| Wallace & Gromit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Nick Park |
| Owner | Aardman Animations |
| Years | 1989–present |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | List of comic books |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Short film(s) |
|
| Web series | Shaun the Sheep 3D (2012) |
| Animated series |
|
| Television special(s) |
|
| Theatrical presentations | |
| Play(s) |
|
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | List of video games |
Wallace & Gromit is a Britishclaymation comedyfranchise created byNick Park and produced byAardman Animations. The series centres on Wallace, a good-natured, eccentric and cheese-loving bachelor inventor, and Gromit, his loyal and intelligentanthropomorphic dog. It consists of fourshort films, twofeature-length films, and numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The first short film,A Grand Day Out, was finished and released in 1989. Wallace has been voiced byPeter Sallis andBen Whitehead. While Wallace speaks very often, Gromit is largely silent and has no dialogue, instead communicating throughfacial expressions andbody language.[1]
Because of their popularity, the characters have been described as positive international cultural icons of both modern British culture and British people in general.BBC News called them "some of the best-known and best-loved stars to come out of the UK".[2]Culture24 outletICONS has said they have done "more to improve theimage of the English world-wide than any officially appointed ambassadors".[3]
Park has stated that he was inspired by his childhood through the 1950s and 1960s inLancashire inNorthern England. The setting is deliberately ambiguous: the overall style resembles the 1960s, but numerous anachronisms abound, such as the use of 21st-century technology. AlthoughWigan is seen at the end of Wallace'salliterative home address on his letters, his accent comes from theHolme Valley ofWest Yorkshire, and he is especially fond ofWensleydale cheese (fromNorth Yorkshire).
Their films have been widely praised, with the first three short films,A Grand Day Out (1989),The Wrong Trousers (1993) andA Close Shave (1995) earning 100% onRotten Tomatoes; the feature filmWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) has also received acclaim. The film is thesecond-highest-grossing stop-motion animated film, outgrossed only byChicken Run (2000), another creation of Park's. A fourth short film,A Matter of Loaf and Death, was released in 2008. A second full-length feature film,Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – marking the return of the penguinFeathers McGraw, the villain fromThe Wrong Trousers – was released in 2024.[4]Shaun the Sheep is a spin-off of the franchise, featuring the character introduced inA Close Shave and debuting in 2007.[5] The franchise has receivednumerous accolades, including sevenBAFTAs, threeAcademy Awards and aPeabody Award.[6]
The first short film,A Grand Day Out, was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1991. The short filmsThe Wrong Trousers andA Close Shave followed, both of which won the aforementioned award. The first full-length feature film,Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was released in 2005, and went on to win theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In January 2007, a five-film deal withDreamWorks and Aardman fell through after three films, due to creative differences, as well as the box office failure ofFlushed Away. Park said later that DreamWorks executives wanted toAmericanise the very British Wallace and Gromit after test screenings, which would have tarnished some of the duo'snostalgic charm. The fourthWallace & Gromit short,A Matter of Loaf and Death, was Park's first production since the end of the DreamWorks deal. It was the most-watched television programme in the UK in 2008.[7]A Matter of Loaf and Death won the 2008BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.[8] In 2013,Peter Lord stated that there were no plans at the moment for a new short film, and Park announced in the following year that the declining health of Wallace's voice actor,Peter Sallis, had the possibility of preventing any future films despite the availability ofBen Whitehead.[9]
In May 2017, Lord stated that more projects with the characters were likely while speaking at an animation event inStuttgart, Germany. He said, "When Nick [Park]'s not drawing cavemen, he's drawing Wallace & Gromit ... I absolutely assume he will do another, but not a feature. I think he found it was too much. I think he liked the half-hour format."[10]
Sallis died on 2 June 2017.[11] In 2018, Park said toRadio Times: "[Sallis] was such a special one-off person with such unique qualities, it would be hard to fill his shoes but I think he'd want us to carry on and I've got more Wallace and Gromit ideas."[12] In 2019, Park announced that a newWallace & Gromit project is in development. "I can't give too much away because it would spoil it really, but it's Wallace & Gromit up to their old antics."[13][14] In May 2020, Aardman announced the release ofThe Big Fix Up, a Wallace & Gromit story in the form of anaugmented reality (AR)mobile app. It features the voices ofMiriam Margolyes,Isy Suttie andJim Carter and was released on 18 January 2021.[15][16]
In September 2021, a bronze bench statue ofWallace & Gromit was unveiled inPreston, Lancashire, Park's home town.[17] A statue of Feathers McGraw was later added as part of an extension in February 2025.[18] In January 2022, a new feature film,Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, was announced, which debuted first on the BBC on Christmas Day 2024, and was released worldwide onNetflix on 3 January 2025, winning two awards at the78th British Academy Film Awards and additionally being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[19]
Wallace lives, along with his pet dog Gromit, at No. 62 West Wallaby Street that is in a part ofWigan inGreater Manchester, England.
