Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - G
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that the movie includes some mildly scary images of the were-rabbit's transformation -- first in shadow and then in person. These images follow the werewolf pattern, with teeth, fur, paws, and snout indicating the beast's emergence. The townsfolk and one hunter in particular pursue the were-rabbit, with guns and garden tools (again, following classic horror conventions, as in Frankenstein). Characters drink at a party, and make occasional bawdy, Benny-Hillish sexual references, most of which will go over little ones' heads.
Families can discuss the enduring friendship between Wallace and his dog Gromit. How is this relationship a model of loyalty, trust, and affection set against the conniving and pettiness among the humans? And how is their friendship briefly threatened by Wallace's romantic interest in Lady Tottington (who ends up being a terrific good sport too)? How does the film set up a nice tension between the very cute rabbits who are, admittedly, gobbling up the town's vegetable gardens and the monstrous were-rabbit?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
By turns antic and lovely, WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT is a fitting big screen debut for the beloved claymation stars Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and Gromit (the dog who does not talk, but whose face speaks proverbial and often plaintive volumes). At once a clever send-up of classic horror movies (of 1930s-'40s sort, including Wolfman and Frankenstein), an entertaining assembly of wordplay and visual gags, and even a bit of an insightful character study, the movie reportedly took five years to make, as Nick Park and Steve Box and a crew of hundreds posed each clay figure frame by frame.
Following their appearances in award-winning shorts, in this incarnation, Wallace and Gromit run a pest-riddance company, Anti-Pesto. Each night, they're alerted by the elaborate security system the townspeople have attached to their prized vegetable gardens, and go forth in their well-outfitted truck to capture (but never kill) the offending creatures -- typically rodents and rabbits. Wallace then deposits the animals in cages in his basement, where he keeps them supplied with carrots and lettuce, no matter to him because he prefers cheese above all other food.
Their animal-capturing devices, invented by the tirelessly imaginative and self-congratulatory Wallace, tend to the Rube-Goldbergian sort. Among their most effective is the BUNVAC 6000, which sucks up rabbits from beneath the ground into a large, clear-walled jar, to be wheeled away to safety (the quickly crowding basement). Indeed, Wallace and Gromit are called on to perform just such a suckage by the much respected Lady Campanula Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter). The contraption does its work, such that the bunnies' adorable buck teeth, long ears, and enormous eyes are soon on full display in the jar. Lady Tottington is quite taken by their cuteness, and Wallace is taken by hers. Alas, she's also being courted by the covetous, egregiously hairpieced Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes), whose own suggestion concerning the bunnies is to shoot them with his hunting rifle. Lady T prefers Wallace's method, which sets up a contest for her attentions.
Wallace's desire to reprogram the bunnies so they won't desire veggies leads to an experiment that goes awry, and soon a giant were-rabbit is stomping through the town at night, ravaging the squashes and pumpkins, and threatening to shut down Tottington Hall's annual Giant Vegetable Competition. Wallace and Gromit are on the case, but so is Victor.
At last, Gromit discovers a difficult truth, which means he has to figure out his own surprising, extraordinary course of action. That it is left to the dog, so intelligent, so generous, and so very very stoic, to smooth out the humans' mess, is appropriate. This because the humans' silly rituals and constant worries about status and size eventually give way to the film's underlying point, the value of what Lady T calls "all things fluffy."
Families who enjoy this movie will also like Parks' previous feature film, the non-W&G Chicken Run (itself a spoof of another beloved genre, WWII movies), as and well as the W&G shorts, Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers(1993) and Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave (1995).
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentWallace has a crush; minor (British) sexual references in language. |
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ViolenceCartoon shooting and chasing (on foot, in vehicles). |
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LanguageOne character says, "arsing around." |
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Social BehaviorGreedy villain is comedic and blustery, gets his comeuppance. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMinor drinking by adults at a party. |
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