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Upbeat reviews for new Gromit film

Upbeat reviews for new Gromit film
By Anita Kazmierczak
in Melbourne



The new feature film premiered in Sydney earlier this month
Wallace and Gromit's public debut on the silver screen, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, has opened in Australia to a warm reception.
Given that Wallace and Gromit live on West Wallaby Street, it is fitting that the world premiere was held down under.

The film was released here on Thursday local time, three weeks before it opens in the US and four weeks ahead of its UK launch.

Early reviews have all been excellent, with Paul Byrnes from The Age newspaper in Melbourne describing the film as, "a lot of fun and true to the original spirit".

It's good to see you can still produce stuff the old school way

Mel Dunstone, cinemagoer

"The film retains the hand-made care - right down to the visible fingerprints of the animators on the faces of the characters," adds Byrnes.

Cult ABC TV film reviewers, Margaret Pomeranz and David Strattan gave the film 4.5 and 4 stars (out of a possible 5) on their show this week.

"It is absolutely charming, but what I think is gorgeous is the creation of these characters" said Ms Pomeranz.

"Wallace is such a mad inventor - and Gromit is such a painstaking dog - he understands everything, he doesn't say a word and yet you understand exactly where he's at."


Send us your views on the film
In The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, claymation inventor Wallace and his trusty dog Gromit battle to protect their community's vegetables from a marauding bunny.

Co-directed by Steve Box, the film features characters voiced by Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and comedian Peter Kay.


Creator Nick Park has won two Oscars for his claymation creations
Even though school holidays in Australia do not begin until next week, a lunchtime screening in Melbourne on Wednesday was packed with children, their teachers and parents.

The film did not disappoint either the young or older demographic and Nick Park's creation was met with gales of laughter.

Afterwards, Max, five, from Sydney, said he thought the film was "very funny".

Lisa, 13, from Melbourne, said she had grown up with Wallace and Gromit and the film "was magical and better than I could have imagined".

Nick Park fan and cinema-goer Mel Dunstone, from Adelaide, had been looking forward to the movie.

"It was good to finally see a full-length feature of Wallace and Gromit," she said.

"I think it's a nice change (to computer-animated featues) and it's good to see you can still produce stuff the old school way."

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Exclusive: New Wallace & Gromit Clip!
Source: DreamWorks Pictures September 15, 2005


Chicken Little creators Aardman are back with a big screen adaptation of the company's Oscar-winning clay-animated Wallace & Gromit shorts. DreamWorks Pictures will release the comedy adventure Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, directed by Nick Park and Steve Box, in theaters on October 7. Today, ComingSoon.net has an exclusive look at the funny new clip titled "The Bun-Vac 6000" and new pictures as well.

It's 'vege-mania' in cheese-loving Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his ever faithful dog Gromit's neighborhood, and our two enterprising chums are cashing in with their humane pest-control outfit, "Anti-Pesto." With only days to go before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, business is booming, but Wallace & Gromit are finding out that running a "humane" pest control outfit has its drawbacks as their West Wallaby Street home fills to the brim with captive rabbits.

Suddenly, a huge, mysterious, veg-ravaging "beast" begins attacking the town's sacred vegetable plots at night, and the competition hostess, Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham-Carter), commissions Anti-Pesto to catch it and save the day. Lying in wait, however, is Lady Tottington's snobby suitor, Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes), who'd rather shoot the beast and secure the position of local hero - not to mention Lady Tottingon's hand in marriage. With the fate of the competition in the balance, Lady Tottington is eventually forced to allow Victor to hunt down the vegetable chomping marauder. Little does she know that Victor's real intent could have dire consequences for her…and our two heroes.

Windows Media Player, High Resolution

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'Wallace' tops boxoffice with $16.1 mil bow

By Nicole SperlingThere might have been something for everyone at the movies this Columbus Day weekend, but not even a G-rated film with beloved clay-animated characters could topple last year's impressive boxoffice grosses for the comparable frame.

DreamWorks Animation's release of "Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" gave it its best shot, earning an estimated $16.1 million for the three-day frame. 20th Century Fox's "In Her Shoes" played solidly for a film that primarily drew a female audience with a roughly $10 million opening, and Sony Pictures' "The Gospel" scored brilliantly within its primarily black-female demographic.

But no film had the crossover ability to reach out to a wider audience beyond that for which it was intended.

DreamWorks' release of "Rabbit" beat industry tracking expectations for the weekend but still was unable to live up to its predecessor, the 2000 release of "Chicken Run," which bowed to an impressive $17.5 million in June of that year.