| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | |
|---|---|
 British theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Wallace & Gromit by Nick Park |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Alex Riddett Tristan Oliver |
| Edited by | David McCormick Gregory Perler |
| Music by | Julian Nott |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates | |
Running time | 85 minutes[3] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $192.7 million[6] |
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 animatedcomedy film produced byDreamWorks Animation andAardman Features. It is the second feature-length film by Aardman, afterChicken Run (2000). The fourth installment in theWallace & Gromit series and the first to be feature-length, it was directed byNick Park andSteve Box and written by Park, Box,Mark Burton andBob Baker. A parody of classic monster movies, the film centres on good-natured yet eccentric inventor Wallace and his intelligent but mute dog, Gromit, in their latest venture as pest control agents. They come to the rescue of their town, which is plagued by rabbits, before the annual Giant Vegetable competition. However, the duo soon find themselves battling a giant rabbit which is consuming the town's crops. The cast includesPeter Sallis (as the voice of Wallace),Ralph Fiennes,Helena Bonham Carter andPeter Kay.
Following the release ofChicken Run in 2000, DreamWorks and Aardman announced their next co-productions:The Tortoise and the Hare and a feature-lengthWallace & Gromit film. The former was abandoned due to script issues, while the latter officially began production in September 2003. During production, Park was sent several notes by DreamWorks requesting him to make changes to the film to appeal more to contemporary American audiences. This included changing the film's initial subtitle,The Great Vegetable Plot, toThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit.Julian Nott, who composed the score for the priorWallace & Gromit shorts, returned for the film.
The film premiered inSydney, Australia on 4 September 2005, before being released in theaters in the United States on 7 October 2005 and in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2005. While the film was considered abox-office disappointment in the US by DreamWorks Animation,[7] it was more commercially successful internationally. It also received critical acclaim and won a number of awards, including theAcademy Award forBest Animated Feature andBAFTA Award forBest British Film. A second feature film,Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, was released in 2024.
With Tottington Hall's annualgiant vegetable competition looming, Wallace and Gromit run "Anti-Pesto", a humane pest control business aimed at protecting the townspeople's vegetables fromrabbits. After capturing rabbits from the garden of Lady Tottington, Wallace uses his newest invention, the "Mind Manipulation-O-Matic", in an attempt to brainwash them into disliking vegetables, but ends up fusing his brain with one of the rabbits. Gromit destroys the Mind-O-Matic, and the rabbit, now averse to vegetables, is named Hutch and placed in a cage.
That night, a Were-Rabbit wreaks havoc on the town's gardens. During a town meeting the next day, hunter Victor Quartermaine volunteers to kill the creature, but Tottington persuades the townsfolk to give Anti-Pesto another chance. Following an unsuccessful effort to trap the Were-Rabbit by using a giant fake female were-rabbit, Wallace and Gromit find that Hutch has mutated, leading Wallace to the conclusion that Hutch is the beast. However, Gromit discovers a pile of half-eaten vegetables in Wallace's bedroom and realizes that Wallace is the real culprit.
After celebrating his triumph with Tottington, Wallace is confronted by Victor, who vies for Tottington's affections and wealth. During the confrontation, a full moon appears and Wallace transforms into the Were-Rabbit. Victor, now seeing the perfect chance to eliminate his rival, acquires threegolden bullets from the town's eccentric vicar to use against Wallace.
On the day of the vegetable competition, Wallace and Gromit discover that Hutch now possesses Wallace's human traits. Upon learning that the Were-Rabbit is still at large, Tottington reluctantly agrees to let Victor kill it. When Wallace transforms again, Victor arrives and attempts to shoot him, but Gromit intervenes. Victor locks Gromit in a cage, but Gromit escapes with the help of Hutch and they devise a plan to save Wallace.
