Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit

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As much as I may adore computer-animated cinema there is just something wonderfully charming about traditional stop-motion films. The first film I ever made was stop-motion, helped in large part by a friend´s video camera that featured a one-second advance. The film, a flagrant rip-off of James Bond and Mr. Bill, wasn´t very good. The good news is that I´m not the only person ever to be inspired by stop-motion movies and there are some people who are very, very good at it. Case-in-point: Nick Park.

Park created the characters Wallace and Gromit for the BBC in the late-1980s and the pair have had a host of wonderful adventures since their first grand day out. Wallace is a bald, middle-aged cheese addict who lives a quaint life in a small English town. He is kept company by his best friend and protector, Gromit. Though Gromit may be a mere mutt his quick thinking routinely saves Wallace´s bacon. Gromit occasionally breaks the fourth wall with a quick glance to the audience, seeming to say, "Seriously?" The three previous adventures were short—under a half-hour—and were carefully hand-crafted. They may have been rough around the edges but each piece was crafted for maximum laughs.

Fortunately much of the love that went into the creation of the shorts is found in the feature-length film "Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit." The story is a standard monster-tale that finds our protagonists charged with protecting a small town and its crops from a menacing threat—the titular Were-Rabbit. The twists and turns of the story are quite obvious upon reflection but the presentation strung me along and laid out enough red herrings so I was completely bamboozled.

The conflict in the film comes from a gun-happy hunter who wants to take care of the problem plaguing the town—and Wallace, who is hurting his chances with the city´s rich, single governess Lady Toddington (Helena Bonham Carter). Wallace´s pest control service is humane and in distinct counterpoint to the violent methods advocated by Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes). Fiennes does a decent job in his special-guest staring role but, like Bonham Carter, is unidentifiable. They both sell out for their characters and I had to double-check that they were, in fact, doing the voices they were attributed to. For that matter most of the voice acting in the film is good. Peter Sallis reprises his role as Wallace and does a smashing job.

Visually "Wallace and Gromit" is a treat. The budget obviously went into developing massive sets that are put to amazing effect. The depth of field is incredible and nothing feels confined to a "set," as it were. The push-pull zooms that are done make me wonder just how big the world of "W&G" is.

About the only thing that bothered me about the movie was its treatment of religion. The people of the town flock to the crazed reverend who spews off reactionary garbage that isn´t based in any theology and paints those who would find strength in a church as morons. To be fair the movie also mocks the science of behavior modification—leading the viewer to conclude that the only course of action is none—but it was all done so broadly that I felt insulted and not entertained.

I found enough "adult humor" in "W&G" to recommend it for fans of the series and the physical humor will keep the kids entertained. It´s not high art but instead a solidly-crafted couple hours of fun for the entire family.

Video:
The 1.85:1 aspect ratio looks marvelous. Every detail that is crafted into the film lushly visible on the print—right down to the occasional fingerprint on a figure. I can´t honestly put into words how excellent this transfer is.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is stellar. The music tracks sounds exquisite with a great dynamic range. The sound effects, like munching rabbits and screeching cars come cleanly from every speaker. The dialogue sounds similarly bright and clean.

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