Don't Be The Bunny

10/1
Wallace And Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit- *****

Sheer Perfection. I actually got a sneak preview pass from my buddy, Michael, a few weeks back because I got him some free swag from the Comic-Con I went to and I showed up super-early to make sure I got a seat. My friend Bill was going to meet me and since the show at at 10:30, I was at the theater at 9 this morning. The tiredness I feel right now was so worth it.

It's such a joy to see these people onscreen in a full-length feature. Nick Park has created these wonderful three dimensional characters over the past 10+ years and the plot didn't drag one bit (unlike "The Corpse Bride"). The rabbit's antics in the background were pure genious, although they weren't as cute as Shaun the sheep in "A Close Shave," they're still pretty adorable.

The addition of Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes as Lady & Lord Todington were hilarious. There's a great bit involving a toupee and the puns are plentiful throughout. What amazes me is the sheer humanity and good-natured-ness of these characters and it's probably due to the hand-craftedness of the process of claymation. Every single action is manipulated by hand per frame and you can see the fingerprints of these craftsmen on the screen. It's a testament to these people and their work just pays off in spades.

Mr. Park has used as inspiration great films/filmmakers of the past (Hitchcock in particular) and there are plenty of nods to James Whale (Frankenstein), Merian Cooper (King Kong), and Ray Harryhausen in this one. Looks for some Benny Hill bits, too. And it's G-rated!

The little ones in the theater today were mesmerised as were the adults. Definitely check it out when it opens nexty week.

BTW, the movie's being advertised with a companion short featuring the penguins from "Madagascar." This was not shown at the preview I went to this morning.