Movie Review: "Wallace and Gromit -- The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

Well, kickin' it off with my first review:



WALLACE AND GROMIT -- THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT



Wait, though... Before we start the actual review... Here's a quick rundown of the point scale I'll be using for these reviews:



1/10 -- STINKS! So bad it's actually kinda good in a twisted and wrong way; like Plan 9 from Outer Space or Manos: The Hands of Fate.

2/10 -- Terrible. Has absolutely no redeeming points, and should be avoided at all costs. Anyone even slightly involved in the making of this should be very, very ashamed of themselves.

3/10 -- Bad. Either completely uninspired, or hopelessly incompetent; most likely both. In general, a complete waste of money, time and effort.

4/10 -- Sub-par. Not so bad it'll make you run for the hills, screaming, or anything; but still not recommended in any way.

5/10 -- Mediocre. Not terribly bad, but not terribly good either. Doesn't accomplish anything that hasn't been done better hundreds of times before, really.

6/10 -- Fairly decent. Probably worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre/style -- if not, better to give it a miss.

7/10 -- Flawed, but enjoyable. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre/style. Not without its fair share of flaws, but the good points far outweigh the bad.

8/10 -- Good. A strong, solid and enjoyable piece of work, with only minor flaws that are easily ignored. Recommended.

9/10 -- Great. A classic-in-the-making; should not be missed! Anyone involved in the making of this can be very, very proud!

10/10 -- SUPERB! What are you reading this review for? Go check this masterpiece out now, now, NOW!



Okay. Now that that's over with, here's the review!



WALLACE AND GROMIT -- THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT



In times like these, when CGI animation has become the standard for animated features, it's nice to see that some people are still willing to make feature films with the older techniques -- hand-drawn animation and stop-motion. Curse of the Were-Rabbit is stop-motion to its core. And the blokes at the British animation studio, Aardman Studios, are very good at their work -- while this movie is not as elegant and polished as, say, Madagascar or the Shrek movies, it's still pretty smooth and fluent.

The madcap, cheese-loving inventor Wallace, and his "Silent Bob" like dog Gromit, are the cornerstone on which Aardman Studios is built. This is the fourth movie that feature the duo, but the first full-length feature film (the previous three were half-hour-long featurettes). Luckily, they've handled the transition to full-feature exceptionally well!



The story of the movie goes like this:

The hometown of our heroes is apparently populated by vegetable-obsessers. Everybody and their dog (Gromit, for one) are obsessively growing vegetables, caring for them to such extent that vegetable gardens are better protected than private homes. Electronic alarms, steel-enforced greenhouses, security locks -- you name it! And what for? Well, the annual vegetable competiton is just 'round the corner, and everyone has their heart set on winning the first price... (dun dun DUUUUUN) The Golden Carrot! But, wouldn't you know it, the vegetable gardens are constantly invaded by hungry wild rabbits!

Enter Wallace and Gromit, who have started their own "vegetable protection agency" called Anti-Pesto. Their mission: To catch any rabbit who enters a vegetable garden before it can do any harm!

Soft-hearted Wallace can never bring himself to kill the rabbits, though; he just takes them home and puts them in cages. When space begins to become a problem, he decides to find another way... and what better way than to use one of his own invensions to brainwash the rabbits so they will no longer want vegetables and so can be set free without any risk to the precious vegetables?!

Of course, things are never that easy in movies like this... and instead of ending up with a bunch of brainwashed bunnies, Wallace ends up inadvertedly creating a monster bunny that stalks the vegetable gardens during full moons, intent on eating every vegetable in sight... THE WERE-RABBIT!!!



If you think this sounds like an extremely silly story... well, you're right. But that's not a bad thing in a movie like this! Besides, it's pulled off with skill, attention to detail, and genuine wit. Curse of the Were-Rabbit is simply a hilarious movie, mixing dry British humor with out-and-out slapstick, and a ton of references to other movies, particularly of the horror kind (King Kong, Psycho, Frankenstein and, of course, The Wolfman, just to mention some). It's high-tech but old-fashioned, innocent but sophisticated, zany but thoughtful.

The animation is not as glossy or polished as The Corpse Bride but makes up for it with plenty of heart and personality. The characters are goofily British-caricature-looking, with big teeth and big ears, and extremely expressive.

Wallace himself (brilliantly voiced by his usual voice actor, Peter Sallis) is a bumbling, middle-aged inventor who is a genius with gizmos and gadgets, but rather an idiot when it comes to everything else. He never knows when enough is enough, and seems incapable of drawing the logical conclusions that are so glaringly obvious to the audience (insert half-amusing joke about certain other moviemakers here). Luckily, Gromit is generally there to pull him out of most of the situations he gets himself into. The dog is the smartest character in the entire movie, and also the biggest scene-stealer. Even though he has no visible mouth (and as such the only character without oversized teeth), and remains completely silent throughout every movie he's in, he is nevertheless one of the strongest, most expressive personalities of Aardman Studios.

The other characters are not as strong as these two, although three of them are pretty well-defined: Wallace's kindasortamaybe "love interest," Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), bestower of the prized Golden Carrot; her hunting-obsessed wannabe-suitor Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes) who makes for a nice Villain-Of-The-Movie (TM); and last but not least Hutch the recently-captured rabbit, which becomes involved in the Were-Rabbit curse in a way that... isn't like it seems in the beginning.

There are a few more characters who get some nice moments -- particularly Victor Quartermaine's hellhound of a dog, which ends up in a huge dogfight (in all senses of the word) with Gromit -- but they are mostly bit players.



The movie, thankfully, never seems as frantic and forced as Chicken Run sometimes did (not that Chicken Run was a poor movie, but it never flowed as naturally as Curse of the Were-Rabbit does). There is not a minute wasted in the movie; from Wallace's cheese-obsession to Gromit's vegetable-growing -- even the potentially saccharine cliche during the ending never becomes drawn out, and ends with a fitting, uh, "cheesy" joke.

Which is much better than the one I just made. I promise.



VERDICT: A piece of brilliance; both technically, artistically and emotionally. And it's freakin' hilarious to boot. 9/10