At the competition, Victor seizes the Golden Carrot trophy to use as ammunition after exhausting his golden bullets. Gromit tries to lure Wallace away using the giantmarrow he planned on entering in the competition, but Wallace gets distracted and the marrow ends up getting squashed when Hutch drives the Anti-Pesto van into a cheese tent. Gromit subdues Victor's dog, Philip, in a dogfight using aeroplanes from a fairground ride. As Victor aims at Wallace, Gromit uses his plane to deflect the golden carrot. The plane begins to fall and Wallace leaps to catch Gromit; they both land in the cheese tent. Victor laughs with pride, but Tottingtion hits him with a giant carrot and he falls into the cheese tent. Gromit disguises Victor in the giant female were-rabbit suit, leading the townspeople to chase him away. Wallace morphs back to his human form and appears dead, but Gromit revives him withStinking Bishop cheese. Gromit receives the Golden Carrot for his marrow and his bravery and Tottington converts the grounds of Tottington Hall into a sanctuary for Hutch and the other rabbits.
In March 2000, it was officially announced thatWallace and Gromit were to star in their own feature film.[9] It would have been Aardman's next film afterThe Tortoise and the Hare, which was subsequently abandoned by the studio in July 2001, owing to script problems.[10][11]
The directors,Nick Park andSteve Box, have often referred to the film as the world's "firstvegetarianhorror film".[12][13]Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) is joined in the film byRalph Fiennes (as Lord Victor Quartermaine),Helena Bonham Carter (as LadyCampanula Tottington),Peter Kay (as PC Mackintosh),Nicholas Smith (as Rev. Clement Hedges), andLiz Smith (as Mrs. Mulch). As established in the preceding short films, Gromit is a silent character, communicating purely viabody language.[citation needed]
The film was originally going to be calledWallace & Gromit: The Great Vegetable Plot, but the title was changed, as the market research disliked it.[14] The first reported release date forThe Great Vegetable Plot was November 2004.[15] Production officially began in September 2003, and the film was then set for release on 30 September 2005. In July 2003,Entertainment Weekly referred to the film asWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.[16]
Park said that after separatetest screenings with British and American audiences, including children on both sides, he adjusted the characters' speech for American audiences.[17] Park was often sent notes from DreamWorks, which stressed him. He recalled one note that Wallace's car should be trendier, which he disagreed with because he felt making things look old-fashioned made it look more ironic.[18]
The vehicle Wallace drives in the film is anAustin A35 van. In collaboration with Aardman in the spring of 2005, a road going replica of the model was created by brothers Mark and David Armé, founders of the International Austin A30/A35 Register, for promotional purposes. In a 500-man-hour customisation, an original 1964 van received a full body restoration, before being dented and distressed to perfectly replicate the model van used in the film. The official colour of the van isPreston Green, named in honour of Nick Park's hometown. The name was chosen by the art director and Mark Armé.[citation needed]
It was the finalDreamWorks Animation film to be distributed byDreamWorks Pictures, as the studio spun-off as an independent studio in 2004 until its acquisition byComcast andNBCUniversal in 2016. In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased byDreamWorks Animation fromParamount Pictures (owners of the pre-2005 DreamWorks Pictures catalog)[19] and transferred to20th Century Fox before reverting toUniversal Pictures in 2018, following the acquisition ofDreamWorks Animation byComcast andNBCUniversal in 2016. However,Aardman Animations still retains complete ownership of the film.[20]
The film had its worldwide premiere on 4 September 2005, in Sydney, Australia.[4] It was theatrically released in the United States on 7 October 2005, and in the United Kingdom the following week. The film was accompanied by the short filmThe Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, starring thepenguins from theMadagascar franchise.
In Region 2, the film was released not only onVHS but also in a two-disc special edition DVD that includesCracking Contraptions, plus a number of other extras on 20 February 2006. In Region 1, the film was released on DVD in widescreen and full-screen versions and VHS on 7 February 2006.Walmart stores carried a special version with an additional DVD, "Gromit's Tail-Waggin' DVD" which included the test shorts made for this production, making of the Were-Rabbit creature, memorable moments of the film titled "Gromit's Favorite Scenes", a video showing the legacy of the "Wallace and Gromit" franchise, an instructional video on how to draw Gromit, as well as "Cracking Contraptions" shorts.
