Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

source: A Matter of Loaf and Death

I could go on and on why the Wallace and Gromit shorts are some of the best short films ever made. "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave" are especially excellent, and are just amazingly made. They use the right amount of suspense, with music perfectly placed throughout, and they both have hilarious and original climaxes. This short...eh! It's funny throughout, and has some elements of those other two shorts, but there's very little suspense, mainly because we know very quickly who the antagonist is, what their plan is, and then just a lot of talking. It's good, but not nearly as perfect as the other ones. Wallace and Gromit are apparently now bakers, and at the worst time too as there is an unknown baker killer on the loose. Anyways, while delivering some bread, Wallace happens to save the life of a bread company model, Piella, and they fall in love. She even has a French poodle named Fluffles that Gromit finds attractive. But, Piella is hiding a secret, and Gromit will find out what. This is a very funny short. It has some good jokes and an amusing plot. It's just with the knowledge of the other films (especially the two mentioned earlier), this one is not nearly as good. The other films had emotion, with the scenes where Gromit leaves after being unwanted, and the scene where Gromit goes to prison, but here, there is very little emotion. It's almost like this was a pilot for a Wallace and Gromit TV show. It would be a good pilot for a show, but it's not cinematic so much. It's like a gag filled kiddie show. This sounds pretty negative, but actually this is a very good short. It has a lot of funny gags, an interesting plot, and features an action packed ending, in true with the other films. Kids will love it, adults might be mixed, but no matter, it's meant for the younger group, and will entertain. Nick Park has made another entertaining Wallace and Gromit film, though perhaps he should review the formula, because if he wants to do another one, maybe he can shoot for excellent instead of just good. My rating: *** out of ****. 30 mins. Not rated.

I have seen everything publicly released by Wallace and Gromit (well, by the creators), and have to say that Wallace and Gronit (the series of movies, or short movies) is some of the best of it's kind to date. This include "Hollywood" animations. I grew up with the stop motion Norwegian movie Flåklypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix, in English), "Hollywood" animations, and some Eastern-European stop motion movies/shows, and for many years I found FGP to be the best of it's kind. FGP has been seen more times in Norwegian cinemas than there are Norwegians in Norway through the years, and that should say something... OK, Wallace and Gromit; The creator Nick Park has hit the spot for me when it comes to animations, and that's final, today. Unlike "Hollywood" productions, it's not showing superficial characters (not even the "hero's", read Gromit). Each character has each own unique look, often a kind of off-the-wall, non-typical look. Characters I have learned to just love... Wallace has to be my favorite characters of all time. The impressions of his face is just fantastic, not only for this short movie. All of them... This is English humor at it's best. Great stop motion animation and a quite good script. It's not the best Wallace and Gromit movie, but considering the quality, I can't give it less than 9 of 10 stars. This is in comparison to the quality of the Wallace and Gromit movies so far. I think the quality is so far beyond most of the "Hollywood" productions that it deserves this rating. Even my favorite animation movie Flåklypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix) is passed by Nick Parks work, I am SAD to say. I REALLY hope that this kind of quality and humor is preserved in the future, including the good looking production (vivid and dynamic colors). Why, Why, do "Hollywood" animations have to have so streamlined, "Barbie" looking, super-sweet and/or "He-Man" looking characters. Most of us have seen it before... Of course, the are some exceptions; Tim Burton's: Corpse Bride, for example (love the characters). Final word. This is not the best of the "series", but still very good. If you can select yourself, start with (in my subjective opinion): 1. The Wrong trousers 2. A Close Shave 3. A Matter of Loaf and Death 4. A Grand Day Out 5. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (full-length movie) Enjoy :)

The new Wallace and Gromit film isn't as good as the other films. The writing is basically a murder mystery that spoofs everything. The film is about the duo going into a bread industry while a serial killer is killing bakers, who Wallace falls in love with and Gromit falls for her dog. But Gromit begins to suspect her of the murders...Obviously, it's not graphic, but there is a lot of violence. The writing is, as I said before, basically a typical murder mystery that spoofs a lot of movies. The humor is very hit and miss. If you're a Wallace and Gromit fan, then you should pick this one up, but there's no telling if you'll like or not. 6/10

Wallace and Gromit are back with another adventure. This time the Rube Goldberg-style inventor and his silent but faithful dog have converted their house into a bread factory, and Wallace falls for a woman who used to be the spokeswoman for a bread company...all amid a series of murders of bakers. As always, there's a lot of pop culture references and clever camera angles. I've liked everything that Nick Park has directed (along with the Wallace and Gromit series, he also did "Creature Comforts" and "Chicken Run"), and "Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'" is no exception. Every part of it is really fun. You're sure to love it.

