WALLACE & GROMIT: THE
CURSE OF THE WERE—RABBIT I’d guess that this movie will be the first time most Americans will
see Wallace & Gromit, but it won’t be the last.
The big question is: Will
Nick Park get his third Oscar? He’s
already got one each for “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave,” in
the best animated shorts category. This
is his first venture with this dynamic duo in a full length feature. He will certainly get a nomination, but that won’t be enough, not for
me it won’t.
Wallace is a Brit, an inventor along the lines of Rube Goldberg. Gromit is his—pardon the word—dog, for Gromit is the smarter of the
two. They’re now in the
pest-control business, the pests in question rabbits. You know, those terribly nasty vegetarians who do two things extremely
well, devour garden produce and make other rabbits. In this story, these critters are wreaking havoc on this pretty English
town and its carefully tended garden plots, and it’s only 4 days before the
Great Vegetable Competition. Believe
me, this is big, the most important time of the year, and Wallace and Gromit’s
company called Anti-Pesto is up to the task. Well, kind of. Wallace has
invented The Bun-Vac 6000 which harmlessly sucks up these little hoppers. The main problem is what to do with them.
Wallace gets the idea he’ll brainwash them so they won’t like garden
vegetables. A bit of “harmless
brain alteration,” he says. Of
course his scheme goes awry and he creates a monster, the Were-Rabbit.
Once this happens we have an amalgam of King Kong, Beauty and the Beast,
Frankenstein, the Werewolf, in a hilarious chase and adventure show that will
leave you breathless.
This is a Claymation picture, that incredibly intricate animation
process that has the look of nothing else.
The voices are tops, especially Wallace spokesman Peter Sallis. And then there’s Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter being very
British and very goofy. Wonderfully done, a film for all ages. Rated R for great. 
a commentary by Tony McRae