with regard to facial expressions. The voice actors did a great job, and there are some great gags, some of which are not for children, but are not overt in their adult-ness. Much more empathy for the characters in this film than in Chicken Run. Fortunately, the film is still wonderfully British, so has not suffered from Dreamworks' influence on the production. It is also good to see something hand-crafted on the big screen instead of the raft of CG animated films that usually lack a strength of script; that you could see fingerprints in the plasticine in no way detracted from the quality of the production.

Wallace & Gromit have been around for some time, but this was their first foray onto the silver screen. Fans of the British TV series, like myself, were eager to see them and the film did quite well in the theaters. Much of the reason is that the film is fun and quite original. In a world of CG movies like SHREK and TOY STORY, this stop-motion film is a nice alternative to the trend in children's movies as well as being totally unlike a cartoon. Plus, compared to much earlier stop-motion films (such as KING KONG and the Ray Harryhausen films such as SINBAD), the quality and movement of the characters are light years better--looking very fluid, natural and more alive.

Apart from the quality of the animation, this movie also deserves kudos on every other level. First, the voice actors do a great job. Second, the script is very simple but also very cute and enjoyable--with a few double-entendres that should probably go way over the kids' heads. Third, they manage to make this not only a movie for kids but people of all ages as the film is neither saccharine nor aimed solely at the younger crowd. In particular, I was captivated by incredibly cute the film was--and especially the adorable bunnies. I especially liked them in the closing credits--which made me very happy I stayed to watch the entire film.

The bottom line is that unless you are a real stick-in-the-mud, you will enjoy this film. It's fresh, funny and amazingly clever. I hope we see a sequel--and this is saying something, as I usually hate sequels.

I went in to watch the new Wallace & Gromit movie with a little bit of bias. Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers happens to be one of my favorite short animation pieces and although just because it's a Wallace & Gromit film, doesn't mean that I'll love it, I went in expecting to be charmed.

And I was.

The film was true Wallace & Gromit in form and fashion, this time featuring Wallace & Gromit as humane pest control operatives "Anti-Pesto." Again, featuring many cute Rube-Goldberg-type inventions, cheese, and menacing, but somewhat silly, villains, the film is full of things to adore.

There were a couple moments that threw me off, namely a couple of jokes that belong in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, but I suppose it will fly over the heads of the target youth audience. Actually, I haven't seen a General Audiences rated movie this enjoyable in a while, and minus those moments, this film is good clean fun.

Wallace & Gromit's sense of humor is less the laugh-out-loud humor but more the grin-inducing chuckle-laden charming type, with some punny moments, and it works to great effect. In particular, Gromit is perhaps the best silent character in recent film history. Without saying nary a word or making a single sound, he manages to convey a great deal of emotion and comic excellence, which is quite impressive considering that Gromit is made entirely of clay.

The plot is simple and not particularly original, but I was surprised by the inventiveness by which Nick Park and company took a few old stories and refreshed them. I really can find no solid wrong with the film minus those unexpected moments of adult humor.

Highly recommended. 8/10.