#3 Best of Family Films for 2005.
3There have been many memorable comedic pairs in the history of film: Abott & Costello, Bob Hope & Bing Crosby, Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin, Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon, Mel Gibson & Danny Glover, Nathan Lane & Mathew Broderick, etc.
In 2005, creator Nick Park brought his famously beloved comedic duo, Wallace and Gromit, to the big screen in the delightful mystery caper The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Now, if you are not familiar with Wallace & Gromit, they have been around since their debut in the short film A Grand Day Out With Wallace and Gromit (1989). Since then, they have appeared in The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995). So it only seems natural that their experiences of trial and error progress to the feature length variety.
In my introduction to my selections of the Best Family Films, I mentioned that American films lacked originality and creativity. Here is a film that exceeds at both, and delightfully so. Curse of the Were-Rabbit finds our uncharacteristic inventor and his lovable human-like dog running a humane anti-pest company. (Pest as in rabbits who have been eating up all of the towns vegetables.) After capturing all of the rabbits at Lady Tottington’s estate, Wallace & Gromit quickly discover that their in-house holding cells for the rabbits simply can’t hold the rabbits anymore. So Wallace divines a plan to try to brainwash the rabbits into despising vegetables. The plan works. But soon after, a monstrous beast paralyzes the town and their vegetables. And Wallace & Gromit are called upon to save everything: the town, their vegetables, and the great vegetable competition.
With the talented voices of Ralph Fiennes (Victor Quartermaine) and Helena Bonham Carter (Lady Tottington), buoying up Peter Sallis (Wallace), the narration is a joy–it is taut and the timing is perfect for comedic effect.
In regards to the claymation, Curse of the Were-Rabbit uses the lengthy stop motion animation, which is the cinematic process of bringing pose-able figures to life on screen by breaking up each figure's motion into increments and filming one frame of film per increment. The seamlessness of all of the action in Were-Rabbit makes you realize the magnitude of mastery involved in its creation and the incredible artistic achievement it truly is.
If Were-Rabbit should win the Best Animated Film award this Sunday at the Oscars, which they are favored to, by the way, Nick Park & Co. would not be breaking with tradition. They have already won the Best Picture BAFTA, beating out the much favored The Constant Gardner. And all of their short films have captured the Best Short Film (Animation) awards at the Oscars and BAFTA, except A Grand Day Out, which was nominated but did not win the Oscar.
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