A companion game, also titledCurse of the Were-Rabbit, was released with the film. A novelization,Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: The Movie Novelization by Penny Worms (ISBN 0-8431-1667-6), was also produced.
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the finalDreamWorks Animation film released on VHS. It was released on DVD on 13 May 2014 as part of a triple film set, along with the Aardman/DreamWorks filmsChicken Run andFlushed Away.[21] ABlu-ray edition was released byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment in the United States on 4 June 2019.[22]
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit opened in 3,645 cinemas and had an opening weekend gross of $16 million, putting it at number one for that weekend.[23] During its second weekend it came in at number two, just $200,000 behindThe Fog.[24]The Curse of the Were-Rabbit grossed $192.6 million at the box office, of which $56.1 million was from the United States.[25] As of January 2023[update], it is thesecond-highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time behind Aardman's first feature film,Chicken Run.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 183 reviews and an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a subtly touching and wonderfully eccentric adventure featuring Wallace and Gromit."[26] OnMetacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[27] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[28]
In 2016,Empire magazine ranked it 51st on their list of the 100 best British films, with their entry stating, "The sparklingCurse Of The Were-Rabbit positively brims with ideas and energy, dazzling movie fans with sly references to everything fromHammer horrors andThe Incredible Hulk toKing Kong andTop Gun, and bounds along like a hound in a hurry. The plotpitches the famously taciturn Dogwarts' alumnus and his Wensleydale-chomping owner (Sallis) against the dastardly Victor Quartermaine (Fiennes), taking mutating bunnies, prize-winning marrows and the posh-as-biscuits Lady Tottington (Bonham Carter) along for the ride. In short, it's the most marvellously English animation there is."[29]
| Group | Award | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78th Academy Awards[30] | Best Animated Feature Film | Nick Park Steve Box | Won |
| 33rd Annie Awards[31][32] | Best Animated Effects | Jason Wen | Won |
| Best Animated Feature | Won | ||
| Best Character Animation | Claire Billet | Won | |
| Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Nick Park | Won | |
| Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Nick Park Steve Box | Won | |
| Best Music in an Animated Feature Production | Julian Nott | Won | |
| Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Phil Lewis | Won | |
| Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Bob Persichetti | Won | |
| Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | Peter Sallis as the voice ofWallace | Won | |
| Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Steve Box Nick Park Mark Burton Bob Baker | Won | |
| Best Character Animation | Jay Grace | Nominated | |
| Christopher Sadler | Nominated | ||
| Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production | Michael Salter | Nominated | |
| Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | Helena Bonham Carter as the voice ofLady Campanula Tottington | Nominated | |
| Ralph Fiennes as the voice ofVictor Quartermaine | Nominated | ||
| Nicholas Smith as the voice ofReverend Clement Hedges | Nominated | ||
| 59th British Academy Film Awards[33] | Best British Film | Claire Jennings David Sproxton Nick Park Steve Box Mark Burton Bob Baker | Won |
| British Academy Children's Awards[34] | Feature Film | Nick Park Steve Box Peter Lord David Sproxton | Won |
| British Comedy Awards[35] | Best Comedy Film | Nick Park | Won |
| 11th Critics' Choice Awards[36] | Best Animated Feature | Nick Park and Steve Box | Won |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association[37] | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| Empire Awards[38] | Best Director | Nick Park Steve Box | Won |
| Best British Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Scene of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2005[39] | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| 50th Hugo Awards[40] | Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form | Nominated | |
| London Film Critics Circle Awards 2005[41] | British Film of the Year | Nominated | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2005[42] | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| 53rd Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards[43] | Best Sound Editing in Feature Film – Animated | Won | |
