Wallace and Grommet
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''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British
stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four
short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
and one
feature-length film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series centres on Wallace, a good-natured, eccentric, cheese-loving inventor, and Gromit, his loyal and intelligent
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
beagle. The first short film, ''
A Grand Day Out ''A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit'', later marketed as ''A Grand Day Out'', is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature fil ...
'', was finished and made public in 1989. Wallace was voiced by actors Peter Sallis and
Ben Whitehead Benjamin Whitehead (born 15 May 1977) is an English actor. He is best known as the current voice of Wallace in the ''Wallace and Gromit'' franchise following Peter Sallis' retirement and subsequent death. Career Whitehead began working on film ...
. Gromit is largely silent and has no dialogue, communicating through facial expressions and body language. Because of their widespread popularity, the characters have been described as positive international cultural icons of both modern British culture and British people in general. BBC News called them "some of the best-known and best-loved stars to come out of the UK".Wallace and Gromit's cracking careers
By Ian Youngs. BBC News. Published 10 October 2005.
''Icons'' has said they have done "more to improve the image of the English world-wide than any officially appointed ambassadors". Although not overtly set in any particular town, Park has hinted that it was inspired by 1950s Wigan in Northern England. Wallace's accent comes from the Holme Valley of West Yorkshire. Wallace is fond of Wensleydale cheese (from Wensleydale, North Yorkshire). Their films have received universal acclaim, with the first three short films, ''
A Grand Day Out ''A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit'', later marketed as ''A Grand Day Out'', is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature fil ...
'' (1989), ''
The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...
'' (1993) and '' A Close Shave'' (1995) earning 100% on '' Rotten Tomatoes''; the feature film '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005) has also received acclaim. The feature film is the second-highest-grossing stop-motion animated film, only outgrossed by '' Chicken Run'' (2000), another creation of Park's. A fourth short film, ''
A Matter of Loaf and Death ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' is a 2008 British stop-motion animated short film produced by Aardman Animations, created by Nick Park, and is the fourth short to star his characters ''Wallace and Gromit'', the first one since ''A Close Shave'' ...
'', was released in 2008. The franchise has received numerous accolades, including five
British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, three Academy Awards and a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. The Wallace and Gromit characters spearhead the fundraising for two children's charities: Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation, which supports children's hospices and hospitals in the United Kingdom, and Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, the charity for Bristol Children's Hospital in Bristol, England. In December 2010, Wallace and Gromit featured on a festive themed series of UK postage stamps issued by the
Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...
.


