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Plastic(ene) fantastic

woolly

22:55 / 28.09.05

Right. Just saw my favourite hard-done-by dog on television, preparing for his big screen adventure. Will Nick Park surpass himself? I'm liking the look of the were-rabbit especially. Like I might want one -- although might be unruly.

So, is anyone else pleased about their return? Or am I being like a child?

Lord Morgue

04:26 / 29.09.05

It makes me crave toast.
Other good stop-mo? Well, The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb was quite good.
I used to grok The Red and The Blue when I was a littly.
Ooh, and the Trapdoor!
I guess I really should check out Knox's claymations over at Newgrounds, his Matrix parodies are the best around.

All Acting Regiment

09:22 / 29.09.05

This should be amazing. All the Wallace & Gromit stuff is just purely human. Anyone, any age can watch it.

Aaardman did a sample video which you might be able to get on DVD. It features the first generation of Creature Comforts, but also some of the more surreal leftfield stuff they made: the duck and the minotaur, that short about war with no dialogue, that bizarre and terrifying one with the cityscape, disjointed music and plasticine figures ripping eachother apart and recombining. All brilliant.

Nick Park's also a seriously laid back, friendly and intelligent bloke. If you ever get a chance to meet him, take it.

■

09:30 / 29.09.05

There were snippets of it on BBC3's animation season which looked promising. One thing that might count against it is that I read it's the first W&G in which the animation is mainly not done by Park himself.

haus of fraser

10:46 / 29.09.05

I've got a preview ticket for a screening on Tuesday... but i don't think i can go!

Darn it! it looks good though...

trailers are here

Mistoffelees

21:24 / 10.10.05

Oh no...

Fire hits Wallace and Gromit sets

Props and sets from the Wallace and Gromit films have been destroyed in a warehouse blaze.

The storage building belonging to Oscar-winning Aardman Animations, contained the company's "entire history", a spokesman said.

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park said it was "dreadful" for the company but comparatively "not a big deal".

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the new Wallace and Gromit film, has just gone to the top of the US box office chart.

Company Spokesman Arthur Sheriff said: "It couldn't have come on a worse day - we were supposed to be celebrating, but instead our history has disappeared in a couple of hours.

"Everything has gone, from as far back as Morph and all the way through to Chicken Run, including Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts, it's all there. Everyone is devastated."

Triplets

21:31 / 10.10.05

Yeah, I saw Park giving a brief blurb on the news. He was just like "thanks, but there's worse stuff in the world, innit (maybe you guys should go report on that?)"

Mike Modular

22:54 / 10.10.05

It is sad, but Park is right, I mean [Day Today]no-one died[/Day Today]...

However, having seen the film yesterday and thinking about just how much time and effort and talent went into making it (and the sets and props and so on), I think I'd be justifiably upset if that was my work up in flames.

The movie's right good, by the way. Completely enjoyable for any ages, lots of good sight gags and references, properly exciting chases, cute bunnies and... cheese! And very British (in a good way). I still smile when I think about Peter Sallis getting top billing in a major international film release (above Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes).

I know it's not quite officially out yet, but did no-one else see one of the many previews?

Sax

11:40 / 11.10.05

It was Morph what done it. Yesterday's Plasticine hero and all that.

Tryphena Absent

13:22 / 11.10.05

Apparently Wallace and Gromit survived the fire because they were kept in a metal box. Why them? Why not the nice chickens or a tortoise but no, it had to be the gruesome twosome. The front page of The Sun teaches me to hate once again.

grant

17:56 / 11.10.05

I heard the cops were indiscriminately rounding up penguins, and anyone else who happened to look like a black-and-white flightless waterfowl.

Sax

07:21 / 12.10.05

I believe Keira Knightley has also been interviewed and released on police bail. She has the motive - bounty hunter flick about to be trashed at UK box office on opening weekend by two bits of modelling clay - but also an iron-clad alibi, apparently.

Olulabelle

19:11 / 12.10.05

Comedically, the Sun newspaper had a double page spead about the fire which pictured lots of different Aardman characters labelled as 'DEAD' and then a picture of the penguin, entitled 'PRIME SUSPECT.'

Regarding the new film itself, we went on Saturday with preview tickets. It's wonderful, Lady Tottington is absolutely superb, especially her many costume changes.

I saw on Film 2005 that a couple of scenes were done in CGI, but I would never have known. Nick Park explained they used CGI to achieve an effect which, when tried by hand 'nearly killed' one of their animators, and actually, the bit in question is one of the best bits of the film.

Mostly I was pleased that it's still very British in its humour despite the Dreamworks involvement.

quixote

01:39 / 22.10.05

The best movie in the world right now. The best since years, and probably for years to come.

I loved the business of needing change for the ride, and the purse the change came out of. Hahahahahaheeheeheeheehohohohoho. That was only one of thousands of best-bits-in-the-whole-film. Magnificent.

What's everyone else's favorite(s)?

Loomis

20:20 / 28.10.05

Just got back from seeing it. Fabulous! Just as good as all their other stuff. And to keep all the conversation in this one thread, I'll quote Strix from the other one:

Right afterward I had such a craving for veggies that I went to the grocer's and bought some. My son and I polished off the baby carrots and radishes before we even got home!

Funnily enough, I'm vegan and I left the film craving cheese and crackers. Came home and ate nice food ... for rabbits.

Speaking of other stop-motion stuff, there was one I saw a while ago but don't know what it was. It was about a guy who wakes up in some evil hospital where they're making mutations of people/animals (iirc). He has to battle all the doctors and nurses around the hallways to escape. Very clever and funny. Anyone know what it is?

Mistoffelees

20:38 / 29.10.05

I saw this tonight, and liked it very much. I didn´t recognize Bonham Carter´s voice at all. This movie is so funny and nice at the same time. I´ll have to see it again, just to see more of it. It was so much all at once. Nun wrestling? Dogfights? Resocializing rabbits? Wow.

Axolotl

16:43 / 30.10.05

I saw this last week & absolutely loved it. There were so many nice touchs (my favourite was the greengrocers called Harvey's) that I'm sure the DVD will be worth getting. Just really excellent, life-affirming stuff all round.

D Terminator XXXIII

12:12 / 19.11.05

Adorable.

Which is a word I don't use at all but it applies to W&G, and it applies well.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

15:14 / 23.02.06

So amazing. The best was Rabbit-Wallace. He fricking slayed me with every word.

"Inventing things, mostly."

And it was stunning how every single obvious pun hit me fresh, I saw none of them coming. Gromit winning for his prize melon after all? Brilliant.

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