Wallace et Gromit : Rasé de près

Wallace and Gromit has proved that over the years, they can still entertain. This episode is not quite as funny as Wrong Trousers, but there was never a dull moment. I loved the love subplot with Wendolene and Wallace, and it never distracted from the story, otherwise it would have gone downhill. Shaun the Sheep is so cute as himself, and Gromit proves his facial expressions are still funny. I loved Wendolene and Preston, but my favourite in this episode were the sheep. That scene with the motorcycle pursuing the van, and the sheep on the ladder, was priceless. Another funny scene was the jailbreak, when Wallace slips on the soap, and the sheep come crashing down on him. There is a touch of heartbreak here also, as you feel so sorry for Gromit. In conclusion, a brilliant short and a must see! 10/10 Bethany Cox

A lone sheep, later named Shaun, escapes from a sheep rustling plot and hides in the home of eccentric inventor Wallace and his long-suffering dog/best pal Gromit. A silent but deadly canine down at the wool shop appears to be the mastermind behind the plot and frames Gromit for the rustling scam. With a little help from Shaun, Wallace must rescue Gromit and catch the real crooks.

There are more laughs and jokes in this half-hour short than most feature-length comedies manage in their entire running time. Nearly every frame has some kind of wit or imagination. The world of Wallace and Gromit, much like the stop-motion world of Postman Pat, is an incongruous mix of post-war Northern countryside crossed with sci-fi and a touch of horror. The horror themes would be explored in greater depth with Curse of the Were-Rabbit but it's handled with more care and sly invention here than in most slasher sequels.

A fun time. Catch it on its inevitable Xmas Day screening.

This is the third Wallace & Gromit short. As you'd expect, the quality of the character design is greatly improved from the first Wallace & Gromit short. Instead of the claymation, soft plastic figures that are poseable are used instead. Additionally, the sets are much more complex and detailed. Now this isn't to say that the stuff in the earlier films is bad--far from it. It's just that with each successive project, the artistry improves.

The only complaint I have about this delightful film, and it's a minor one, is that by this third short, the story has become a lot more fanciful and action-packed. In this film, less time is spent being laid-back and gentle (as well as very English) and Gromit even gets to fight against a cyborg dog! But, in spite of this, the film still works very well. Additionally, if you watch this film and the later full-length movie, WALLACE & GROMIT AND THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, you'll see that there are some similarities in the stories. The dog is pretty similar as is his owner to the lady in the full-length film. Again, these really aren't complaints as much as observations.

Overall, a wonderful short film and one you can't help but love. It's wonderful and I can certainly understand why it, too, won an Oscar for Best Animated Short (like its predecessor).

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

The resurgence in popularity of the plasticine two-some has caused me to also seek out this 1995 entry into the series, the last short film and the only other one I've seen (I don't think I got round to A Grand Day Out.)

This time, dodderingly traditional Yorkshire-man Wallace and his faithful manservant Gromit have come up with a spot of bother in the shape of a mysterious pest that's leaving holes in everything in the house, especially the cheese! Wallace won't be having this and vows to investigate! But, first things first, him and Gromit have to run their new window-cleaning service, and their latest customer is Wendolene, who runs a wool shop left to her by her departed father. But, aside from providing a tricky love interest for Wallace, she also has a brutish looking pet dog. And, after a series of local sheep are killed for their fur, the finger of suspicion points somewhere.

Technically, this is as fine as TWT and it's very funny in parts, but the plot here just feels a bit disjointed and over-whelming compared to the smoother flow of the plot to TWT. But it's still a far-cry from bad, as such impressive model craftsmanship would be, with Park's twisted blur between the laws of man and animal as high as ever, as Gromit is dealt with not by the RSPCA after being wrongfully convicted of sheep-murder, but the police and jail! ****

Wallace and Gromit are working as window cleaners when Wallace meets Wendolene – the owner of the local wool store and falls in love. Gromit stumbles across a plot to kidnap sheep to make them into food but is framed for a sheep murder before he can do anything. Can Wallace get Gromit out of jail in time to foil the sheep rustlers?

By this stage Christmas on the BBC was basically better known as the time when we get the new W&G film rather than for the birth of the son of God. This film was THE focus for Christmas day – ITV did everything but stop broadcasting at the same time as this was on – who would want to compete with this?! Happily it doesn't disappoint. The plot is silly but incredibly well thought out and very imaginative.

The comedy is as bright and breezy as ever – getting to kids without resorting to lazy clowning or stupid sight gags and also reaching adults without lacing the film with innuendo or hidden smut. Instead it is just a clever mix of wit and humour that really hits the mark. On Christmas Day it's easy to sit and doze through anything but this made me sit up and pay attention

The characters are as good as ever. As always Wallace is solid and wonderfully eccentric while Gromit is the real brains behind everything working. Gromit is my favourite character but here he is upstaged by the oh-so-cute Shaun the sheep (on his way to a merchandising boom!). Shaun is more for kids but Gromit still steals many scenes. Wendolene (gettit?) is not so good and the scenes with Wallace and her don't work as well as the rest.

Overall this is very funny despite just falling short of the mark set by `The Wrong Trousers'. Word is Park is currently writing a W&G movie – I can't wait!!!!