History

The first short film, ''
A Grand Day Out ''A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit'', later marketed as ''A Grand Day Out'', is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature fil ...
'', was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1991, but lost to '' Creature Comforts'', another animated creation of Nick Park. The short films ''
The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...
'' and '' A Close Shave'' followed. The full-length feature ''
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' is a 2005 stop-motion animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations. It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box (in Box's feature directorial debut) as the second fea ...
'' was released in 2005. The latter three each earned Academy Awards. In January 2007, a five-film deal with
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
and Aardman fell through after only three films, due to creative differences, as well as the box office failure of '' Flushed Away''. Park said later that DreamWorks executives wanted to Americanise the very British Wallace and Gromit after test screenings, which would have tarnished some of the duo's nostalgic charm. The fourth Wallace and Gromit short, ''
A Matter of Loaf and Death ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' is a 2008 British stop-motion animated short film produced by Aardman Animations, created by Nick Park, and is the fourth short to star his characters ''Wallace and Gromit'', the first one since ''A Close Shave'' ...
'', was Park's first production since the end of the DreamWorks deal. It was the most-watched television programme in the UK in 2008. ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' won the 2008 BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010. In 2013, Peter Lord stated that there were no plans at the moment for a new short film, and Park announced in the following year that the declining health of Wallace's voice actor, Peter Sallis, had the possibility of preventing any future films despite the availability of
Ben Whitehead Benjamin Whitehead (born 15 May 1977) is an English actor. He is best known as the current voice of Wallace in the ''Wallace and Gromit'' franchise following Peter Sallis' retirement and subsequent death. Career Whitehead began working on film ...
. On 4 May 2017, Lord stated that more projects with the characters are likely while speaking at an animation event in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany. He said, "When Nick
ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...
s not drawing cavemen, he's drawing Wallace & Gromit ... I absolutely assume he will do another, but not a feature. I think he found it was too much. I think he liked the half-hour format." Sallis died on 2 June 2017 at the age of 96. In 2018, Park said to ''Radio Times'': "
allis Allis may refer to: People * Allis (surname) Places * Allis Township, Michigan * North Allis Township, Michigan * West Allis, Wisconsin Other * Allis-Chalmers, a former manufacturer of farm equipment based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Big Al ...
was such a special one-off person with such unique qualities, it would be hard to fill his shoes but I think he'd want us to carry on and I've got more Wallace and Gromit ideas." In 2019, Park announced that a new Wallace and Gromit project is in development. "I can't give too much away because it would spoil it really, but it's Wallace & Gromit up to their old antics." In May 2020, Aardman announced the release of ''The Big Fix Up'', a Wallace & Gromit story in the form of an
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
(AR) mobile app. It features the voices of Miriam Margolyes,
Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. ...
and Jim Carter and was released on 18 January 2021. In September 2021, a bronze bench
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Wallace and Gromit was unveiled in
Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
, Lancashire, Park's home town. In January 2022, a new film was announced, which is due to release in 2024 on Netflix worldwide, except for the UK where it will premiere first on the BBC before also coming to Netflix at a later date.


Overview


Wallace

Wallace lives at 62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan, along with his pet dog Gromit. His surname is unknown. He usually wears a white shirt, brown wool trousers, a green knitted pullover, and a red tie. He is fond of cheese, especially Wensleydale, and crackers. Nick Park, his creator, said: "He's a very self-contained figure. A very homely sort who doesn't mind the odd adventure." He is loosely based on Park's father. Wallace was voiced by Peter Sallis until 2010, and
Ben Whitehead Benjamin Whitehead (born 15 May 1977) is an English actor. He is best known as the current voice of Wallace in the ''Wallace and Gromit'' franchise following Peter Sallis' retirement and subsequent death. Career Whitehead began working on film ...
since 2005. Wallace is an inveterate inventor, creating elaborate contraptions that often do not work as intended. Their appearance is similar to the illustrations of
W. Heath Robinson William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson contr ...
and
Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...
, and Nick Park has said of Wallace that all his inventions are designed around the principle of using a "sledgehammer to crack a nut". Some of Wallace's contraptions are based on real-life inventions. For example, his method of waking up in the morning uses a bed that tips over to wake up its owner, an invention that was exhibited at the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
of 1851 by
Theophilus Carter Theophilus Carter (1824 – 21 December 1904) was an eccentric British furniture dealer who may have been an inspiration for the illustration by Sir John Tenniel of Lewis Carroll's characters the Mad Hatter in his 1865 novel ''Alice's Adven ...
. Wallace's official job varies; in ''A Close Shave'', he is a window cleaner. In ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', Wallace runs a humane pest-control service, keeping the captured creatures (nearly all of which are rabbits) in the basement of his house. In the most recent short, ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'', he is a baker. While he has shown himself to be skilled to some degree in the businesses he creates, an unexpected flaw in the inventions he uses to assist him in his latest venture or simple bad luck often ends up being his downfall. In the first photo shown on ''
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' is a 2005 stop-motion animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations. It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box (in Box's feature directorial debut) as the second fea ...
'', it was revealed that Wallace once had a full head of hair and a very thick moustache with
muttonchops Sideburns, sideboards, or side whiskers are facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to run parallel to or beyond the ears. The term ''sideburns'' is a 19th-century corruption of the original ''burnsides'', named ...
. On the photo that shows Gromit's graduation at Dogwarts, he had lost his beard, but still had a little hair, in the form of side burns just above his ears. In ''
The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...
'', he still uses a hair-dryer. In ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'', when Wallace is talking to Gromit, a picture is seen behind Gromit of Wallace with a brown beard and brown hair. Wallace has had three love interests. The first was Wendolene Ramsbottom, which ended quickly when Wendolene told Wallace that cheese gives her a rash. The second was
Lady Tottington ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' is a 2005 stop-motion animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations. It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box (in Box's feature directorial debut) as the second fea ...
in ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', whom Wallace fondly calls "Totty". In ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'', Wallace becomes engaged to Piella Bakewell, who turns out to be a serial killer.


