Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of Were-Rabbit

This claymation movie is delightful from start to finish, introducing some charming new characters to the series | Andrew Coffin

One could go on and on about the painstaking process of claymation that goes into producing Nick Park and Aardman Animation's Wallace & Gromit films. The animated duo, an eccentric, cheese-loving inventor and his faithful dog, are now appearing in their first feature-length adventure, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

The film took five years to make, with a crew of 250 generating only about 100 seconds of footage per week at the height of production. There were 43 versions of the Gromit model, and 35 of Wallace, the latter fitted with 12 different mouth shapes that had to be carefully removed and replaced to produce the effect of speaking.

As impressive as the behind-the-scenes details of a Wallace & Gromit production can be, it's what happens on-screen that ultimately makes the pair so winning. Their three short films are available in several DVD collections, and each features a remarkable combination of whimsy, subtle humor, innocence, and retro-technical wizardry.