CAIRO: One of the most discussed topics in film circuits these days is the current sorry state of American animated films. Many film analysts foresaw a big surge in Animation production after the massive success of the Pixar films in the late nineties and the emergence of other players like DreamWorks, most notably with the “Shrek franchise, Fox with the “Ice Age films and Warner Brothers with “The Polar Express. Disney, on the other hand, kept rolling out one flop after another, culminating with last year s unbearably dreadful “Chicken Little. The trouble with those films, despite their commercial success, is their lack of the magic, innocence and visual inventiveness that were the hallmark of the deceased kingdom of Disney. Even Pixar s standard buddy formula started to wear off until they eventually decided to drop it with The Incredibles.
The last sanctuary for true Animation fans was principally confined to Japanese Animation, with the works of the great Hayao Miyazaki (“Princess Mononoke, “Spirited Away ), the new independent animators such as Sylvain Chomet (“Triplets of Belleville ) and Richard Linklater s groundbreaking animation team (“Waking Life and the upcoming “A Scanner Darkly ) and the tiny, enchanting world of Aardman Animation, the British based production company responsible for 2000 s “Chicken Run and, most famous of all, the “Wallace & Gromit films.
“Wallace & Gromit began their screen life in the mid-eighties as a part of some short films produced by Aardman and the characters inventor Nick Park. Soon enough, Aardman, one of the last few clay animation production companies, noticed the broad appeal these characters stirred and by 1989, the world saw the debut of “Wallace & Gromit s first short film, with “A Grand Day Out. The enormous success of the movie was unexpected and Mr. Park was rewarded with his first Academy Award for best short film. The success of A Grand Day Out spawned two further films; “The Wrong Trousers (1993) and “A Close Shave (1995). Both films were as equally successful as the first film creating a world wide sensation of the oddball duo and earning two more Oscars. The three films were dubbed and distributed in numerous countries, winning new fan bases everywhere they went. It took Nick Park and Aardman 10 years to showcase the first full-length feature of “Wallace and Gromit, but it has been worth the wait and, at last, Egypt becomes the latest country to join this splendid British parade.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit sees the wacky, kind-hearted and cheese loving inventor Wallace (Peter Sallis) and his loyal wise dog Gromit managing a pest-combat company named Anti-Pesto. The company is responsible for protecting their small English town from the veggie-eating rabbits as the town folks prepare for the annual Giant Vegetable Competition organized by Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter). Wallace starts to develop a charming infatuation for the bunny loving lady and vies for her affection against the snobbish, uncivilized Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes). Nothing seems to disrupt the neighborhood until suddenly a mystifying, vegetable-eating, giant monster starts to ravage and devour on the town s carefully protected precious veggie crop. As a result, Lady Tottington assigns the two chums to uncover the mystery of the Were-Rabbit and save the day. What happens afterwards is a series of unexpected revelations that leads to one of the funniest third acts in Animation film history.
The key reason behind the “Wallace and Gromit phenomena is the core nature of these two characters. Wallace is always reckless and up for new adventures that always end up in a complete chaos. His actions are deemed to be selfless and his child-like innocence seems to perfectly suit his always appreciative community. Gromit, on the other hand, is the caretaker of Wallace s world. Unlike Wallace, he s responsible, realistic and firm. Gromit s primary occupation in life is taking care of Wallace and protecting him from his nutty endeavors.
“Wallace & Gromit s world is tremendously endearing, filled with overwhelming optimism and serenity. There s no sense of danger, doubt or fear in this world. Even Victor, the chief antagonist of the story, with his funny antics and odd English manners, is never regarded as genuine evil force, while the Were-Rabbit has got to be the cutest, most harmless beast ever put on celluloid. There s not a moment of despair in the film and the opposing factors that work against our heroes are rendered to be another exciting challenge for them. We know that everything will end up perfectly fine and we don t expect or accept any other different turn of events because, plainly, that s what we truly crave above all.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the winner of the Oscar for best animated film, is the first “Wallace & Gromit film to expand on the former limited world of the two. Various eccentric characters are introduced into the pair s world, this time with many other beautifully designed set-pieces. The texture of film is mind numbing; breathtaking colors are injected in every single frame of the film and the cinematography astoundingly coveys the general bright mood of the film and the mildly creepy tone in the other scary parts.
The film contains its fair share of horror film conventions that turn into a source of a very original parody, with the influence of Mel Brooks clear in those parts. But this parody is a part of a rather tightly plotted comedy. The film is filled with hilarious sight gags and one-liners that don t slow down until the very last scene of the film. Best of all though, The Were-Rabbit does feel like a true animated film. The clay animation doesn t match the perfect-looking picture of CGI films and that s the beauty of it. It s those flaws that maintains the magic of the animated world that can easily loses its magic and sense of disbelief the moment it tries hard to mimic the real world.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is that rare feat in a time where most of the superior entertainment is infused by darkness and uneasiness. It s a world where you can easily escape to and come out with embracing feelings of utter glee and joy. “Wallace & Gromit is not just the funniest animated film ever, but one of the most amusing and delightful films period.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is playing now at Genena, City Center and Renaissance Nile City.
