Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series of several short and several full-length British cartoons created by Nick Park at Aardman Animations . The characters are molded from plasticine on a wire basis and shot using the frame-by-frame animation method [1] .
Wallace is a frivolous and kindhearted inventor, a fan of cheese (especially Wensleydale) and the owner of a dog named Gromit, who seems a lot more intelligent than his master. Wallace was voiced by professional actor Peter Sallis ; Thunder is speechless, but his facial expressions are very eloquent.
The action takes place in the UK , while the traditional British buildings, interiors, streets, fences and landscapes are transmitted with great care.
Content
Characters
Wallace
Born June 3 in London . Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming an inventor and decided that in order to achieve this goal he first needs to become an engineer, and then a physicist. After graduating from high school, he entered the Polytechnic Institute, where he was educated as an engineer . Then Wallace entered the physics department of the University of Oxford , where he was educated in the field of physics . Finally, after Wallace received two higher educations, he became a real inventor-physicist. On February 12, Wallace sheltered a dog named Gromit, with whom soul to soul lives to this day. Wallace lives at 62 West Wallaby Street. Usually wears a white shirt, brown wool trousers, a green knitted vest and a red tie. An ardent lover of cheese - first of all, Wensleydale varieties ( English Wensleydale ). She also regularly reads newspapers - Morning Post, Afternoon Post, Evening Post , The Daily Grind. He likes to watch TV shows on the BBC channel.
Wallace’s image is combined - his ingenuity was based on Nick Park’s father, and his clothing style and love of cheese was based on his school teacher.
Thunders
Gromit lives with Wallace. Born February 12th . He loves to knit, read newspapers and cook. The property of Gromit includes: an alarm clock, a stone, a brush, a photo with a wallace in a frame and a small library. He skillfully handles electrical equipment [2] , in addition, he is sensitive, quick-witted and resourceful. Gromit does not speak, but has a very expressive facial expression. Nick Park, its creator, said: “We are a nation of dog lovers, and many people say:“ My dog looks at me just like Gromit! ”” Gromit likes to eat cornflakes and read books, including:
- "State" of Pluto (reference to Plato and at the same time to the Disney hero dog Pluto )
- “Crime and Punishment” by Fedor Sobakevsky (reference to the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky , “ Crime and Punishment ”)
- "People - from Mars, dogs - from Pluto" (rephrased " Men from Mars, women from Venus ")
- "Electronics for dogs"
- "Sheeps".
In addition, he loves to listen to Bach and easily solves puzzles (for example, in the “Cut to zero” series, without looking, he assembled a puzzle of 5,000 pieces (although in fact the puzzle is 13 × 10)).
Cartoons
First Half-hour Films
Three original half-hour cartoons:
- Picnic on the Moon / A Grand Day Out ( 1989 )
- Wrong Pants / The Wrong Trousers ( 1993 )
- Zero haircut / A Close Shave ( 1995 )
Cunning fixtures
- Cunning devices / Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions ( 2002 )
A series of 10 short (2½-minute) episodes was distributed primarily via the Internet . Each episode represents one of Wallace's new inventions and the skepticism of Gromit. In Russia, it was also broadcast by the 2x2 television channel.
- 01 - A Christmas Cardomatic - make Christmas cards
- 02 - The 525 Crackervac - fighting a cookie-hunting vacuum cleaner
- 03 - The Autochef - Robot serves traditional English breakfast
- 04 - The Bully Proof Vest - Test Belt Designed For Self-Defense
- 05 - Shopper 13 - Remote-controlled Shopping Cart
- 06 - The Snoozatron - a device that rescues from insomnia
- 07 - The Snowmanotron - participate in the competition for the construction of snowmen
- 08 - The Soccamatic - Motorized Football
- 09 - The Tellyscope - Wallace creates a remote control for the TV
- 10 - The Turbo Diner - Wallace is building a huge structure to replace the dead robot chef in the third series.
Feature Film
- Curse of the Were-Rabbit / Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ( 2005 )
In the feature film, Nick Park talks more about the town in which Wallace and Gromit live, and its inhabitants.
The film, like the previous series, was shot by frame-by-frame animation, but using modern computer technologies that made the picture quality higher.
In the film we see mostly adults, and even older characters. And they all grow vegetables in their gardens. Every year, Lady Tottington holds a competition for the largest vegetable in Tottington Hall. The main prize for it is a golden carrot. Citizens live this holiday and value their vegetables very much.
Wallace organizes the company Anti-Gryz (Anti-Pesto): he and Gromit, with the help of his inventions, protect the gardens of citizens from rabbits, which, according to Wallace, are "ideal machines for the destruction of vegetables." At any time of the day they are ready to go to the object and catch the rabbit that has climbed up.
On the eve of the contest, a terrible monster suddenly starts up in the city: a huge rabbit, which at night unhinderedly destroys the fruits of the labor of citizens. Wallace and Gromit find themselves in an unpleasant situation - they urgently need to catch and neutralize the "predator". Following the trail, the main characters suddenly discover that the cause of the monster is the unsuccessful invention of Wallace. Wallace tried to change the minds of rabbits, trying to wean them from loving vegetables.
There are also references to the First World War in the film: while Victor Dog was chasing Gromit on an airplane, at the moment when a werewolf rabbit was announced for the annual vegetable festival. On the wings of the red plane of dog Victor, there are German crosses, and Gromit's plane is a French fighter (The Red Baron and Lafayette Squadron films).
New Short Film
- The Case of Bread and Death / A Matter of Loaf and Death ( 2008 )
Nick Park said that after a full-length project about Wallace and Gromit, he was glad to return to author's cinema again.
In the new film, Wallace and Gromit organize a new venture - a bakery. Wallace’s whole house turns into a granary, a workshop with an oven, a workshop with mechanical dough mixing. Wallace falls in love again, this time with Pella Bakwell, who later turns out to be a serial killer of bakers. But Gromit falls in love with her poodle Fluffles, who did not want to help the hostess, and therefore switched to the side of Wallace and Gromit, eventually staying with them in the final.
The World of Inventions of Wallace and Gromit
In 2010, the BBC channel hosted the popular science show Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention. Currently consists of six episodes lasting up to 30 minutes. This is a documentary non-fiction program, not a cartoon.
Jubilee Bunt-a-thon
In 2012, a congratulatory 1-minute series was released specifically for the “ diamond anniversary ” (60th anniversary of the accession to the throne) of Queen Elizabeth II [3] .
"Jubilee Bunt-a-thon" on the Wallace and Gromit Channel on YouTube .
Games based on the series
- Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo ( 2003 ) - a game for the PC , PlayStation 2 , Xbox and Nintendo GameCube in the genre of platformer , developed by BAM! Entertainment
- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ( 2005 ) is an action game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox developed by Frontier Developments and published by Konami . The plot of the game is based on the eponymous full-length film .
- Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures ( 2009 ) is a PC and Xbox360 quest game developed by Telltale Games . The game consists of 4 episodes: Fright of the Bumblebees, The Last Resort, Muzzled !, The Bogey Man.
Literature
- The World of Wallace and Gromit by Andy Lane ( 2004 , ISBN 0-7522-1558-2 )
Notes
- ↑ English stop motion animation , sometimes this type of animation is called "advanced puppet animation technology."
- ↑ grommet in English technical slang is a protective liner used when laying cables; Nick Park learned this term from his brother-electrician
- ↑ Kommersant Newspaper - Wallace and Gromit congratulate Elizabeth II