Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Image:Wallace gromit were rabbit poster.jpg
Directed by	Steve Box Nick Park
Produced by	Claire Jennings Peter Lord Nick Park Carla Shelley David Sproxton
Written by	Nick Park (characters) Bob Baker Steve Box Mark Burton
Starring	Peter Sallis Helena Bonham Carter Ralph Fiennes Nicholas Smith Peter Kay Liz Smith
Music by	Julian Nott Hans Zimmer (producer)
Distributed by	USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video DreamWorks Distribution Non-USA Theatrical United International Pictures
Release date(s)	September 15, 2005 (Australia) October 7, 2005 (USA) October 14, 2005 (UK)
Running time	85 min.
Language	English
Budget	$30,000,000 US (est.)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British, Academy Award-winning stop-motion animated film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box and shot entirely in Britain.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Release and acclaim 3.1 Box office performance 3.2 Awards 3.2.1 Academy Awards 3.2.2 Annies 3.2.2.1 Wins 3.2.2.2 Nominations 3.2.3 Others 4 New Characters 4.1 Lord Victor Quartermaine 4.2 Phillip 4.3 Lady Campanula "Totty" Tottington 4.4 PC Mackintosh 4.5 The Reverend Clement Hedges 4.6 Mr. Reg and Mrs. Suzanne Mulch 4.7 Mr. Clive Growbag 4.8 Hutch the Rabbit 4.9 Minor characters 5 In jokes 6 DVD 7 Books 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

The annual Giant Vegetable Competition is approaching. The winner of the competition will win the Golden Carrot Award. All are eager to protect their giant crops from damage and thievery by rabbits until the contest, and Wallace and Gromit are cashing in by running a vegetable security and humane pest control business, "Anti-Pesto".

However, they are faced with two problems: the first is Wallace's weight problem and the second is the space for the captured rabbits. Wallace comes up with an idea — use his Mind Manipulation-O-Matic machine to brainwash the rabbits, allowing them to run freely without harming everyone's gardens. While performing the operation, he kicks the switch and something goes terribly wrong, leaving them with a semi-intelligent rabbit who starts to behave like Wallace (down to his fondness for cheese) and whom Wallace names "Hutch". Soon the town is threatened by the "Were-Rabbit", a giant rabbit-like monster which eats vegetables of any size. Anti-Pesto enters into a rivalry with Lord Victor Quartermaine to capture the Were-Rabbit.

After a hectic nighttime chase, Gromit discovers that the Were-Rabbit is, in fact, Wallace, suffering from the effects of the accident with the Mind Manipulation-O-Matic. Victor corners Wallace during the night, jealous of Lady Tottington's growing fondness for him because of his humane practice of pest control (whereas Victor thinks it's more effective to shoot and kill them). But then Wallace falls into the path of moonlight and transforms. Victor, having identified the rabbit, goes to Reverend Clement Hedges and gains access to "24-carrot" gold bullets - supposedly, the only things capable of killing a Were-Rabbit.

During the final showdown, Victor and his dog Phillip capture Gromit, who subsequently escapes and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice by using the marrow he had been growing for the competition as bait for Wallace who, in his rabbit form, has burst in upon the vegetable contest, causing panic. Victor tries to shoot what is apparently the monster - but Gromit is one step ahead of him. Yet the marrow cannot keep Wallace's attention as Victor tries to take the golden carrot award from a distressed Lady Tottington. Wallace ascends to the rooftops, holding a screaming Lady Tottington in his hand. Discovering his identity, she promises to protect him, only to be interrupted by Victor. Meanwhile, in a mid-air dogfight in toy airplanes, Phillip chases after Gromit. Gromit forces his foe out of the air in a fiery crash and explosion - but Phillip manages to hold on to Gromit's plane and the two grapple (in one segment, when the plane runs out of coins, Gromit hands the axe to Philip and counts his money. Philip grows tired and hands the axe back to Gromit and pulls out a purse with a flower design, finds a penny and inserts in into the slot. The fight rages on and in the end, Gromit releases Philip ,ironically, throught the bomb doors and into a bouncy castle.

Atop Tottington Hall, Gromit's toy biplane circles Wallace, who clings onto the flagpole at the top of the building for dear life. Victor fires a shot, but Wallace is saved when Gromit's plane falls into the path of the trophy improvised as a bullet by Victor. The engine in Gromit's plane fails and begins to descend rapidly. Wallace jumps from the flagpole and catches the plane, thereby breaking Gromit's fall into the cheese tent below. Victor gloats, but is knocked unconscious by Lady Tottington, using a giant carrot. He falls into the tent too, where Wallace lies unconscious and seemingly dying of his injuries. To protect Wallace from the angry mob outside, Gromit dresses Victor up as the monster (a costume he used earlier as a lure for the Were-Rabbit), and throws him out of the tent. The angry mob chase Victor away.

