Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
SOMETHING 'ARE-RAISING IS COMING
U.S. Release Date
Oct 7, 2005
Rotten Tomatoes
🍅 95%
Audience Score
🍿 79%
Official Synopsis
Wallace and his loyal canine companion, Gromit, run "Anti-Pesto," a humane pest-control business. With the annual Giant Vegetable Competition approaching, the town is plagued by a rabbit infestation. After a botched attempt to brainwash the rabbits using one of Wallace's inventions, a massive, vegetable-ravaging "Were-Rabbit" begins terrorizing the gardens. Our heroes must capture the beast before the snobbish hunter Victor Quartermaine shoots it to win the heart of Lady Tottington.
Production Dossier
Financials
Budget: $30 Million
Box Office: $192.6 Million
Studio: DreamWorks / Aardman
Technical Specs
Cinematography: Tristan Oliver, Dave Alex Riddett
Process: Stop-Motion Animation
Runtime: 85 Minutes
Cast & Crew
- Directors: Nick Park, Steve Box
- Voice Cast: Peter Sallis (Wallace), Helena Bonham Carter (Lady Tottington), Ralph Fiennes (Victor Quartermaine)
Primary Filming Locations
• Aardman Studios, Bristol, UK: The entire film was painstakingly shot frame-by-frame over five years.
• Wigan, England: Though stylized, the town and Wallace's address are inspired by this Lancashire town.
• Wigan, England: Though stylized, the town and Wallace's address are inspired by this Lancashire town.
Fun Facts
- Plasticine Patience: The animators only completed about 3 seconds of usable footage per day, using over 2.8 tons of Plasticine throughout production.
- The Fire of 2005: Shortly after the film's UK release, a massive fire at Aardman's storage facility destroyed nearly 30 years of history, though the props for this film were fortunately elsewhere.
- Oscar History: It was the first stop-motion film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Van Authenticity: Wallace's Anti-Pesto van is an Austin A35; the team created a full-scale replica for promotional events.
Original Review (Feb 7, 2006)
Even the biggest cynic in the world will have trouble not enjoying Wallace & Gromit's latest adventure. I'm sure the use of claymation will bring back childhood memories of Gumby and Davey & Goliath. But unlike those two works, this movie is very appealing for adults, as well as children.
This latest adventure finds the duo running a humane Anti-Pest company. The company is protecting the town from mischievous rabbits, as the towns-folk prepare for the annual giant vegetable contest. Troubles arise when the dangerous Were-Rabbit is unleashed on the town's gardens. It's up to Wallace & Gromit, with the help of Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter) to uncover the mystery and capture the mysterious Were-Rabbit before it destroys all the crops and before the evil Victor Quartermaine can use this opportunity to hunt down, and kill not only the Were-Rabbit but all creatures that stand in his way.
First off, it's hard not to marvel at the wonderful visual work being presented here. It's simply stunning to watch. The detail, and look of the film is amazing. The movie has been nominated for the Academy Award for best animated feature, and the film is well deserving of it. Considering the movie took 5 years to make, at about 3 seconds of footage per day, it's the least the academy could do.
As far as the story of the film, I found it funny, and entertaining. The story is obviously not the most sophisticated stuff in the world, for me the movie seemed to work best in short bursts, with scenes of comedic bits, alternating with action pieces. For less patient people I can see how the story can drag for them, but overall I found this story much more fun, and definitely more effective than the movie Chicken Run which was made by the same creative team.
But there are some genuine good laughs in the film. I was surprised how much I laughed. It's also a really cute film. I mean that in a good way. I'm sure that a lot of film-makers wouldn't like that adjective attached to their film. But it's really an appropriate word to describe this film. It has little bunnies running around, the towns-folk are really fun and affable, the silent Gromit is adorable, the Were-Rabbit is big and furry. Even the evil character of Victor Quartermaine is fun to watch in a non-threatening way. I found myself smiling through the whole movie.
In short it's a fun, cute, enjoyable film, and definitely worth checking out.
The movie is now available on DVD.
This latest adventure finds the duo running a humane Anti-Pest company. The company is protecting the town from mischievous rabbits, as the towns-folk prepare for the annual giant vegetable contest. Troubles arise when the dangerous Were-Rabbit is unleashed on the town's gardens. It's up to Wallace & Gromit, with the help of Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter) to uncover the mystery and capture the mysterious Were-Rabbit before it destroys all the crops and before the evil Victor Quartermaine can use this opportunity to hunt down, and kill not only the Were-Rabbit but all creatures that stand in his way.
First off, it's hard not to marvel at the wonderful visual work being presented here. It's simply stunning to watch. The detail, and look of the film is amazing. The movie has been nominated for the Academy Award for best animated feature, and the film is well deserving of it. Considering the movie took 5 years to make, at about 3 seconds of footage per day, it's the least the academy could do.
As far as the story of the film, I found it funny, and entertaining. The story is obviously not the most sophisticated stuff in the world, for me the movie seemed to work best in short bursts, with scenes of comedic bits, alternating with action pieces. For less patient people I can see how the story can drag for them, but overall I found this story much more fun, and definitely more effective than the movie Chicken Run which was made by the same creative team.
But there are some genuine good laughs in the film. I was surprised how much I laughed. It's also a really cute film. I mean that in a good way. I'm sure that a lot of film-makers wouldn't like that adjective attached to their film. But it's really an appropriate word to describe this film. It has little bunnies running around, the towns-folk are really fun and affable, the silent Gromit is adorable, the Were-Rabbit is big and furry. Even the evil character of Victor Quartermaine is fun to watch in a non-threatening way. I found myself smiling through the whole movie.
In short it's a fun, cute, enjoyable film, and definitely worth checking out.
The movie is now available on DVD.
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