He usually wears brown woollen trousers, a white shirt with detachable sleeves, and a red tie under a greenvee-necked knittedsleeveless sweater. He is fond of cheese, especiallyWensleydale, with crackers.[20][21]
Nick Park, his creator, said: "He's a very self-contained figure. A very homely sort who doesn't mind the odd adventure." He is loosely based on Park's father and Park has never made it clear as to whether Wallace is the character's forename or surname, preferring to leave this ambiguous.[22][23][24]
Wallace was voiced byPeter Sallis until his retirement in 2010, being succeeded byBen Whitehead.[25][26][27]
Wallace is an inveterate inventor, creatingelaborate contraptions that often do not work wholly as intended. Their appearance is similar to the illustrations ofW. Heath Robinson andRube Goldberg, where Nick Park has said of Wallace that all his inventions are designed around the principle of using a "sledge-hammer to crack a nut".[28] Some of Wallace's contraptions are based on real-life inventions. For example, his method of waking up in the morning uses a bed that tips up to wake up its owner, an invention that was exhibited at theGreat Exhibition of 1851 byTheophilus Carter.[citation needed]
Wallace has had three romantic interests. The first was wool shop owner Wendolene Ramsbottom,[29] which ended quickly when Wendolene told Wallace that she was allergic to some cheese. The second was Lady Campanula Tottington inThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit, whom Wallace fondly calls "Totty". InA Matter of Loaf & Death, Wallace becomes engaged to Piella Bakewell, who turns out to be a serial killer of bakers.[30]
"Gromit doesn't ever say a word, but there has never been a more expressive character (animated or otherwise) to grace our screens."
Gromit is a dog, with a cream-coloured short-haircoat and oversized, floppy, dark brown ears, who is Wallace's pet and best friend.[32] He is very intelligent, having graduated from "Dogwarts University" ("Dogwarts" being a pun on "Hogwarts", the wizard school from theHarry Potter books) with adouble first in Engineering for Dogs.[33] He likes knitting, playing chess, reading the newspaper, tea and cooking. His prized possessions include his alarm clock, dog bone, brush, and a framed photo of himself with Wallace. He is very handy with electronic equipment and an excellent aeroplane pilot. He often threatens the plans of the antagonists he and Wallace encounter in their adventures. Sometimes, Gromit ignores Wallace's orders, such as inA Close Shave andShopper 13, where Wallace orders him to get rid of Shaun but Gromit does not. Gromit's birthday is 12 February.[34] InThe Wrong Trousers, he is seen circling the date on a calendar.
Gromit has no visible mouth and expresses himself through facial expressions and body language.Peter Hawkins originally intended to voice Gromit, but Park dropped the idea when he realised how Gromit's thoughts and feelings could be known through movement with some canine noises on rare occasions.[35][36] Many critics believe that Gromit's silence makes him the perfectstraight man, with apantomime expressiveness that drew favourable comparisons toBuster Keaton.[37] He does at times make dog-like noises, such as yelps and growling.[38] According to the fortieth anniversary documentaryA Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman, Gromit was originally supposed to be a cat, but the idea was dropped as Park realised that animating a dog was easier.
