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My family and I knew all about Wallace, the inventor, and his faithful, snoopy-like dog, Gromit. We’ve had the short films on video for years; they get pulled out and played on a regular basis. So we were excited to see the duo in their first feature-length outing.
For the uninitiated: these are characters made of clay and brought to life with stop-motion animation. Wallace is a well-meaning bumbler who invents things one after the other, and Gromit is there to help when everything goes wrong. (Gromit, whose skills include knitting, can also drive a car and fly an airplane—and he’s quite handy with tools. He doesn’t talk, except by means of subtle facial expressions.)
The story begins as the two try to control the rabbit population in their small English town, so the residents’ prize vegetables will survive to be judged at the Annual Vegetable Fair. Wallace and Gromit capture the bunnies by means of a powerful vacuum and take them to a pampered existence in Wallace’s basement.
The trouble starts when Wallace decides to try to brainwash the furry critters into leaving the veggies alone.
Complicating his plans is the evil Lord Victor Quartermaine, who is vying with Wallace for the hand of the toothy yet fair Lady Tottington.
We were not disappointed. The humor, craftsmanship, and storytelling are as good as ever. The laughs are mostly near the end of this just-the-right-length movie. And even the adults sitting behind us enjoyed the various sight gags, such as a jar of Middle Age Spread on the breakfast table. The movie is rated G, but it can take the alert viewer to a racier but still tame level, sort of like the old Bullwinkle cartoons.
