By: Dominic La-Viola
For this week’s film club, I had the opportunity to see “Wallace & Gromit: Cursed Of The Were-Rabbit” the 2005 Oscar winning film for best animated feature. Beating out “Howl’s Moving Castle” which, when the presenter said that. I knew I was in for a treat, for how astonishing “Howl’s Moving Castle” is. Although, they are two completely different types of films.
One of the reasons I was excited for this film, was the claymation, for I haven’t seen many films in claymation, and I honestly couldn’t tell you the last movie I’ve seen that was created that way . I can’t say for certain, but I feel Iike claymation is something that adds to the already complexity of creating an entire animated film.
To which Wallace & Gromit makes it look effortless. For the expressions, paired with the dialog and the voice over play out so pitch perfect. It made me believe, or would have made me believe that it was the easier of the styles of animation. Although, I know that it took them over 4 years to make the 89 minute movie. For they worked all day to be able to get 3 seconds of footage.
A fact isn’t needed to be known to see how much craft and care was put into this film. Using the lack of emotional expression that one can get using claymation. But using other methods to effectively express emotion is part of where the brilliance lies in this film.
Starting with the script. Which is just flat out, funny, witty and spot on the entire time. At no time does the jokes feel incompetent or dull to accommodate the kids, whom are the target audience for the film .
The jokes, acts and actions are both humorous, and solid. Making them entertaining to the kids, while adults can enjoy it too. As a parent, I would without question let my 2 year old watch the movie and I feel like he would enjoy it and the jokes just much as I did. For they’re not complex or sophisticated, while retaining from being mind numbing.
Although there are moments in the film, that has jokes that are geared towards adults, the parents who are dragged to the movie by their kids to see the movie. Giving them something to laugh at too, yet done just right, so it will go over the kids heads and they won’t pick up on them. Something that I feel a lot of 90’s and early 2000’s “kids” movies did, that we no longer see.
Especially the movie references from classic films such as “King Kong” and “Scarface”, yes there is even a “Scarface” reference in the movie. One that you will easily miss if you’re not paying attention and you’re kids will never know, unless they’ve seen “Scarface” and really paid attention and didn’t just watch the action scenes on YouTube.
The actors voicing Wallace and Gromit are fantastic and to think that the studio tried to replace them with actors that American Audience’s would know. Although I would argue, what difference that makes for an animated movie where the kids are the target audience. What kid is going to see a movie based on who is voicing the characters? Not really a marketing tool, in my option, that is.
Overall, I think this was just a fantastic film. One In which the whole family can enjoy, for the characters are kid friendly without being overly animated in the sense of cheesy and irritating. The jokes land, the dialogue is witty and the claymation esthetic really adds to the charm of the film.
Overall Rating 4/5 Stars.
Four Time Film School Dropout 
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