Generally speaking, Gromit's tastes are more in vogue than those of Wallace; this being one of the many ways they contrast with each other as characters. Gromit seems to have a significant interest in encyclopaedic, classical and philosophical literature, and popular culture, including film and music.Electronics for Dogs has been a firm favourite sinceA Grand Day Out, and inThe Wrong Trousers Gromit's bookshelves feature titles such asKites,Sticks,Sheep,Penguins,Rockets,Bones andStars, while he is seen readingThe Republic, by Pluto (a nod to theDisney character of the same name and a pun onPlato) andCrime and Punishment, by Fido Dogstoyevsky (a pun onFyodor Dostoyevsky). Gromit's various possessions make extensive use of puns:A Matter of Loaf and Death features "Pup Fiction" (Pulp Fiction), "The Dogfather" (The Godfather), "Where Beagles Dare" (Where Eagles Dare), "Bite Club" (Fight Club) and "The Bone Identity" (The Bourne Identity) all as book titles, and "Citizen Canine" (Citizen Kane) as a film poster. InVengeance Most Fowl, he is shown readingA Room of One's Own, by "Virginia Woof" (a pun onVirginia Woolf), andParadise Lost, by "John Stilton" (a pun onJohn Milton). His taste in music has been shown to coverBach (presumably punning on "bark"), "Poochini" (a play onPuccini), "McFlea" (McFly), "The Beagles" (the Beatles), "Red Hot Chili Puppies" (Red Hot Chili Peppers), "Puppy Love" by Doggy Osmond (Donny Osmond), "The Hound of Music" (The Sound of Music) and"Walkies on the Wild Side" by Rod Lead.
Gromit gains his own love interest inA Matter of Loaf and Death, when he becomes attached to Fluffles, a poodle.
NASA named one of its new prototypeMars explorer robots after Gromit in 2005.[39] On 1 April 2007,HMV announced that Gromit would stand in forNipper for a three-month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.[40]
Although not overtly setting the series in any particular town, Nick Park had previously hinted that its milieu was inspired by thoughts of 1950sWigan, reinforced by anA–Z Wigan being displayed on Wallace's Anti-Pesto van inThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit.[41] InThe Wrong Trousers, Gromit picks up a letter at the Wallace & Gromit residence addressed to "62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan".[41] The address includes a postcode of WG7 3FU, though this does not match any street in the United Kingdom; Wigan postcodes begin with the lettersWN.[42] This address can be seen in theCracking Contraptions episode "Shopper 13".
Wallace's accent comes from theHolme Valley ofWest Yorkshire.[43]
In theCracking Contraptions episode "The Soccamatic", Wallace says to Gromit, "How do you like myPreston North End soccamatic, Gromit?". The episode references famous English footballers of the 1950s and '60s, includingNobby Stiles,Tom Finney andBill Shankly (all of whom played for Preston in their careers) as well asGeoff Hurst andStanley Matthews.
The nostalgic quality ofWallace & Gromit's world has been compared to 1950sBeanotown.[44]
| Title | U.K. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short films | |||||
| A Grand Day Out | 4 November 1989 | Nick Park | Nick Park and Steve Rushton | Rob Copeland | |
| The Wrong Trousers | 26 December 1993 | Nick Park,Bob Baker andBrian Sibley | Christopher Moll | ||
| A Close Shave | 24 December 1995 | Bob Baker and Nick Park | Carla Shelley and Michael Rose | ||
| A Matter of Loaf and Death | 25 December 2008 | Nick Park and Bob Baker | Steve Pegram | ||
| Feature films | |||||
| The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | 7 October 2005 | Nick Park andSteve Box | Nick Park, Steve Box,Mark Burton and Bob Baker | Claire Jennings, Carla Shelley,Peter Lord,David Sproxton and Nick Park | |
| Vengeance Most Fowl | 25 December 2024 | Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham | Mark Burton | Nick Park and Mark Burton | Richard Beek |
| Title | Original release/air date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short films | |||||
| Timmy Time: Timmy's Christmas Surprise | 12 December 2011 | ||||
| Timmy Time: Timmy's Seaside Rescue | 13 July 2012 | ||||
| Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas | 26 December 2015 | Jay Grace | Nick Vincent Murphy, Lee Pressman and Richard Starzak | Paul Kewley and John Woolley | |
| Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas[45][46] | 3 December 2021 | Steve Cox | Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow | ||
| Feature films | |||||
| Shaun the Sheep Movie | 6 February 2015 | Mark Burton andRichard Starzak | Paul Kewley and Julie Lockhart | ||
| A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon | 18 October 2019 | Will Becher and Richard Phelan | Mark Burton and Jon Brown | Richard Starzak | Paul Kewley |
| Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom[47] | 2026 | Steve Cox and Matthew Walker | Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow | Richard Beek | |
List indicator
| |||||
| Title | Originally aired | Series | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| Main series | ||||
| Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions | 15 October 2002 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention | 3 November 2010 | 8 December 2010 | 6 | |
| Spin-offs | ||||
