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Wallace, right, wouldn't know what to do without his faithful dog, Gromit, by his side in the clay-animated comedy "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."Review
'Wallace & Gromit' is witty and edgy
Claymation artistry proves there's no need for high-tech animation to hook an audience.
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A splendid explosion of imagination that should capture the minds and laugh glands of everyone within eyeshot, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is everything fans of the offbeat British animated duo could have hoped for in a feature film and should certainly be more than enough to win over newcomers.
Forget the somewhat perplexing and dull previews and commercials you may have seen; this is a movie that has to be experienced in its entirety, a claymation wonderland from the folks who made "Chicken Run" that doesn't merely rely on its good looks or novelty. Filled with wit, edginess and a very British animal rights agenda that's played right out front, this movie will be a kick for young and old alike. Rabbits will likely enjoy it quite a bit as well.
For the uninitiated, Wallace is an inventor of gadgetry in a small English town; Gromit is his faithful dog. Except that the mute Gromit (and where the heck did the name Gromit come from, anyway?) is the actual brains of the outfit, while Wallace is a bit too preoccupied with... cheese. Blue, gorgonzola, Monterey Jack, Vermont cheddar, Wallace loves it all.
As the film opens our heroes have been hired by all the local folks to provide security for their vegetable gardens, as the local vegetable growing contest is coming up and patches of melons, carrots, pumpkins and whatever are under the threat of rabbit invasion. Wallace has concocted a truck and vacuum that sucks rabbits up in a humane way, rather than killing them. He then brings his captives home to his basement, where he's housing them until the veggie season is over.
Ah, but Wallace, unfortunately, keeps tinkering where nature never intended, and an experiment gone wrong soon yields a Were-Rabbit, a giant bunny who escapes and attacks the prized gardens when the moon is high. So off the duo must go to make up for science's mistakes (all digs at genetic engineering and the like are fully intentional). They must capture and conquer the Were-Rabbit.
To take the plot past here would be downright criminal, but it is worth mentioning that Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) develops a serious affection for one Lady Campanula Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), which brings him to feel most disagreeable toward her suitor, the hunting-obsessed Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes). Carter must be crowned this year's queen of claymation voices since she's also doing the title character in "Corpse Bride," a claymation movie that pales alongside this.
If the premise is wonderfully silly, the pursuit of its end is a dazzling parade of invention and inspiration. Creator-director Nick Park (he co-helms with Steve Box) never dwells on the sentimental and he sticks to being completely, yet translatably, British at all times. And Gromit is beyond a doubt one of the greatest mute characters since Harpo Marx.
Which is heady company, but "Wallace & Gromit" is heady stuff. It also serves as a frank reminder that all animated brilliance does not have to be computer-driven. Take the kids, take a friend, take a bit of cheese and some veggies, but see this movie.
You can reach Tom Long at (313) 222-8879 or tlong@detnews.com.
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