Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

 

A perfect example on how to do a stop-motion animated film, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” succeeds in every way possible. It has an interesting story, it's tremendously funny, the cast does an excellent job at lending their voices to this animated film, and this movie brings together a lot of genres into one whole production. This film is wonderful and full of great entertainment. Whenever an animated movie comes along, it tries to break the barriers on how to define a cartoon; this movie proves that point beyond all expectations. We have two of the most recognized characters in animation history making their feature film debut, and they triumph boldly. “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” is an ambitious project that brings two popular clay figures to the big screen.


The plot is that England is holding its annual Giant Vegetable Competition and unfortunately there's a rabbit infestation in the area that's causing a real problem. Enter Anti-Pesto, an organization that is run by Wallace (voiced to perfection by Peter Salis) and his trustful canine companion Gromit (who remains silent throughout the entire production), that takes care of the vermin in a peaceful, safe, and humane way. These motives catch the attention of Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), who hires Anti-Pesto after a plague of rabbits has invaded her yard. Meanwhile, Lady Tottington's boyfriend Victor Quartermaine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes) tries to get rid of the rabbits by killing them. Once Wallace comes in and takes care of the rabbits, Lady Tottington begins to take a liking towards him, despite Victor's aggression. He is sagacious towards Wallace, which ultimately leads to his downfall. After Victor leaves, Lady Tottington suggests to Wallace if the rabbits had an instinct where they would not eat the vegetables. He then comes up with an idea: brainwash the rabbits to not liking the vegetables. Wallace gets to work on this during a full moon night, but it backfires on him and the nights leading up to the competition have all the vegetables being eaten by an unknown source.


“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” blends together comedy and mystery in a way that's both funny and keeps you guessing at the same time.


That's not saying much for the technical aspects of the film.


The voice acting is perfect, and the actors fit their roles very well. Every performance blends the right amount of direction and comedy needed to hold this movie together.


But it's the animation that steals the show here. It's so detailed and modeled to the greatest extent, you feel like you are watching a cartoon. There are some instances in the film where you can't tell what's clay and what's CG. For example, there's a moment near the end of the movie that has Gromit in an airplane (done in clay), while a bullet (done in CG) is moving at the same time. It's really amazing to look at and the whole film is such a technical masterpiece that you wonder how it got done. The sets are great, making the environment seem real, and the music fits very well into the film bringing a lot of action to the movie. Everything about this film is perfect and it's a brilliant piece of art.


The music is joyous, grand, and magnificent, that only Hans Zimmer could produce.


At a run time of only an hour and 25 minutes, the film is quite engaging, and there never is a dull moment of boredom. Plus, the editing makes perfect use of the scenes that make the movie all the more engaging.


The only downside to all of this is that it can be somewhat predictable, and one can easily find out what is going to happen next, but aside from that, everything else is pitch perfect.


Overall, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a perfect animated movie that will entertain everybody. The animation is great and it is definitely worth seeing two great clay figures in a movie for the first time. In an age where everything is done in CG, there is hope that we have a movie with Wallace and Gromit.

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