Gromit and Tottington tend to Wallace, who seconds later, breathes his last, and morphs back into his human form. Gromit, the rabbits, and Lady Tottington are saddened by their loss, but Gromit is able to revive Wallace with a slice of Stinking Bishop cheese. Gromit, for his bravery, is awarded the (now somewhat battered) competition trophy, and Lady Tottington turns Tottington Hall into a wildlife refuge, where all the rabbits, including Hutch, can live in peace.

[edit] Production

The directors have often referred to the motion picture as the world's "first vegetarian horror" film. Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) is joined in the film by Ralph Fiennes (as Lord Victor Quartermaine), Helena Bonham Carter (as Lady Campanula Tottington), Peter Kay (as PC Mackintosh), Nicholas Smith (as Rev. Clement Hedges), and Liz Smith (as Mrs. Mulch). Keeping with the tradition of the original short films, Gromit remains silent, communicating only through body language.

Nick Park told an interviewer that after separate test screenings with British and American children, the film was altered to "tone down some of the British accents and make them speak more clearly so the American audiences could understand it all better."^[1]

The vehicle Wallace drives in the film is an Austin A35 van. In collaboration with Aardman in the spring of 2005, a road-going replica of the model was created by brothers Mark and David Armé, founders of the International Austin A30/A35 Register, for promotional purposes. In a 500 man hour customisation, an original 1964 van received a full body restoration before being dented and distressed to perfectly replicate the model van used in the film. The official colour of the van is Preston Green, named in honour of Nick Park's home town. The name was chosen by the Art Director and Mark Armé.

[edit] Release and acclaim

It was released in the United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong on October 14, 2005 to almost universally rave reviews, including "A" ratings from Roger Ebert and Ty Burr. The DVD edition of the film was released on February 7, 2006 (USA) and February 20, 2006 (UK). On rottentomatoes.com the film won 2 Golden Tomato awards for "Best Wide Overall Release" and "Best Animation". The film received an outstanding 95% from the website. Despite the praise, one of the film's only critics was Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace, who said that he preferred the half-hour films to the big screen debut ^[2]

The animated short The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper was shown before the film during the theatrical release. The short is included as a bonus feature on the Madagascar DVD.

[edit] Box office performance

Wallace & Gromit opened in 3,645 theatres and had an opening weekend gross of $16,025,987, putting it at number one for that weekend.^[3] During its second weekend it fell to number two, behind The Fog remake by just $200,000.^[4] It remained number one worldwide for three weeks in a row.^[5] Overall Wallace & Gromit made $56,110,897 in the US and $192,610,372 internationally. ^[6] Despite the big difference between the production budget and the overall gross, Dreamworks considered its returns low in comparison to Chicken Run, which made a slightly larger amount ($224,834,564) worldwide, but nearly twice as much ($106,834,564) within the United States. When it is factored in that Chicken Run also cost $15 million more to make, the overall profits for both films end up looking very similar. Nevertheless, it was reported on 3 October 2006^[7] and confirmed on 30 January 2007^[8] that the partnership between Dreamworks and Aardman has ended due to "creative differences" about Aardman's CG feature, Flushed Away. But, Aardman have judged it successful enough for a new Wallace & Gromit film to be made.^[9]

[edit] Awards

The film has won a number of awards in both Britain and North America, the most significant of which are listed below.

[edit] Academy Awards

• Best Animated Feature at the 78th Academy Awards

[edit] Annies

The film performed very well at the Annie Awards, an animation-specific award show, where out of 26 awards it was nominated for 16 - winning 10:

[edit] Wins

• Best Animated Effects (for Jason Wen)
• Best Animated Feature
• Best Character Animation (for Claire Billet)
• Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production (for Nick Park)
• Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production (for Nick Park and Steve Box)
• Best Music in an Animated Feature Production (for Julian Nott)
• Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production (for Phil Lewis)
• Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production (for Bob Persichetti)
• Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (for Peter Sallis as the voice of Wallace.)
• Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production (for Steve Box, Nick Park and Mark Burton)

[edit] Nominations

• for Best Character Animation (for Jay Grace)
• for Best Character Animation (for Christopher Sadler)
• for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production (for Michael Salter)
• for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (for Helena Bonham Carter as the voice of Lady Campanula Tottington.)
• for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (for Ralph Fiennes as the voice of Victor Quartermaine.)
• for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (for Nicholas Smith as the voice of Reverend Clement Hedges.)

