Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave (1995)

Director:

Nick Park

Writers:

Bob Baker (written by) &
Nick Park (written by)

Release Date:

15 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Crime | Family

Plot:

Wallace falls for Wendolene, a wool shop owner, while Gromit is framed for the sheep rustling.

Plot Keywords:

Sheep | Sheep Rustling | Wallace And Gromit | Framed | Dog

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 17 wins

Cast

Peter Sallis	...	Wallace (voice)
Anne Reid	...	Wendolene Ramsbottom (voice)

Also Known As:

A Close Shave (UK) (short title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:S | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Spain:T | South Korea:All | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | Australia:G

Company:

Aardman Animations

Trivia:

In 1995, when this film was first aired on British TV, because of their huge popularity, Wallace and Gromit became BBC2's Christmas mascots and co-starred with a live 2 in a small line of "sting" trailers and idents.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Wallace gives Wendolene balls of wool, the balls change positions between shots.

Quotes:

Wendolene Ramsbottom: Oh, I want no more of this rustling. It wasn't so bad when it was just the wool, but... this is evil! Daddy didn't create you for this. You're supposed to protect me!
[Preston locks her away with Shaun on the back of the truck]
Wendolene Ramsbottom: Let me out! You're not turning me into dog meat!

Movie Connections:

References Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers (1993)

Pure family fun

I love Christmas for many reasons but one of them is that the BBC always (and I do mean, ALWAYS) show the Wallace & Gromit shorts, this being the third and the last one before their recent big-screen adventure "The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit". It was also the first time Park decided to really push the boat out and you can see how much fun he is having with the characters. This is almost as good as "The Wrong Trousers" but is much more ambitious in scope and scale.

For the uninitiated (and quite frankly, where have you been?), Wallace (once again voiced by Peter Sallis) is an inventor living in northern England with his long-suffering dog called Gromit. This time, the pair have a window-cleaning service on offer and it's via this that Wallace meets a woman called Wendolene (Anne Reid) and promptly falls in love. But this isn't good news for Gromit who finds himself framed for sheep rustling. Soon, it's up to Wallace and a slightly scrawny sheep called Shaun to rescue the pooch from prison and discover who is behind the sheep shortage.

This feels more like a big-budget production than the earlier shorts, though there are still moments when fingerprints can be seen on a character's nose. This is also a perfect example of true family entertainment, warming all but the coldest of hearts and keeping adults as joyously amused as kids. It's genuinely funny, wonderfully inventive and a sheer joy from start to finish. The highlight for me is the brilliant night-time pursuit of the sheep rustlers with the motorcycle sidecar, a porridge cannon and a small army of woolly hostages balanced in a sheep-pyramid. Fantastic from start to finish - if you want consistently good family entertainment then look no further than Wallace & Gromit.