Gromit

Gromit is a beagle who is Wallace's pet dog and best friend. He is very intelligent, having graduated from "Dogwarts University" ("Dogwarts" being a pun on " Hogwarts", the wizard school from the ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' books) with a double first in Engineering for Dogs. He likes knitting, playing chess, reading the newspaper, tea and cooking. His prized possessions include his alarm clock, dog bone, brush, and a framed photo of himself with Wallace. He is very handy with electronic equipment and an excellent aeroplane pilot. He often threatens the plans of the villains he and Wallace encounter in their adventures. Sometimes, Gromit ignores Wallace's orders, such as in ''A Close Shave'' and ''Shopper 13'', where Wallace orders him to get rid of Shaun, but Gromit does not. Gromit's birthday is 12 February. In ''
The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...
'', he is seen circling the date on a calendar. Gromit has no visible mouth and expresses himself through facial expressions and body language.
Peter Hawkins Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for radio and television, becoming a regular face and voice around the Soho-based cir ...
originally intended to voice Gromit, but Park dropped the idea when he realised how Gromit's thoughts and feelings could be known through movement with some canine noises on rare occasions. Many critics believe that Gromit's silence makes him the perfect straight man, with a pantomime expressiveness that drew favourable comparisons to
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
. He does at times make dog-like noises, such as yelps and growling. Generally speaking Gromit's tastes are more in vogue than those of Wallace; this being one of the many ways they contrast with each other as characters. Gromit seems to have a significant interest in encyclopaedic, classical and philosophical literature, and popular culture, including film and music. ''Electronics for Dogs'' has been a firm favourite since ''
A Grand Day Out ''A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit'', later marketed as ''A Grand Day Out'', is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature fil ...
'', and in ''
The Wrong Trousers ''The Wrong Trousers'' is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park, featuring his characters Wallace and Gromit, and was produced by Aardman Animations in association with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC ...
'' Gromit's bookshelves feature titles such as ''Kites'', ''Sticks'', ''Sheep'', ''Penguins'', ''Rockets'', ''Bones'' and ''Stars'', while he is seen reading ''The Republic'', by Pluto (a nod to the Disney character of the same name and a pun on Plato) and ''Crime and Punishment'', by Fido Dogstoyevsky (a pun on Fyodor Dostoyevsky). Gromit's various possessions make extensive use of puns: ''
A Matter of Loaf and Death ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' is a 2008 British stop-motion animated short film produced by Aardman Animations, created by Nick Park, and is the fourth short to star his characters ''Wallace and Gromit'', the first one since ''A Close Shave'' ...
'' features "''Pup Fiction''" ('' Pulp Fiction''), "''The Dogfather''" ('' The Godfather''), "''Where Beagles Dare''" (''
Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on lo ...
''), "''Bite Club''" ('' Fight Club'') and "''The Bone Identity''" ('' The Bourne Identity'') all as book titles, and "''Citizen Canine''" (''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'') as a film poster. His taste in music has been shown to cover Bach, "Poochini" (a play on
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...
), "McFlea" ( McFly), "The Beagles" ( the Beatles) and "Red Hot Chili Puppies" ( Red Hot Chili Peppers). Gromit gains his own love interest in ''
A Matter of Loaf and Death ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' is a 2008 British stop-motion animated short film produced by Aardman Animations, created by Nick Park, and is the fourth short to star his characters ''Wallace and Gromit'', the first one since ''A Close Shave'' ...
'', when he becomes attached to Fluffles, a poodle. Fluffles reciprocates his affection and joins Wallace and Gromit delivering bread at the end of the film, and the three drive off into the sunset, making a delivery and listening to "
Puppy Love Puppy love, also known as a crush, is an informal term for feelings of romantic love, often felt during childhood and early adolescence. It is an infatuation usually developed by someone's looks and attractiveness at first sight. Such feelings f ...
" (performed, according to the record cover, by "Doggy Osmond"). NASA named one of its new prototype Mars explorer robots after Gromit in 2005. On 1 April 2007, HMV announced that Gromit would stand in for Nipper for a three-month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.


