9. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
This is a completely self-indulgent pick, I’m sure. However, despite anything else that I’ve said about any of the movies before this one, the fact of the matter is that when it comes to returning to old films and what not, the idea of revisiting this one stands out as something I’d like to do more so than the other ones up to this point. It’s a weird feeling to have considering I haven’t re-watched this one in quite some time but there’s something about the atmosphere and the pacing of this film that hits me quite well as an adult.
Wallace & Gromit was just something I loved the hell out of when I was a kid. The claymation stuff was really great to look at but it was also just really effective for making things look and feel creepy. The Penguin from “The Wrong Trousers” short and his little beady black eyes still look creepy as hell today and don’t get me started on that dog from “A Close Shave”. Dear God.
However, it’s not just up here for nostalgia’s sake. The film is genuinely really great and charming as all hell. Wallace and Gromit’s morning routine tells you all you need to know about them and it’s set to some really great, proper iconic music that instills in you a sense of loving comfort. Re-watching the film felt like I was revisiting some old friends I hadn’t seen in a while.
It’s a pretty basic story on the surface of it, sure. Wallace and Gromit work as a pest control service for people trying to keep their precious vegetables safe from these freaking adorable, derpy rabbits trying to eat up their gardens. I love how dumb these rabbits act. They act more like locker room dorks than actual bunnies and the faces they make are always so funny to look at. It’s hard to explain.
Wallace (Peter Sallis) is an inventor and a rather quirky one at that. All his inventions have these neat little quirks to them that make him stand out as a rather interesting guy to be around. It’s not just his obsession with cheese that does it. It’s also the fact that he has his dog press a mechanism that makes his bed slide up so that he’ll fall through the ceiling and land in his chair. And when he gets stuck in the hole, he’ll have Gromit press the “assistance” button which opens up a wardrobe with gears operating a large mallet that slams on his head and knocks him the rest of the way through it.
Really creative, charming, inventive stuff like that. This film just gets by on that. It oozes charm to the point where leaving them behind always rips out a part of my soul. Dramatic, sure, but I love Wallace & Gromit and I want more of them in my life.
The plot of this film doesn’t kick off until over eager Wallace tries to get ahead of their bunny problem by creating a device to alter the minds of the bunnies into preferring something other than vegetables. However, an accident happens that gives birth to the titular were-rabbit that begins terrorizing the town and their vegetables.
Now they have to stop it before the vegetable competition held by Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter) comes to pass. She’s a rather wonderful lass who fancies Wallace a lot but, of course, because she’s got money she’s being quartered by the main villain of the film Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes). He's a bounder and a hunter and of course his first go-to solution for these rabbits is to just blast their heads off. It’s hilarious because in the first scene he tries to shoot one the rabbit makes this funny as shit yelping sound and holds up both its hands like it’s being held up by a robber in a dark alley.
This movie is hilarious by the way. I don’t know if I made that clear but it’s really fucking funny. The premise is just ridiculous enough that when they take it so seriously, that alone just leads to a lot of funny reactions and moments. There's a reason that clip of the priest saying "A BULLET...!" is going around on social media whenever some asshole is making a stink. Of course, that does also add to the dark atmosphere as well, since, when you’re a kid the characters taking things as seriously as they do will no doubt heighten the tension.
There’s also just something to be said about how dark it can manage to genuinely be when we reach a point where our dear Victor attempts to use the situation as an excuse to get away with actual human murder. It knows how to be intense as well but it’s always funny in the end.
It’s always wonderful to look at. It’s always charming. It’s paced wonderfully. It honestly has no real problems that I can think of and coupled with just how much I personally love and appreciate Wallace & Gromit as an entity I can’t help but have the film this high on my personal favorites list.
Don’t worry Wallace. I’m sure Wensleydale is lovely. I’ll be sure to let you know how good it tastes when I get around to trying it one of these days.
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4 months, 2 weeks ago
21 Apr 2025 00:37 CEST
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