Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit

The second feature-length movie from Nick Park’s Aardman studio, Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a delightful bit of entertainment, even if it doesn’t live up to the promise of the original award-winning Wallace and Gromit shorts.

Wallace and Gromit, ever the inventive types, save the elegant Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, and it’s not even a Tim Burton movie!!) from a lawn full of fuzzy rabbits with their patented Bun-Vac 3000. When Wallace tries to condition the rabbits to eat cheese instead of veggies, a bolt of lightning damages his brain-wave transmitter, the Mind-o-Matic. Despite the best efforts of the unflappable Gromit, everything from that point goes horribly wrong.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happens to Wallace and the bunny he was exchanging thoughts with (a cute little guy named Hutch), given the genre and, of course, the title. Kids may be a bit surprised by the course of the story, but they’re pretty smart too. What the movie lacks in suspense, though, it makes up for in humor. With great voice acting by Peter Sallis as Wallace (and later, Hutch), and guest Ralph Fiennes as the tenacious Victor Quartermaine, Were-Rabbit always maintains the Wallace and Gromit spirit of kindness without moving into sappy territory. In fact, much of the humor is bawdy (which may please or offend parents, depending upon who you ask). One of my favorite sight gags involved a naked Wallace covering himself with a box. On the box was a sticker that read “may contain nuts.”

There are other clever little gags like that one strewn throughout the movie, and those who haven’t seen the earlier short films will surely get a kick out of seeing all of Wallace’s household widgets. The kids will love the little bunnies and loving silliness of the whole thing, while the adults can appreciate the “realism” of the animation and set design, as well as some great visual puns (Gromit and Quartermaine’s dog engage in an aerial dogfight during the climactic veggie competition).

I took particular joy in the little bunny Hutch, who becomes increasingly infatuated with cheese as the story moves forward. If that’s not a clue, then I don’t know what is, but I’m not spoiling anything when I say this is great entertainment for all ages.

Grade: A-

PS. Before the movie there was a short animation with the “Madagascar Penguins.” As someone who only enjoyed the supporting characters of that bland movie much more than the main four, I was quite interested in seeing more of these bumbling military penguins in A Christmas Caper.

I laughed throughout the entirety of this 5-minute short, as the crew set out to find one of their own on the streets of New York during Christmas. It was so good that I’m sure the writers/producers will be tempted to stretch these guys into their own movie, but I sure hope not. Taking a hint from Wallace and Gromit, they should know that sometimes the best gifts come in small packages.

Grade: A