| Shaun the Sheep | 5 March 2007 | 17 March 2020 | 6 | 170 |
| Timmy Time | 6 April 2009 | 13 July 2012 | 3 | 78 |
| Shaun the Sheep 3D | 7 March 2012 | 13 June 2012 | 1 | 15 |
| Shaun The Sheep Championsheeps | 2 July 2012 | 13 July 2012 | 21 | |
| Film | Budget | Box office gross | All time ranking | Ref(s). | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. and Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | U.S. and Canada | Worldwide | |||
| Wallace & Gromit: The Best of Aardman Animation† | $2 million | $1,002,002 | $1,002,002 | #9,098 | #15,771 | [48][49][50] | |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | $30 million | $56,068,547 | $138,000,274 | $192,611,171 | #1,663 | #956 | [51][52][53] |
| Shaun the Sheep Movie | $25 million | $19,375,982 | $86,833,396 | $106,209,378 | #3,946 | #1,813 | [54][55][56] |
| A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon | $43,100,248 | $43,100,248 | #3,218 | [57][58] | |||
| Timmy's Cinema Adventure^ | $84,581 | $84,581 | #23,697 | [59] | |||
| Timmy's Cinema Adventure: Christmas Edition^ | $34,574 | $34,574 | #26,985 | [60] | |||
| Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas | $2,027,525 | $2,027,525 | [61] | ||||
| Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | $191,452 | $191,452 | [62] | ||||
| Total | $82 million | $85.4 million | $345.7 million | $421.2 million | |||
List indicators
| |||||||
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[63] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Grand Day Out | 100% (21 reviews)[64] | ||||
| The Wrong Trousers | 100% (28 reviews)[65] | ||||
| A Close Shave | 100% (21 reviews)[66] | ||||
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | 95% (184 reviews)[67] | 87 (35 reviews)[68] | B+[63] | ||
| Shaun the Sheep Movie | 99% (169 reviews)[69] | 81 (30 reviews)[70] | |||
| A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon | 96% (82 reviews)[71] | 79 (17 reviews)[72] | |||
| Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | 100% (131 reviews)[73] | 83 (31 reviews)[74] | |||
List indicator
| |||||
| Award | Main series | Spin-offs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Grand Day Out[75] | The Wrong Trousers[76] | A Close Shave[77] | The Curse of the Were-Rabbit[78] | A Matter of Loaf and Death[79] | Vengeance Most Fowl[80] | Shaun the Sheep Movie[81] | A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon[82] | |
| Animated Short | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | ||||
| Animated Feature | Won | Nominated | Nominated | Nominated | ||||
TheWallace & Gromit films are shot using thestop motion animation technique.[83] After detailed storyboarding, set andplasticine model construction, the films are shot oneframe at a time, moving the models of the characters slightly to give the impression of movement in the final film. As is common with other animation techniques, the stop motion animation inWallace & Gromit may duplicate frames if there is little motion, and in action scenes sometimes multiple exposures per frame are used to produce a fauxmotion blur. Because a second of film constitutes 24 separate frames, even a short half-hour film likeA Close Shave takes a great deal of time to animate. General quotes on the speed of animation of aWallace & Gromit film put the filming rate at typically around 30 frames per day per animator.[84]
Some effects, particularly the fire, smoke and floating bunnies inThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit, proved impossible to create in stop motion and were rendered bycomputer animation specialists MPC film.[85] MPC film studied the set for three months to create clay-like animation to match the stop-motion production. By paying close attention to detail, MPC was able to make the animated bunnies blend in with the clay bunnies. Adding imperfections such as fingerprints along with texture to the animated bunnies helped enhance the effect. MPC's collaboration resulted in over 700 effects to aid the film along with colouring to match the visuals.[85]
Most models were destroyed in the2005 Aardman studio fire, but some still exist, such as a small-scale model for the Cooker fromA Grand Day Out and Feathers McGraw trapped in a bottle fromThe Wrong Trousers.[86] The set and several props from the museum featured in the latter short film survived as well, as they were being kept at theNational Science and Media Museum inBradford, West Yorkshire, before the fire occurred. In 2008, a set fromA Matter of Loaf and Death, which was produced after the fire, was displayed at theWe The Curious science centre.[87]
The music featured in every film was written by British film composerJulian Nott. The theme song was used to wake up astronauts aboard space shuttle missionSTS-132 in May 2010.[88]
AWallace & Gromit interactive CD-ROM game from 1996, namedWallace & Gromit Fun Pack, was released for thePC, containing theCrackin' Compendium with three mini-games based on the three original animated shorts as well as brief video clips. The other program in the Fun Pack theCustomise-O-Matic contained wallpapers, screen savers and sounds that could be assigned as system sounds.[89] A sequelFun Pack 2 was released in 2000 featuring enhanced graphics and two new games as well as a remake of the Great Train Game.