[edit] Others

Elsewhere, the film won the following seven awards:

BFCA Awards	:	The 2005 "Best Animated Feature" award.
DFWFCA Awards	:	The 2005 "Best Animated Feature" award.
LAFCA Awards	:	The 2005 "Best Animated Film" award.
OFCS Awards	:	The 2006 "Best Animated Feature" award.
PGA Awards	:	The 2006 ";Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award" (for Claire Jennings and Nick Park).
SEFCA Awards	:	The 2005 "Best Animated Film" award.
TFCA Awards	:	The 2005 "Best Animated Film" award.
Bafta Awards	:	The 2006 Alexander Korda for "Outstanding Best British Film of the Year" award (celebrated on 21/2/2006 with a giant inflatable Gromit in Trafalgar Square!)

The film failed to win the following three awards which it was nominated for:

Satellite Awards	:	The 2005 "Outstanding Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media" award.
VES Awards	:	The 2006 "Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture" award (for Lloyd Price for "Gromit".) (VES stands for Visual Effects Society)
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards	:	The 2006 "Best Animated Film".

Awards shown here are those detailed by the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

[edit] New Characters

[edit] Lord Victor Quartermaine

Lord Victor Quartermaine is an upper-class bounder who is fond of hunting; he is rarely seen without his rifle and his hunting dog Phillip. He is the villain of the movie, wears a toupee, and hates Anti-Pesto. It soon becomes clear in the film that Victor's only interest in Lady Tottington is her vast fortune which he is eager to get his hands on. After Lady Tottington discovers that Victor knew that the were-rabbit was Wallace all along, he reveals that all he wants is her money. He is voiced by Ralph Fiennes.

[edit] Phillip

Phillip is Victor's hunting dog. He and Victor will do anything to stop the Were-Rabbit, although he is bright enough to know that the Were-Rabbit is beyond his hunting skills, and that Gromit, closer to his own size, is a better prospect as the target of premeditated violence. He also owns a purse.

[edit] Lady Campanula "Totty" Tottington

Lady Tottington is a wealthy forty-something single noblewoman with a keen interest in both vegetable growing and fluffy animals. For 517 years, her family has hosted an annual vegetable competition. Lady Tottington asks Wallace to call her "Totty" (which is British slang for an attractive woman), and develops a romantic interest in him. She is voiced by Helena Bonham Carter.

[edit] PC Mackintosh

Police Constable Albert Mackintosh is the village policeman who judges the Giant Vegetable Contest, although, with the havoc it creates every year he would rather it didn't happen at all. He is played by British comedian Peter Kay.

[edit] The Reverend Clement Hedges

Reverend Hedges is the local vicar. He is the first person in the village to witness the were-rabbit, and describes the full horror of his encounter with the beast, but Victor refuses to believe him. However when Victor discovers the true identity of the beast, he turns to the vicar for advice on how to kill it. Reverend Hedges appears to have a wide range of knowledge on the habits and the slayings of supernatural animals, and has a whole cupboard filled with the weapons to defeat them. He is voiced by Nicholas Smith. Although his name appears in the credits, it's never said inside the movie.

[edit] Mr. Reg and Mrs. Suzanne Mulch

Mr. and Mrs. Mulch are clients of Wallace and Gromit's Anti-Pesto. Mrs. Mulch has a constant fixation on her gigantic pumpkin. Voiced by Liz Smith, Mrs. Mulch is a more prominent character than her husband - who talks little.

[edit] Mr. Clive Growbag

Mr. Growbag is an elderly resident of Wallace and Gromit's neighbourhood and a founding member of the town's veg grower's council. He constantly recalls memories of incidents from previous Vegetable Competitions - comparing them to what may happen to this one forthcoming. He is credited as one of the film's most hilarious characters. Two of the "disasters" he mentions are The Great Slug Riot of `32, "when there were slugs the size of pigs", and the Great Duck Plague of `53. He is voiced by Edward Kelsey.

[edit] Hutch the Rabbit

Hutch is originally just another captive rabbit, Hutch receives special treatment, and his name, after an attempt to brainwash him and his fellows goes wrong. Hutch is voiced by Peter Sallis, the same person who voiced Wallace, though with his voice sped-up. A very noticeable fact is that everything Hutch says in the film is something Wallace has said before the accident with the Mind-O-Matic.

[edit] Minor characters

• Mr. Leaching - Ben Whitehead
• Mr. Dibber - Robert Horvath
• Mrs. Girdling - Noni Lewis
• Miss. Thripp - Geraldine McEwan
• Mr. Caliche - Vincent Ebrahim
• Mr. Windfall - John Thomson
• Miss. Blight - Mark Gatiss
• Mr. Crock - Peter Atkin
• Additional voices - William Vanderpuye, Christopher Fairbank, James Mather

[edit] In jokes

Littered throughout the movie are various plays on names of various items, ranging from renames of books and movies, to references from past Nick Park shorts. For example, in the scene where the neighbourhood is switching on their security systems, one of the systems on button is hidden inside the head of a stone tortoise, which is modelled as the same character from Nick Park's series Creature Comforts.

