UK residents, get out your biggest felt tip pen and prepare to mark a date on your calendar, because from Friday 10th November, classic British claymation characters Wallace & Gromit will be heading to select UK cinemas. Vue will be screening A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers for a limited time this November, as part of a special hour-long animated double-bill.
The screening of the two short films is being held to mark 30 years of The Wrong Trousers. The Oscar-winning film made its debut back in 1993, and along with its predecessor, A Grand Day Out, is regarded as a real triumph in animation.
For those who have never seen either of these films, the Wallace & Gromit shorts are comedy capers which revolve around a well-meaning inventor named Wallace, and his smart but silent dog, Gromit. In both films (as well as in subsequent sequels), the eponymous duo get themselves into a spot of bother, but they always get themselves out of it while bringing absurdity and hilarity to the screen.
In A Grand Day Out, it’s a boring Bank Holiday Monday and cheese-loving Wallace comes to the shock realisation there’s no more cheese in the fridge. After considering the best locations for acquiring more, Wallace suggests he and Gromit take a trip to the moon to stock up, because as everyone knows, the moon is made of cheese.
With the help of Gromit, Wallace builds a rocket ship and soon the pair set off into space and land on the moon. However, it’s not long before they cross paths with a robot, who does not take kindly to seeing Wallace help himself to cheese.
Meanwhile, in The Wrong Trousers it’s Gromit’s birthday and Wallace gifts him a special pair of robotic ‘techno-trousers’. But unfortunately, the cost of the trousers, as well as the cost of various household bills, has put a strain on Wallace’s finances and he needs to come up with a way to make money.
After putting a sign in the window to advertise his spare bedroom is available to rent, Wallace soon receives a visit from a mysterious penguin. The penguin is interested in renting the space and promptly moves in.
But shortly after he arrives, the penguin drives a wedge between Wallace and Gromit, forcing Gromit out of the house. The penguin also takes a very special interest in the ‘techno-trousers’, which he is keen to put to use in some criminal activity.
Now, of the two shorts on offer, it’s fair to say The Wrong Trousers is the stronger of the pair. When placed back-to-back, The Wrong Trousers is slicker, funnier, and better written than A Grand Day Outand is generally more confident than its predecessor.
This isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with A Grand Day Out, it’s merely to say there is a significant difference between the first short and the second. Writer/director Nick Park, as well as the team at Aardman Animations, has clearly honed and refined their skills from one film to the next and the evolution is evident for all to see.
Whereas the animation in A Grand Day Out is impressive (especially for 1989), the claymation on offer in The Wrong Trousers is more polished. In fact, it’s such a step up from one to the other, that it’s easy to forget The Wrong Trousers is a piece of hand-crafted animation.
The Wrong Trousers is also very witty. The humour in A Grand Day Out comes largely from the quirky concept, whereas in The Wrong Trousers the film is filled with endless gags.
However, to be clear, both films are great, so it doesn’t matter if one edges out the other, what you get here are two thoroughly entertaining stories, which are undeniably creative and quintessentially British. The films demonstrate what can be achieved when the imagination is all there, and the right amount of patience is employed to get an idea over the finish line.
From the twee wallpaper used to line the inside of the rocket ship in A Grand Day Out, to gag newspaper headlines and dollops of strawberry jam in The Wrong Trousers, the Wallace & Gromit movies are filled with intricate details and neat little touches. Everything that appears on screen has been carefully considered, no moment is wasted in bringing the story to life, and the same can be said about the cast of characters who bring so much warmth to the films.
In total, there are only four main characters in the two films: Wallace, Gromit, the moon robot, and the penguin (aka Feathers McGraw). And out of this quartet, only one character speaks, and that is Wallace, as voiced by the late actor, Peter Sallis.
With so much characterisation on screen it’s easy to forget that Sallis is the only voice artist in these two films, but that just goes to show that a.) he was that good at playing a verbal character in a largely non-verbal story, and b.) Nick Park and his team at Aardman are master craftsmen in their field.
But while Wallace is very notable in these movies, due to all his dialogue, it’s arguably Gromit and Feathers McGraw who are the key players. Both characters convey so much about their personalities with just an expression and it’s easy for the audience to understand what is being said, when nothing is being said at all.
A great deal of the power of these films comes from their minimal dialogue and the way they can convey a universal language. Put a Wallace & Gromit film on in any country, and even if there is a linguistic barrier, a great deal of the story still shines through.
I could sit here and waffle on all day about how impressive the Wallace & Gromit movies are, but I don’t think you need me to do so, as you’ve probably got the gist by now. These shorts are incredibly likeable pieces of film, I’m a big fan, and the creativity speaks for itself.
For my money, the train sequence in The Wrong Trousers is one of the greatest chase scenes ever put on screen, while the sheer talent involved in taking A Grand Day Out from concept to reality speaks volumes. Even after all these years, these films continue to stand the test of time, and it’s not difficult to see why they remain a firm favourite.
In the UK, the Wallace & Gromit films get shown on an annual basis, usually popping up on TV screens every year during the Christmas holidays, however, it is rare for them to get the big screen treatment. If this isn’t a sign to plan a cinema trip, then I don’t know what is.
Whether you’re a long-time fan, or you’re eager to introduce the next generation to these cracking classics, now is your opportunity. The films will be appearing at Vue for a brief moment in time, so plan accordingly.
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