The characters were associated with a 144-issue fortnightly digest called Techno Quest, published by Eaglemoss Publications starting in 1997. It was designed to get children interested in science and technology.[90]
In 1997, an animated screensaver themed video game entitledWallace & Gromit Cracking Animator was released. Screensaver games were made by Dibase.[91] Players could create their own multimedia animations through the collation of things like sound effects, sets, characters and props. Players could manipulate the facial movements of characters to synchronise their expressions with dialogue.[92] Players could choose to make their finished creation their screensaver, or choose one of the pre-made screensaver games.[92] TheBoston Herald offered a rating of 2.5 stars, noting that creativity is limited.[93]
In September 2003,Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo was released for thePlayStation 2,Xbox,GameCube, andMicrosoft Windows. This separate story sees the duo take on Feathers McGraw (ofThe Wrong Trousers) again. Still obsessed with diamonds, he escapes from the penguin enclosure of West Wallaby Zoo, where he was "imprisoned" at the end ofThe Wrong Trousers, and takes over the entire zoo, kidnapping young animals and forcing their parents to work for him, helping him turn the zoo into a diamond mine.
In 2005, a video game ofThe Curse of The Were-Rabbit was released forPlayStation 2 andXbox, following the plot of the film as Wallace and Gromit work as vermin-catchers, protecting customers' vegetable gardens from rabbits, using a "BunGun".[94] Gameplay for the Project Zoo involve players exclusively controlling Gromit, as Wallace functions as a helpernon-player character, but inThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit, gameplay shifts between the two, and includes two-player cooperative play.[95] Both games were developed byFrontier Developments with the assistance of Aardman, with Peter Sallis reprising his role as Wallace.Project Zoo was published byBAM! Entertainment, whileThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit was published byKonami.[95]
In July 2008, developerTelltale Games announced a new series ofepisodic video games based on the characters, calledWallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures.[96] The first episode inGrand Adventures, "Fright of the Bumblebees", was released on 23 March 2009.[97] The second episode, "The Last Resort", was released on 5 May 2009.[98] Two more episodes, "Muzzled!" and "The Bogey Man", were released in later 2009. The four episodes have separately been released onXbox Live Arcade for theXbox 360.
On 25 July 2024, aWallace & Gromit-themed course was added to thevirtual reality gameWalkabout Mini Golf asdownloadable content (DLC).[99] A DLC pack based on the franchise was added toPowerWash Simulator on 4 March 2025.[100]
| Title | Release date | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Main series | ||
| Wallace & Gromit Fun Pack | 1996 | PC |
| Wallace & Gromit Cracking Animator | 1997 | |
| Wallace & Gromit Print O Matic[101][102] | 1998 | |
| Wallace & Gromit Fun Pack 2 | 1999 | |
| Project Zoo | 3 October 2003 | PlayStation 2,GameCube,Xbox,Windows |
| The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | 7 October 2005 | PlayStation 2, Xbox,Mobile |
| Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of the Were Rabbit (Interactive DVD Game) | 7 November 2005 | DVD |
| Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees | 23 March 2009 | PC,Xbox 360 |
| Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 2: The Last Resort | 5 May 2009 | PC, Xbox 360,iOS |
| Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 3: Muzzled! | 15 June 2009 | PC, Xbox 360 |
| Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 4: The Bogey Man | 30 July 2009 | |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix up | 18 January 2021 | iOS, Android |
| The Grand Getaway | 7 December 2023 | Meta Quest 2 VR |
| Shaun the Sheep series | ||
| Shaun the Sheep | 26 September 2008 | Nintendo DS |
| Off His Head | 23 October 2009 | |
| Home Sheep Home | 2011 | iOS |
| Home Sheep Home 2 | 2011 | |
| Shaun's Mossy Mole Mischief | June 2016 | Wii U,Nintendo 3DS |
| Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition | October 2019 26 May 2023 (re-release)[103] | Switch,Xbox One,Xbox Series X and Series S,PlayStation 4 &PlayStation 5 |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch – Shaun the Sheep[104][105] | 28 January 2021 | iOS |
| UntitledThe Sandbox game | TBA | iOS,Android |
| Timmy Time series | ||
| Timmy Time | 19 August 2011 | Nintendo DS |
There are also several interactive games on the officialWallace & Gromit,Shaun the Sheep andTimmy Time websites.