A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH is a Wallace and Gromit adventure without the charm that made the Claymation shorts so endearing in the first place. This is a fast-paced, Hollywood-style adventure packed with in-jokes and scenes copied from anything and everything; the bit that most stood out for me was Gromit's misadventures with the bomb which recall the old BATMAN movie with Adam West. The main plot is a copy of THE WRONG TROUSERS with a less endearing narrative structure and unlikeable characters. The cosy British feel has gone to be replaced with breakneck action, big scenery. mannered caricatures, and set-pieces. Sure, the quality of the stop motion is still very good, but other than keeping Peter Sallis in work, this has very little to recommend it.

This is the fourth animated short with the characters Wallace and Gromit, from Aardman Studios, a British studio specialized in stop-motion animation. This time, the plot will revolves around a mystery involving the death of several bakers. As Wallace, who has just opened a bakery, engages with a mysterious woman who does not look trustworthy, Gromit begins to distrust and to have reason to fear for his owner's life. Once again, Aardman has shown that knows, like no one else, how to do great stop-motion. Its a very laborious and difficult technique, but they dominate it like no one else in the film industry nowadays, in my opinion. Short after short, film after film, the technical details gained more realism and credibility, allowing for daring incursions into unexplored territories, such as action scenes. Unfortunately, the script leaves much to be desired. It starts well, with a mystery that reminds us of the very British tradition of police stories, but ends up copying and chewing the previously made "A Close Shave": again, Wallace falls in love with the potential villain, leaving Gromit alone to solve everything. This is not forgivable, it is a serious problem that harms the film a lot and its a pity that it happened. I think if there had been a serious bet on creating a new and interesting script, the movie would have been much better.

It had been 13 years since we had last seen the two lovable Plastercine characters in A Close Shave, and at Christmas we were entertained by this half hour adventure. Wallace (Peter Sallis) and Gromit are now earning a living turning 62 West Wallaby Street into a bakery, with a windmill, many mixing machines and ovens, and "dough to door" service. Recently 12 local bakers have been murdered, Gromit seems to be concerned, but Wallace isn't worried, he's too "dough-eyed" for local beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell (Coronation Street's Sally Lindsay). It is when Gromit discovers her dark plan, yes, she is the baker killer, that she is determined to do anything to stop him ruining her plan to kill Wallace. In the end it is the two dogs, Gromit and Piella's own poodle Fluffles (Melissa Collier) who save the day. A welcome return, and I'm sure this film will nominated for or win another Short Animated Film Oscar for creator Nick Park. Wallace and Gromit were number 11 on The World's Greatest Comedy Characters, and they were number 15 on The 100 Greatest Kid's TV Shows, and as part of Aardman Animations, they was number 15 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film, and it won the BAFTA for Best Short Animation. Very good!

Watching Wallace and Gromit has become a Christmas tradition so it is always good when a new story is added to their collection. This outing finds the two of then running the Top Bun bakery, unfortunately there is a serial killer on the loose who is murdering bakers. As the duo are out delivering their bread they rescue Piella who's bicycle's brakes fail at the top of a steep hill that runs down to a pit full of crocodiles in the local zoo. It is love at first sight for Wallace who recognises her as the "Bake-O-Lite girl" who used to feature in bread adverts even though she has clearly put on as few pounds since then. Gromit is suspicious of her immediately and when he investigates he discovers evidence that she is the murderer. Being a dog he can't just tell Wallace what is going on so it is up to him to save the day... with some help from Piella's put-upon poodle Fluffles. As with all of the Wallace and Gromit shorts the animation is top notch and Peter Sallis is perfect as the voice of Wallace. The story however wasn't as good as The Wrong Trousers or A Close Shave. Many of the gags were clearly aimed at adult viewers, with references to films like Ghost and Aliens which younger viewers won't have seen. That said it is still much better than most programmes on television today and is well worth watching.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Wallace and Gromit have decided to set up their own baking business. One day, Wallace nearly has a traffic accident with the woman who used to be the 'bake-o-lite' girl. They warm to each other and romance starts to blossom-but Gromit, wary as ever (what with past experience!) suspects she's trouble, and what with the spate of serial killings involving local bakers that's been going on lately, maybe he's onto something. After the success of 2005's film version The Curse of the Were Rabbit, Nick Park's plasticine heroes have become popular again and got enough publicity for a timely new episode last Christmas, that for one reason or another I didn't get to see all the way through. But now I have, and while the technical animation never ceases to impress me, it's now becoming quite clear that in my mind, Park'll never make as great an episode as The Wrong Trousers. The serial killing theme of this new story might have been a bit too dark and adult to feature in a family film, but one of the trademarks of the franchise, the cheesy puns, are in abundance, from vinyl records Gromit owns by artists like Doggy Osmond and McFlea (as well as The Hound of Music!), to other clever (but not very subtle!) touches like advertisements for flights by Cheesy Jet. The stories in most of the short films revolve around Wallace warming to someone (or something) he's just met and Gromit suspecting (and being proved right!) that they're up to no good, and this is no exception but most of it is carried off with such technical expertise it's a minor quibble. There's nothing really wrong here, it's just that nothing has (and I doubt ever will) live up to the standard of The Wrong Trousers for me. ***