Location

Although not overtly setting the series in any particular town, Nick Park had previously hinted that its milieu was inspired by thoughts of 1950s Wigan, reinforced by an ''A–Z Wigan'' being displayed on Wallace's Anti-Pesto van in ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. In ''The Wrong Trousers'', Gromit picks up a letter at the Wallace and Gromit residence addressed to "62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan". The address includes a postcode of WG7 7FU, though this does not match any street in Wigan, whose postcodes begin with the letters WN. This address can be seen in the ''Cracking Contraptions'' episode "Shopper 13". Wallace's
accent Accent may refer to: Speech and language * Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers * Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a particular syllable in a word, or a word in a phrase ** Pitch ac ...
(voiced by Peter Sallis) comes from the Holme Valley of West Yorkshire. In the ''Cracking Contraptions'' episode " The Soccamatic", Wallace says to Gromit, "How do you like my
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
soccamatic, Gromit?". The episode references famous English footballers of the 1950s and '60s, including Nobby Stiles,
Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the spor ...
and
Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...
(all of whom played for Preston in their careers) as well as Geoff Hurst and Stanley Matthews. The nostalgic quality of Wallace and Gromit's world has been compared to 1950s Beanotown.


Filmography


Main series


Spin-off films


Television series


Box office and reception


Box office performance


Critical and public reception


Academy Awards


Production


Stop motion technique

The ''Wallace and Gromit'' films are shot using the stop motion animation technique. After detailed storyboarding, set and plasticine model construction, the films are shot one frame at a time, moving the models of the characters slightly to give the impression of movement in the final film. As is common with other animation techniques, the stop motion animation in Wallace and Gromit may duplicate frames if there is little motion, and in action scenes sometimes multiple exposures per frame are used to produce a faux motion blur. Because a second of film constitutes 24 separate frames, even a short half-hour film like ''A Close Shave'' takes a great deal of time to animate. General quotes on the speed of animation of a Wallace and Gromit film put the filming rate at typically around 30 frames per day per animator. The feature-length ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' took 15 months to make. Some effects, particularly the fire, smoke and floating bunnies in ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', proved impossible to create in stop motion and were rendered by
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
specialists, MPC film. MPC film studied the set for three months in order to create clay-like animation to match the stop-motion production. By paying close attention to detail, MPC was able to make the animated bunnies blend in with the clay bunnies. Adding imperfections such as fingerprints along with texture to the animated bunnies helped enhance the effect. MPC's collaboration resulted in over 700 effects to aid the film along with colouring to match the visuals. Most models were destroyed in the 2005 Aardman studio fire, but a set from ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' is presently on display at the
At-Bristol We The Curious (previously At-Bristol or "@Bristol") is a science and arts centre and educational charity in Bristol, England. It features over 250 interactive exhibits over two floors, and members of the public and school groups can also en ...
science centre. The set and several props from the museum featured in ''The Wrong Trousers'' survived as well, as they were being kept at the
National Science and Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...
in
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, West Yorkshire, before the fire occurred.


