- The best gags in the thoroughly funny Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit may be those hidden in the film's marginalia. As a consummate cheese enthusiast, it makes sense for the mild-mannered Wallace (Peter Sallis) to line his bookshelves with such offerings as "Fromage to Eternity" and "East of Edam." Likewise, his much put-upon canine companion Gromit would naturally listen to a suite from "The Plants" rather than Gustav Holst's "The Planets" while laboring in a greenhouse. The Reverend's (Nicholas Smith) chapel contains a stained glass window where angel trumpets annoy their audience while a magazine called "Nun Wrestling" sits idly on his desk. This is one of those films for which I imagine a repeat viewing would generate twice as many laughs.
- But the main story in this film is a tale of "harmless brain alteration" gone predictably awry. While Wallace's various Rube Goldberg contraptions work well enough in support of his extermination company (called Anti-Pesto, naturally), his excursions into human-rabbit mind modification lead to a rather more alarming set of results. Specifically, they produce a behemoth were-rabbit that threatens to devour every entry in this year's annual Vegetable Competition. Needless to say, the allegedly glamourous Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter) would appreciate it ever-so-much if Wallace and Gromit would stop this monstrosity, but they quickly find themselves in competition with the dastardly hunter Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes) and his mangy mutt. Will golden bullets kill a were-rabbit, you ask? As long as the gold is..."24 carrots."
- But lest you think that the movie consists exclusively of groan-worthy puns (which I happen to love), let me point out that the proceedings are, as always, incredibly well-animated. Although some digital effects were apparently employed in the film's production, the lion's share of the animation was good, old-fashioned stop-motion work of the same basic sort made famous by King Kong and Ray Harryhausen. That means that the shadows are real, the characters are tactile, and the rabbit fur is...well, honestly, I'm not sure how they managed the fur. Regardless, the film is a welcome reminder that good stop-motion animation still beats out anything but the best CGI. Add in creator/director Nick Park's usual high levels of wit, and you have an animated film that stands hare-and-cheddars above the rest.
- Quartermaine is certainly based upon Allen Quatermain.