British publisherTitan Magazines started producing a monthlyWallace & Gromit comic after the debut ofCurse of the Were-Rabbit. The characters still run Anti-Pesto, and both Shaun and Feathers McGraw have appeared in the comic.[106]
The two characters appeared in the monthlyBeanoMAX comic until its closure in June 2013, and now appear every four weeks inThe Beano.[107] They are heavily featured in 'Aardmag', the free online magazine that is unofficial but supported by Aardman Animations.[108] Nick Park guest-edited the 70th birthday issue ofThe Beano weekly, and so this issue contained numerousWallace & Gromit references.[109]
On 17 May 2010, they began appearing daily inThe Sun.[110] It is credited to Titan and Aardman, with scripts written by Richy Chandler, Robert Etherington, Mike Garley, Ned Hartley, Rik Hoskin, David Leach, Luke Paton, J.P. Rutter, Rona Simpson and Gordon Volke, art by Sylvia Bennion, Jay Clarke, Jimmy Hansen, Viv Heath, Mychailo Kazybrid and Brian Williamson. It replacedGeorge and Lynne. A graphic novel compiling all 311 daily strips was released on 8 October 2013, and a second volume followed on 4 November 2014.[111] A third volume was released on 25 March 2015,[112] and a fourth volume was released on 9 September 2015.[113]
| Number | Title | Publisher | Run | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallace & Gromit Comic | Titan Magazines | 2005–07 | 26 |
| 2 | Shaun the Sheep Comic | Titan Magazines | 2007–08 | 19 |
| 3 | Wallace & Gromit | D. C. Thomson & Co. | 2013–15 | N/a |
| 4 | Wallace & Gromit | The Sun | 2010–13 |
In November 1997, the characters appeared in a play calledWallace And Gromit™ Alive on Stage in a Grand Night Out.[114] This show featured Feathers McGraw escaping prison and hypnotising Wendolene to assist in his planned revenge on the duo, culminating in a showdown involving Shaun the Sheep donning the Techno-Trousers.
On 9 March 2011, Shaun the Sheep made its live theatre début inShaun's Big Show.[115] The 100-minute-long musical/dance show features all the regular characters, including Bitzer, Shirley and Timmy.
In 2015, Shaun starred inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfspantomime atBristol Hippodrome.[116]
| Film | Executive producer(s) | Composer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | Michael Rose and Cecil Kramer | Julian Nott | David McCormick and Gregory Perler |
| Shaun the Sheep Movie | Peter Lord, Nick Park, David Sproxton, Olivier Courson and Ron Halpern | Ilan Eshkeri | Sim Evan-Jones |
| A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon | Mark Burton, Richard Starzak, Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, David Sproxton, Didier Lupfer and Ron Halpern | Tom Howe | |
| Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, Mark Burton and Sarah Cox | Lorne Balfe andJulian Nott | Dan Hembery |
In 2003,Aardman produced a cinematic commercial for theRenault Kangoo starring Wallace and Gromit. The commercial, entitled "The Kangoo-matic", played in front of several summer blockbusters in top British cinemas. LaterWallace & Gromit commercials were made forJacob's Cream Crackers, energy supplierNpower and beveragePG Tips.
The duo were used to promote aHarvey Nichols store that opened in Bristol (where Aardman is based) in 2008. The pictures show them, and Lady Tottington fromWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, wearing designer clothes and items.[117] They were used to prevent aWensleydale cheese factory from shutting down because of financial difficulties after a member of staff came up with the idea of using Wallace and Gromit as mascots, as Wensleydale is one of Wallace's favourite cheeses.[20][118]
On 28 March 2009,The Science Museum in London opened an exhibition called "Wallace & Gromit present a World of Cracking Ideas". The family-orientated show, open until 1 November 2009,[119] hoped to inspire children to be inventive.[120] Wallace and Gromit were featured in many exhibition-exclusive videos, as well as one announcing the opening of the exhibition.[119]
In December 2010, Wallace and Gromit featured onseries of UK postage stamps issued by theRoyal Mail for Christmas.[121] The same month, Nick Park appeared on BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs and announced that he was working withBlackpool Pleasure Beach to build a theme park ride based on the characters.[122]Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Maticdark ride was opened by Park at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 2013.[123]
Wallace and Gromit appeared in a one-minute special for theDiamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II calledJubilee Bunt-a-thon.[124][125] In 2012, Wallace and Gromit featured on an advert saying "Inventing For Britain" which was part of a poster campaign to promote British trade and business abroad in the year they hosted the Olympics.
