Theatrical Review: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the flat-out funniest family movie since Toy Story 2. It is literally laugh-out-loud funny. In fact, it's the kind of funny that produces great, loud, wet snorts of laughter; that totally unselfconscious kind of laughter that you don't even realize you've been doing until after the fact.

Without confining my comparisons to other family films, I have to say that Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is the funniest film I've seen since The Big Lebowski. I laughed that hard.

W&G is a family movie, though, and we saw it last week with our three kids, who were laughing just as hard as Wendy and I were. While I wasn't really conscious of my own laughter, I did realize at one point that I was hearing my eight-year-old son laugh harder than I'd ever heard him laugh in a theater. All five of us had a wonderful time, and talked about the movie all the way home afterwards. Family movies that satisfy all of us this completely don't come along very often. I'm sure that the time we went to see W&G will remain a cherished memory for all five of us.

If you're not familiar with W&G (and I wasn't prior to seeing the film), here's all you need to know: Wallace is a hair-brained inventor with a cheese fixation. Gromit is his loyal dog and business partner, and the real brains of the operation. Wallace is the idea man, Gromit is the unsung hero. When Wallace's experiments and inventions go awry (as they do throughout the film) it's Gromit, the silent voice of reason with nerves of steel, who saves the day again and again.

The world of Wallace and Gromit is presented in a combination of claymation and CGI, and might look weird to kids who're used to the Pixar films. It's not slick, digital and cool. It's odd looking, it seems very tangible, and it took me about twenty minutes of the movie to get used to the images on the screen. I hadn't seen claymation since I was a kid, and I don't know if I'd ever seen it on the big screen before. Once I got absorbed in the story and, especially in the characters, the movie's odd look didn't bother me anymore. In fact, once you get into the movie, it's hard to imagine it having any other style than the one it has. It's look is a big part of it's charm; just one more quality of this quirky, unique masterpiece.

The story, which is suitable stuff for the month of Halloween, involves a terrible were-rabbit who's terrorizing the village that Wallace and Gromit call home. The gardeners in the village have always relied on the inventor and his dog (known professionally by the company name Anti-Pesto) to round up and dispose of rabbits humanely, but this new beast can't be caught by the usual means. The were-rabbit represents a real threat to the village's upcoming Big Vegetable contest, hosted by Wallace's love interest, Lady Tottington (voice of Helena Bonham Carter). Enter Victor Quartermaine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), a rival for the affections of Lady Tottington and a hunter who wants to dispose of the were-Rabbit with his blunderbuss. Will Wallace and Gromit catch the beast before Quartermaine kills it? Will Lady Tottington remain loyal to Wallace or be swayed by the villainous Quartermaine? And just who among the townsfolk is it that turns into the vile were-rabbit by the light of a full moon?

As the story unfolds, much of it is predictable. Nonetheless, even when you see plot twists and secrets coming a mile away, they're revealed with such creativity, wonder and wit that it's impossible not to enjoy them. Our kids were absorbed in the story, and so were Wendy and I, who enjoyed the movie's broad humor even more than the in-jokes that were aimed at the adults in the audience. And there were plenty of in-jokes, too. With references to classic films like King Kong, An American Werewolf In London and sly parodies of Hollywood love stories and action films, W&G has something to please everyone in the family.

Even without these nods to adults, though, Wendy and I would have still loved the movie. It's just impossible not to enjoy the characters, especially Gromit. The loyal, long-suffering, brave and brilliant dog may be the most lovable cartoon character of the decade so far. Don't get me wrong, though... Wallace is a hoot, too. Fiennes and Carter seem to have had a blast voicing their characters, and it's hard even to really dislike the villain Quartermaine. Heck, even the rabbits themselves were funny and totally original. You've never seen rabbits like this in a movie before.

If you're an adult with no kids, see Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit just for your own enjoyment. If you have kids, though, don't miss this chance to have a great time with the whole family in the theater. Family films this good are just too few and far between.

NOTE: before Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit begins, you'll have to sit through a tedious five or six minute cartoon featuring some of the characters from Madagascar. This is Dreamworks' way of making sure you know that the DVD is coming out soon. Unlike the funny, smart shorts that Pixar adds to the beginning of their films, this short is annoying and extraneous. Your best bet is to time your arrival at the theater so that you'll miss the short. It's just awful. Even our kids disliked it... during those five or six minutes they sat in silence, looking around at each other with expressions that said "This sucks." Thankfully, Wallace and Gromit followed shortly put everything right.

  ¶ 5:38 PM