From Plasticine to the Silver screen ...

After already winning 2 Oscars, the loveable plasticine duo finally make it to the big screen in Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-rabbit, coming to your local cinema from October 14th.

In The Beginning:

To get the full story of the daring duo we have to go back to 1983 when a film school student contacted Last of the Summer Wine actor Peter Sallis as he needed a voice for his student film "A Grand Day Out". This film took six years to be completed and was nominated for an Oscar. However, that year wasn’t a good one for the duo as they lost out to another Aardman short from Nick Park, Creature Comforts, this being one of the only times in Oscar history when a director was nominated for two different films in the same section. Two more Oscars later we thought that would be the end of our loveable plasticine heroes.

Then a strange thing happened. DreamWorks in America contacted them about trying to get together and make some full length films. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation CEO, notes, “I saw my first Wallace & Gromit short about 15 years ago and, like everyone else in the world, I was captivated by the characters. There is something wonderfully absurd and appealing about them. I think the charm of Wallace & Gromit comes from Aardman’s unique style of animation. It’s such a visual medium—it doesn’t matter what language it’s translated into; it’s funny and delightful and witty.” and a five picture deal was done over a chicken meal in Hollywood.

The Film

So a movie legend was slowly born. From a short film produced over six long years to a multi-million dollar budget using hundreds of the best animators in the UK. After 5 years of production and animation Wallace & Gromit will soon make the jump from the small screen to the big screen.

It centres around a typical British institution - The Village Fete, or more specifically the Annual Vegetable competition. Our heroic duo are running a humane pest control service from their house at 62 West Wallaby Street. When a mysterious beast attacks the town's vegetable plots, the competition's hostess (and Wallaces love interest!), Lady Tottington (Voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), hires our heroes to capture it. However, Wallace's humane tactics may not be sufficient to quell the menace of... the Were-Rabbit!

Meet the Stars:

We all know that the silent one is Gromit. The brains of the outfit - what you could call "the straight man" (or is that dog? - ed) - doesn't say anything but likes to read books by Fido Dogstoevsky and more practical books like "Electronics For Dogs" whereas Wallace is the archetypal British inventor/tinkerer. They have been to the moon, saved hapless sheep, stopped a diamond robbery and now to pest control!