Music

The music featured in every film was written by British film composer
Julian Nott Julian Franklin Keith Nott (born 23 August 1960) is a British composer and conductor, mostly of animated films. He is known for his work on ''Wallace and Gromit'' and ''Peppa Pig''. Biography Nott was born in Marylebone, London, and was edu ...
. The theme song was used to wake up astronauts aboard space shuttle mission STS-132 in May 2010. It has been suggested on BBC Radio 4's ''PM'' that the theme should become the England football supporters' song, instead of the main title theme of '' The Great Escape''.


Other media


Video games

A Wallace and Gromit interactive CD-ROM game from 1996, named ''Wallace & Gromit Fun Pack'', was released for the PC, containing the ''Crackin' Compendium'' with three mini-games based on the three original animated shorts as well as brief video clips. The other program in the Fun Pack the ''Customise-O-Matic'' contained wallpapers, screen savers and sounds that could be assigned as system sounds. A sequel ''Fun Pack 2'' was released in 2000 featuring enhanced graphics and two new games as well as a remake of the Great Train Game. The characters were associated with a 144-issue fortnightly digest called Techno Quest, published by Eaglemoss Publications starting in 1997. It was designed to get children interested in science and technology. In 1997 an animated screensaver themed video game entitled ''Wallace & Gromit Cracking Animator'' was released. Screensaver games were made by Dibase. Players could create their own multimedia animations through the collation of things like sound effects, sets, characters and props. Players could manipulate the facial movements of characters in order to synchronise their expressions with dialogue. Players could choose to make their finished creation their screensaver, or choose one of the pre-made screensaver games. The manual can be found at the British Library. The ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
'' offered a rating of 2.5 stars, noting that creativity is limited. In September 2003, '' Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo'' was released for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. This separate story sees the duo take on Feathers McGraw (of ''The Wrong Trousers'') again. Still obsessed with diamonds, he escapes from the penguin enclosure of West Wallaby Zoo, where he was "imprisoned" at the end of ''The Wrong Trousers'', and takes over the entire zoo, kidnapping young animals and forcing their parents to work for him, helping him turn the zoo into a diamond mine. Wallace and Gromit, meanwhile, have adopted one of the zoo's baby polar bears, named Archie. As they go to visit the zoo to celebrate his birthday, they find it closed. A quick spot of inventing back at the house, and they prepare to embark on their latest adventure. Hiding inside a giant wooden penguin, they infiltrate the zoo, and set about rescuing the animals. In 2005, a video game of ''
The Curse of The Were-Rabbit ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' is a 2005 stop-motion animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations. It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box (in Box's feature directorial debut) as the second fea ...
'' was released for
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and Xbox, following the plot of the film as Wallace and Gromit work as vermin-catchers, protecting customers' vegetable gardens from rabbits, using a "BunGun". Gameplay for the Project Zoo involve players exclusively controlling Gromit, as Wallace functions as a helper
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
, but in ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', gameplay shifts between the two, and includes two-player cooperative play. Both games were developed by
Frontier Developments Frontier Developments is a British video game developer founded by David Braben in January 1994 and based at the Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge, England. Frontier is known for developing amusement park Construction and management simulation ...
with the assistance of Aardman, with Peter Sallis reprising his role as Wallace. ''Project Zoo'' was published by BAM! Entertainment, while ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' was published by Konami. In July 2008, developer Telltale Games announced a new series of episodic video games based on the characters, called '' Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures''. The first episode in ''Grand Adventures'', "Fright of the Bumblebees", was released on 23 March 2009. The second episode, "The Last Resort", was released on 5 May 2009. Two more episodes, "Muzzled!" and "The Bogey Man", were released in later 2009. The four episodes have separately been released on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360.


List of video games

There are also several games on the Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time website.


