Wallace & Gromit: Un asunto de pan o muerte

Having gone all Hollywood on us it was a surprise to see Wallace and Gromit back on the small screen with this 30 minute short (which sounds harsh considering the years that goes into making them) for Christmas 2008.

It's great fun from start to finish. Loads of lovely verbal jokes, as well as the classic Aardman style of visual jokes you only see on second viewing.

Peter Sallis is as ever the perfect voice for Wallace, and is much missed.

The bar is set pretty high where Wallace and Gromit are concerned, and while I don't think this short is up there with 'A Close Shave' or 'The Wrong Trousers' it's certain good fun.

Under rated, I feel, by a sizable amount. Yes it was a bit different to the more innocently silly Wrong Trousers but it was both a post-Wererabbit feature and a clear spoof of Murder mysteries. I loved the cartoony menace rumbling away as the plot thickens. Brilliant references, a great (cartoon) murder thriller atmosphere and the usual fantastic animations and characters. I found it the most gripping and compelling of all W&Gs. There's just enough silliness and action in it for W&G purists while IMO giving a much better, more involving story and a far slicker narrative. I thought it was pretty near to perfection and am surprised so many seem not to be as impressed.

It is a bit different, definitely darker than the early ones but this came after the darkish Wererabbit movie, so this progression is to be expected. Yes it's not as charming and may be on the dark side for young kids, but you have the early ones for eccentric charm. This is post-Wererabbit and is an excellent little murder thriller.

Nick Park's favourite creations Wallace and Grommit are back for another short feature, and 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' will appeal to all who loved the earlier stories. Perhaps the duo's latest outing lacks some of the freshness of their original appearances; but the detail of Park's gentle parodies of a certain vision of Englishness is as loving and humorous as ever, and the claymation approach saves the film from the curse of excess speed that mars much computer-generated animation. In some ways, the Wallace and Grommit films feel as if they belong to the world they depict, rather than our own, coarser one; long may they continue!

Wallace and Gromit have a new business venture and it is going down a storm. Having carried out some renovation on their house, they are now an operating bakery who deliver bread to your door. Of course, paranoid Gromit is concerned about the recent murders of twelve bakers in the town but it barely registers to Wallace. Pat of the reason for this is that he has a new focal point in his life as the Piella, the former Bake O Light bread girl is in town and seems just as enamoured by Wallace as he is by her. The romance begins while Gromit smells a rat.

The Wallace & Gromit films are mostly famous for the couple of big Christmas episodes they did that made them famous across the world and I was fine with the BBC holding this special back till Christmas Day because it did seem like their natural home. This film has a plot structure similar to A Close Shave in that the twosome are running a business which has some sinister activity by others associated with it. The fact that it happens to be murder in this case is perhaps a little dark for Christmas Day but it didn't matter because it does not stop it being fun. The plot goes where you expect and I really enjoyed it even though I didn't particularly like Piella or Fluffles as characters – but for me it will be a while before I enjoy any character as much as I did Feathers McGraw. The plot allows for plenty of movie references, some of which you need to "get" to find it funny but mostly you don't. Aliens and Batman are the obvious two but there are others.

The comedy also works in the detail, whether it be the inventive intricacies of the many devices that make up the house or the expressions on the faces of the characters. Yet again Gromit comes out as my favourite character and yet again I am amazed how they manage to get such expression onto his face. Sallis brings harmless charm to Wallace and it is hard to imagine that anyone could ever have done it as well as him. Lindsay is OK but I didn't like her character myself. If the film does have specific weaknesses the they are in two areas, both of which can be seen when you compare this to the mastery of The Wrong Trousers. Firstly, the pace is a bit too quick. I know it is 30 minutes but there did seem to be little in the way of build before it was into the meat and then over. The second weakness is that the closing set piece, while being a good Aliens reference, is not in the same league as the end of The Wrong Trousers or even A Close Shave. It is a shame but it doesn't have the thrill or creativity of that.

That said, it is still a very good piece of entertainment and it does feel right to have them as part of Christmas Day again. English charm, almost no jokes that would offend, inventive writing and animation and a solid plot – perhaps not as good as they have been but it is really hard to complain because it still delivers.

Not as funny as the other Wallace and Gromit shorts, and certainly not as charming. Many of the jokes were spoofing well known films and would probably only be found funny by people that have seen them. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable enough and the animation, as always with Wallace and Gromit and with Aardman was top-notch which is great considering the fact that A Matter of Loaf and Death had the shortest production time for any Wallace and Gromit short so far.

It'll please the kids, that's for sure. The adult-pleasing jokes felt sparse but hit the mark. The story lacked the usual quirky charm of Wallace and Gromit but it still pretty much worked. I enjoyed the film but overall felt it lacked elements that made the previous ones so brilliant, so for me it's a 7/10.