| Golden Tomato Awards 2005[44] | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| Best Wide Release | Won | ||
| New York Film Critics Online Awards 2005[42] | Best Animated Film | Won | |
| 2006 Kids' Choice Awards[45] | Favorite Animated Movie | Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | Nominated |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 2005[46] | Best Animated Feature | Won | |
| 17th Producers Guild of America Awards[47] | Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Claire Jennings Nick Park | Won |
| 10th Satellite Awards[48] | Outstanding Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media | Nominated | |
| 32nd Saturn Awards[49] | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2005[50] | Best Animated Film | Nick Park and Steve Box | Won |
| Visual Effects Society Awards 2005[51] | Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture | Lloyd Price for "Gromit" | Won |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association[52] | Best Animated Film | Won |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | 11 October 2005 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 48:11 | |||
| Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
| Producer | Mark Wherry | |||
| Julian Nott chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's score was composed byJulian Nott, who also scored the previous entries in the franchise. The score was produced byHans Zimmer, and additional music was provided byRupert Gregson-Williams,James Dooley,Lorne Balfe andAlastair King.[53]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Grand Day Out" |
| 1:54 |
| 2. | "Anti-Pesto to the Rescue" |
| 3:18 |
| 3. | "Bless You, Anti-Pesto" |
| 1:56 |
| 4. | "Lady Tottington and Victor" |
| 2:03 |
| 5. | "Fire Up the Bun-Vac" |
| 1:47 |
| 6. | "Your Ladyship" |
| 1:07 |
| 7. | "Brainwash and Go" |
| 2:28 |
| 8. | "Harvest Offering" |
| 2:30 |
| 9. | "Arson Around" |
| 2:23 |
| 10. | "A Big Trap" |
| 3:27 |
| 11. | "The Morning After" |
| 1:44 |
| 12. | "Transformation" |
| 4:05 |
| 13. | "Ravaged in the Night" |
| 1:45 |
| 14. | "Fluffy Lover Boy" |
| 4:36 |
| 15. | "Kiss My Artichoke" |
| 4:31 |
| 16. | "Dogfight" |
| 3:39 |
| 17. | "Every Dog Has His Day" |
| 2:43 |
| 18. | "All Things Fluffy" |
| 1:07 |
| 19. | "Wallace & Gromit" | Nott | 1:08 |
| Total length: | 48:11 | ||
After the box-office failure ofFlushed Away resulted in a major write down for DreamWorks, it was reported on 3 October 2006[54] and confirmed on 30 January 2007[55] that DreamWorks had terminated their partnership with Aardman. In revealing the losses related toFlushed Away, DreamWorks also revealed they had taken a $29 million write down overWallace & Gromit as well, with the film having drastically underperformed expectations in the home DVD market, despite grossing $192 million against a budget of only $30 million at the box office.[56]
Following the split, Aardman retained complete ownership of the film, while DreamWorks Animation retained worldwide distribution rights in perpetuity, excluding some United Kingdom television rights and ancillary markets.[20] Soon after the end of the agreement, Aardman announced that they would proceed with anotherWallace & Gromit project, later revealed to be a return to their earlier short films withA Matter of Loaf and Death forBBC One.
During production of the short, Park remarked publicly on difficulties with working with DreamWorks during the production ofThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit, such as the constant production notes and demands to alter the material to appeal more to American children.[18][57] This discouraged him from producing another feature film for years, with Lord noting that Park preferred the "half hour format".[58] However, in 2022, a newWallace & Gromit film was announced, titledWallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, which was released on Christmas Day 2024 onBBC One in the UK and released worldwide onNetflix on 3 January 2025.[59][60][61] Park returned as co-director and story co-writer alongside Merlin Crossingham. Kay reprised his role of Mackintosh (who has been promoted to chief inspector), whileBen Whitehead took on the role of Wallace after the death ofPeter Sallis, who voiced Wallace from 1989 to 2010, in 2017.
Earlier this year, Wallace and Gromit took the best British film at the main Bafta ceremony,...
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