Comic

British publisher
Titan Magazines Titan Magazines is the magazine-publishing division of Titan Publishing Group. Titan Magazines' publishing directors are Ricky Claydon and John Dziewiatkowski. History Titan Magazines launched in 1995 with '' Star Trek Magazine'' with John ...
started producing a monthly Wallace and Gromit comic after the debut of ''Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. The characters still run Anti-Pesto, and both Shaun and Feathers McGraw have appeared in the comic. The two characters appeared in the monthly '' BeanoMAX'' comic until its closure in June 2013, and now appear every four weeks in '' The Beano''. They are heavily featured in 'Aardmag', the free online magazine that is unofficial but supported by Aardman Animations.62 West Wallaby Street fansite
. By Seb Hamilton.
Nick Park guest-edited the 70th birthday issue of ''The Beano'' weekly, and so this issue contained numerous Wallace and Gromit references. On 17 May 2010, they began appearing daily in '' The Sun''. It is credited to Titan and Aardman, with scripts written by Richy Chandler, Robert Etherington, Mike Garley, Ned Hartley, Rik Hoskin, David Leach, Luke Paton, J.P. Rutter, Rona Simpson and Gordon Volke, art by Sylvia Bennion, Jay Clarke, Jimmy Hansen, Viv Heath, Mychailo Kazybrid and Brian Williamson. It replaced ''George and Lynne''. A graphic novel compiling all 311 daily strips was released on 8 October 2013, and a second volume followed on 4 November 2014. A third volume was released on 25 March 2015, and a fourth volume was released on 9 September 2015.


List of comics


Theatre

In November 1997 the characters appeared in a play called ''Wallace And Gromit™ Alive on Stage in a Grand Night Out''. On 9 March 2011, Shaun the Sheep made its live theatre début in ''Shaun's Big Show''. The 100-minute-long musical/dance show features all the regular characters, including Bitzer, Shirley and Timmy. In 2015, Shaun starred in ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' pantomime at Bristol Hippodrome.


Additional crew


Promotional appearances

In 2003, Aardman produced a cinematic commercial for the Renault Kangoo starring Wallace and Gromit. The ad played in front of several summer blockbusters in top British cinemas. The commercial, entitled "The Kangoo-matic", was Wallace and Gromit's first advertisement. Later Wallace and Gromit commercials were made for Jacob's Cream Crackers, energy supplier Npower and beverage
PG Tips PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by Ekaterra. Brand name In the 1930s, Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the tea market in the United Kingdom under the name ''Pre-Gestee'' - a variant of the original name "Digestive Tea. ...
. The duo were used to promote a Harvey Nichols store that opened in Bristol (where Aardman is based) in 2008. The pictures show them, and Lady Tottington from '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', wearing designer clothes and items. They were used to prevent a Wensleydale cheese factory from shutting down because of financial difficulties after a member of staff came up with the idea of using Wallace and Gromit as mascots, as Wensleydale is one of Wallace's favourite cheeses. On 28 March 2009, The Science Museum in London opened an exhibition called "Wallace & Gromit present a World of Cracking Ideas". The family-oriented show, open until 1 November 2009, hoped to inspire children to be inventive. Wallace and Gromit were featured in many exhibition-exclusive videos, as well as one announcing the opening of the exhibition. In December 2010, Wallace and Gromit featured on series of UK postage stamps issued by the
Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...
for Christmas. The same month, Nick Park appeared on BBC Radio 4’s '' Desert Island Discs'' and announced that he was working with Pleasure Beach Blackpool to build a theme park ride based on the characters. The Wallace & Gromit: The Thrill-O-Matic dark ride opened at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in 2013. Wallace and Gromit appeared in a one-minute special for the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
called ''
Jubilee Bunt-a-thon ''Jubilee Bunt-a-thon'' is a 2012 animated short film directed by Nick Park, which stars his characters Wallace and Gromit. It was created in association with the National Trust to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II Eli ...
''. In 2012, Wallace and Gromit featured on an advert saying "Inventing For Britain" which was part of a poster campaign to promote British trade and business aboard in the year they hosted the Olympics. In August 2012, they presented an edition of
The BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
, '' Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels'', as Prom 20 of the 2012 season. Because of its popularity, ''Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels'' became a full touring show in 2013. It premièred at The Plenary in Melbourne, Australia on 9 February 2013. It was performed at other venues throughout 2013, with ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' screened at each performance. In 2013 and 2014 the pair appeared in a nationwide TV, press and cinema campaign promoting the British government's "Holidays at Home are Great" directive, called ''Wallace & Gromit's Great UK Adventure''. In December 2019, they appeared in a DFS advert created by Krow to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Helena Bonham Carter reprised her role as Lady Tottington with new dialogue for this advert.


