Saturday, October 29, 2005

Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit


I can't say I've been a big fan of Wallace and Gromit, not because I don't like cheese (unless it's on a pizza), but just because the humour didn't really make me laugh all that much. I have seen the film with the penguin and thought that was alright.

I decided to go and see the new film because it had received good reviews, so I thought it worth giving Aardman another go in case I had been harsh initially.

The film stars 2 piles of clay as a bampot inventor and his dog partner, although the relationship between them is purely platonic (or should that be plasticeneonic). A local vegetable growing competition is looming and the two provide a security service, protecting the veg from marauding rabbits.

However, after a failed experiment, a were-rabbit is produced that escapes into the neighbourhood which leaves Wallace and Gromit with the unwanted task of catching the rabbit or facing the wrath of the town.

I wasn't blown away by the film and it left much the same impression on me as the last film. You can't fault the animation but I'm much more a fan of CGI than modelling clay; I guess that's because I was always better at IT than art when at school, a trait that continues to this day.

The one thing I do like though is the emotion, or lack of it, that can be put into the models, especially around the eyes. Hutch, the bad rabbit in particular looks decidedly sinister. There are some nice nods to other TV shows such as Thunderbirds too, although the Six-Million Dollar Man sound effect used in the movie's trailer didn't find it's way to the final cut. I guess they never got clearance on the du-du-du-du-du-du sound.

Apparently it takes a day to film four 4 seconds of footage. Do I feel a bit bad for putting together a bad review in 5 minutes? No.

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