Cheese references are scattered throughout the film. Books in Wallace's collection include East of Edam, Fromage to Eternity,^[10] Waiting for Gouda, The Hunt For Red Leicester, How Green Was My Cheese, Brighton Roquefort, Grated Expectations, Swiss Cheese Family Robinson, and Brie Encounter.^[11] A closed-down antiques shop has the sign of Rare Bits. Rarebit (pronounced like "rabbit") is slang for cheese on toast.^[12]

Vegetable references also make up a sizable number of in jokes in the movie. Movie posters around town lampoon various movies with vegetable counterparts: a poster for a film says Spartichoke, a take-off of Spartacus;^[13] while another poster seen about town advertises The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Bean, a take-off homage to the 1962 drama The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.^[14] Another poster advertises Carrot on a Hot Tin Roof, a reference to the Tennessee Williams play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.^[15]

Gromit plays a 33 record " Symphony For Vegetables" of "The Plants Suite", which is actually "Venus" from Gustav Holst's The Planets orchestral suite as he is placing an electric blanket over his marrow.^[16] The Vicar uses two cucumbers to form a cross against the Were-Rabbit, a subtle vegan homage to Peter Cushing's usage of two candlesticks in the 1958 Dracula movie.^[17] A large carrot sign advertises "Harvey's" vegetable shop, a reference to the film Harvey, about a man who befriends an invisible giant rabbit.^[18]

Some earlier Nick Park shorts are also referenced in a few scenes. There is a barber shop named A Close Shave, which commemorates the earlier Nick Park short.^[19] Penguin villain Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers makes a cameo appearance, added as a joke by Nick Park.^[20] Both Nick Park and Steve Box have quick cameos in the film as portraits of vicars on the Vicar's wall.^[21]

Hollywood and American Culture references also litter the film. In one scene where Wallace transforms, his hand grows longer whilst his fingers grow shorter. This is a parody of An American Werewolf in London. Another jab at the movie is when the Were-Rabbit stalks the Vicar in the church, deliberately similar to a scene set in the London Underground.^[22] Gromit tunes the car radio to a station playing "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel (of Watership Down fame). He promptly turns it off (the four station buttons on the car radio spell out "mutt").^[23] The scene of Wallace clinging on to the tower while clutching Lady Tottington and circled by biplanes is a clear homage to King Kong at the top of the Empire State Building.

When Gromit tries to explain the truth about the Were-Rabbit Wallace says, "What's up, Dog?" whilst having rabbit ears and holding a carrot in an homage to Bugs Bunny.^[24] At the Tottington Hall Fair, a hot dog stand has a sign that says Hot Dogs, and Cats and Burger. This is a reference to DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.^[25]

[edit] DVD

The film was released on DVD in Widescreen and Fullscreen versions on February 7, 2006. Wal-Mart stores carried a special version with an additional DVD, "Gromit's Tail-Waggin' DVD" which included the test shorts made for this production.

[edit] Books

• The Art of Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Andy Lane & Paul Simpson. ISBN 1-84576-215-0
• Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: The Movie Novelization by Penny Worms. ISBN 0-84311-667-6

[edit] See also

• List of animated feature films
• List of stop-motion films

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official UK site
• Official U.S. site
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at the Internet Movie Database
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at Rotten Tomatoes
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at Metacritic

Preceded by Flightplan

Box office number-one films of 2005 (USA) October 9, 2005

Succeeded by The Fog

v • d • e Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit series
Short films	A Grand Day Out · The Wrong Trousers · A Close Shave · Trouble at' Mill
Feature film	Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Video games	Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo · Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Other adventures	Cracking Contraptions · Shaun the Sheep

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: Winners
2001: Shrek • 2002: Spirited Away • 2003: Finding Nemo • 2004: The Incredibles • 2005: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit • 2006: Happy Feet

v • d • e DreamWorks Animation
Traditionally animated films	The Prince of Egypt (1998) • The Road to El Dorado (2000) • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) • Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
Films produced with Aardman Animations	Chicken Run (2000) • Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) • Flushed Away (2006)
Computer-animated films	Antz (1998) • Shrek (2001) • Shrek 2 (2004) • Shark Tale (2004) • Madagascar (2005) • Over the Hedge (2006) • Shrek the Third (2007) • Bee Movie (2007)
Future films	Kung Fu Panda (2008) • Madagascar 2: The Crate Escape (2008) • Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) • How to Train Your Dragon (2009) • Shrek Goes Fourth (2010) • Master Mind (2010) • Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer (2011) • Shrek 5 (2013)
Direct-to-video	Joseph: King of Dreams (2000)
Shorts	Far Far Away (2004) • The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005) • Hammy's Boomerang Adventure (2006) • First Flight (2006)

Preceded by My Summer of Love

Alexanda Korda Award for Best British Film 2005

Succeeded by The Last King of Scotland

de:Wallace & Gromit: Auf der Jagd nach dem Riesenkaninchen

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