Charity

Wallace and Gromit spearhead the fundraising for two children's charities, Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation, which supports children's hospices and hospitals in the United Kingdom, and Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital Charity. In July 2013, 80 giant fibreglass decorated sculptures of Gromit were distributed around Bristol as part of a Nick Park-inspired project to raise funds for the charity. The project is named
Gromit Unleashed Gromit Unleashed was a public charity art trail led by Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal and Aardman Animations, in which 80 giant artist-decorated fibreglass sculptures of Gromit were displayed on the streets of Bristol and the surrounding ar ...
and sculptures were decorated by a range of artists and celebrities, including Joanna Lumley, Sir Peter Blake, Trevor Baylis and
Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
. A similar project featuring Shaun the Sheep called Shaun in the City was in 2015. A third was placed in 2018 called Gromit Unleashed 2, also featuring Wallace & Shaun. In 2020 ''Gromit Unleashed: The Grand Adventure'' will be in
The Mall, Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its out-of-town shopping and leisure facilities. The retail and leisure complex takes its name f ...
featuring 15 sculptures of Wallace, Gromit, Shaun and Feathers.


Theme Park Ride

A theme park ride called ''Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic'' opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 29 April 2013 by creator Nick Park, Amanda Thompson, Nick Thompson, Nick Farmer and Merlin Crossingham. The ride, which cost £5.25 million to make, was created by Blackpool Pleasure Beach design in association with Aardman Animations. The cars on the ride are designed on one of Wallace's slippers, so that, when a rider is seated, it is as if they are sitting inside a large slipper. The ride lasts almost four minutes, and features scenes from ''A Grand Day Out'', ''The Wrong Trousers'', ''A Close Shave'', ''The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' and ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' along with some archive audio and some newly recorded lines from Ben Whitehead as the voice of Wallace.


Spin-offs


''Shaun the Sheep'' (2007–present)

In 2007, a spin-off series ''Shaun the Sheep'' was created for the character of Shaun, first introduced in 1995's '' A Close Shave''. In the series, Shaun lives with his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm, a traditional small northern English farm. In each episode, their latest attempt to add excitement to their dull mundane life as livestock somehow snowballs into a fantastic sitcom-style escapade, most often with the help of their fascination with human doings and devices. This usually brings them into conflict—and often into partnership—with the farm sheepdog Bitzer, while they all are simultaneously trying to avoid discovery by the Farmer. Following the success of the series, two series of 1-minute shorts were created – ''Mossy Bottom Shorts'' and ''Championsheeps''—followed by a television special '' The Farmer's Llamas'' (2015) and two feature films, ''
Shaun the Sheep Movie ''Shaun the Sheep Movie'' is a 2015 stop-motion animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 British television series ''Shaun the Sheep'', created by Nick Park, in turn a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' film, ''A Close Shave'' (1995). ...
'' (2015) and '' A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon'' (2019).


''Timmy Time'' (2009–12)

In 2009, a spin-off of ''Shaun the Sheep'', ''Timmy Time'', was created centring on the character of the same name. In the series, Timmy and his friends have to learn to share, make friends and accept their mistakes. They are supervised by two teachers, Harriet the Heron and Osbourne the Owl. The show is aimed at pre-school-aged children which the company described as "a natural step for Aardman".


References


External links

*
Wallace & Gromit’s Children's Charity

BBC One – Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace and Gromit Fictional English people Fictional inventors Fictional dogs Fictional duos Peabody Award winners Animated duos BBC Television shows Clay animation Stop motion characters Animated human characters Films adapted into television shows Films adapted into comics Film characters introduced in 1989