In August 2012, they presented an edition ofThe BBC Proms,Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels, as Prom 20 of the 2012 season.[126] Because of its popularity,Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels became a full touring show in 2013. It premièred atThe Plenary inMelbourne, Australia on 9 February 2013. It was performed at other venues throughout 2013, withA Matter of Loaf and Death screened at each performance.[127]
In 2013 and 2014, the pair appeared in a nationwide TV, press and cinema campaign promoting the British government's "Holidays at Home are Great" directive, calledWallace & Gromit's Great UK Adventure.[128]
In December 2019, they appeared in aDFS Furniture advert created by Krow to celebrate their 30th anniversary.Helena Bonham Carter reprised her role as Lady Tottington with new dialogue for the advert.[129]
From 29 November to 31 December 2024, a six-minuteWallace & Gromit animation was projected onto London'sBattersea Power Station every evening, as part ofApple's Shot on iPhone marketing campaign.[130]
In 2025,Wallace & Gromit entered into a partnership with gravy brandBisto. Characters from the films featured on Bisto products, with consumers offered the chance to win alab-grown blue diamond worth £1,500. Apop-up gravy restaurant called "The Gravy Boat" also opened inPaddington,London, offering a gravy-themed three course menu and "meet and greet" opportunities for diners to meet Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw.[131][132]
Wallace & Gromit spearheaded the fundraising for two children's charities:[133] Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation,[134] which supports children's hospices and hospitals in the United Kingdom, and Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal,[135] theBristol Children's Hospital charity.
In July 2013, 80 giant fibreglass decorated sculptures of Gromit were distributed around Bristol as part of a Nick Park-inspired project to raise funds for the charity. The project was namedGromit Unleashed, and the sculptures were decorated by a range of artists and celebrities includingJoanna Lumley,Sir Peter Blake,Trevor Baylis andJools Holland.[136] A similar project featuringShaun the Sheep calledShaun in the City took place in 2015.[137]Gromit Unleashed 2, also featuring Wallace & Shaun took place in 2018. In 2020,Gromit Unleashed: The Grand Adventure inThe Mall, Cribbs Causeway featured 15 sculptures of Wallace, Gromit, Shaun and Feathers.[138] A further sculpture trail will take place in July and August 2025.[139]
A theme park ride calledWallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic opened atBlackpool Pleasure Beach on 29 April 2013 by creator Nick Park,Amanda Thompson,Nick Thompson, Nick Farmer and Merlin Crossingham.
The ride, which cost £5.25 million to make, was created by Blackpool Pleasure Beach design in association with Aardman Animations. The cars on the ride are designed on one of Wallace's slippers, so that, when a rider is seated, it is as if they are sitting inside a large slipper. The ride lasts almost four minutes, and features scenes fromA Grand Day Out,The Wrong Trousers,A Close Shave,The Curse of the Were-Rabbit andA Matter of Loaf and Death along with some archive audio and some newly recorded lines from Ben Whitehead as the voice of Wallace.[140]
In 2007, a spin-off seriesShaun the Sheep was created for the character of Shaun, first introduced in 1995'sA Close Shave. In the series, Shaun lives with his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm, a traditional small northern English farm. In each episode, their latest attempt to add excitement to their dull mundane life as livestock somehow snowballs into a fantastic sitcom-style escapade, most often with the help of their fascination with human doings and devices. This usually brings them into conflict – and often into partnership – with the farm sheepdog Bitzer, while they all are simultaneously trying to avoid discovery by the Farmer. Following the success of the series, two series of 1-minute shorts were created –Mossy Bottom Shorts andChampionsheeps – followed by a television specialThe Farmer's Llamas (2015) and two feature films,Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) andA Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019). A third feature film,Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2026.[141]
In 2009, a spin-off ofShaun the Sheep,Timmy Time, was created centring on the character of the same name. In the series, Timmy and his friends[142] have to learn to share, make friends and accept their mistakes.[143] They are supervised by two teachers, Harriet the Heron and Osbourne the Owl. The show is aimed at pre-school-aged children which the company described as "a natural step for Aardman".[144]
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