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:

Preston, the evil villain dog, is the name of the town where director Nick Park was born.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Gromit climbs up the ladder during the motorbike chase, he places the base in the sidecar. When he grabs the cables, Wallace grabs the base of the ladder as it rises; after they finish the spin, Wallace places the foot of the ladder in front of him.

Quotes:

Wallace: Is this place yours?
Wendolene Ramsbottom: Mm-hmm. My father left it to me. Along with his debts, and a few other things.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05 (2005) (TV)

Really good fun but stolen by the sheep

Wallace and Gromit are working as window cleaners when Wallace meets Wendolene – the owner of the local wool store and falls in love. Gromit stumbles across a plot to kidnap sheep to make them into food but is framed for a sheep murder before he can do anything. Can Wallace get Gromit out of jail in time to foil the sheep rustlers?

By this stage Christmas on the BBC was basically better known as the time when we get the new W&G film rather than for the birth of the son of God. This film was THE focus for Christmas day – ITV did everything but stop broadcasting at the same time as this was on – who would want to compete with this?! Happily it doesn't disappoint. The plot is silly but incredibly well thought out and very imaginative.

The comedy is as bright and breezy as ever – getting to kids without resorting to lazy clowning or stupid sight gags and also reaching adults without lacing the film with innuendo or hidden smut. Instead it is just a clever mix of wit and humour that really hits the mark. On Christmas Day it's easy to sit and doze through anything but this made me sit up and pay attention

The characters are as good as ever. As always Wallace is solid and wonderfully eccentric while Gromit is the real brains behind everything working. Gromit is my favourite character but here he is upstaged by the oh-so-cute Shaun the sheep (on his way to a merchandising boom!). Shaun is more for kids but Gromit still steals many scenes. Wendolene (gettit?) is not so good and the scenes with Wallace and her don't work as well as the rest.

Overall this is very funny despite just falling short of the mark set by `The Wrong Trousers'. Word is Park is currently writing a W&G movie – I can't wait!!!!