A Close Shave (1995)

Director:

Nick Park

Writers:

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

Release Date:

29 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Crime | Family

Tagline:

From the Oscar-winning creator of A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Sheep | Sheep Rustling | Framed | Dog | Prison

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 18 wins

Cast

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

Directed by
Nick Park

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

Produced by
Peter Lord	....	executive producer
Colin Rose	....	executive producer: BBC
Michael Rose	....	producer
Carla Shelley	....	producer
David Sproxton	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Julian Nott

Cinematography by
Dave Alex Riddett		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Helen Garrard

Art Direction by
Phil Lewis

Art Department
Trisha Budd	....	assistant art director: props
Tim Farrington	....	scenic artist
Richard Higgs	....	graphic design
Michael Salter	....	storyboard artist
Jason Spencer Galsworthy	....	model maker
Zennor Witney	....	model maker

Sound Department
Paul Hamblin	....	dubbing mixer
Adrian Rhodes	....	dubbing editor
Jack Stew	....	foley artist

Visual Effects by
Jeff Cliff	....	mechanical models
Linda Langley	....	model sculptor
David 'Del' Lawson	....	model technician (as Del Lawson)
Johnny Parsons	....	model coordinator (as John Parsons)
John Wright	....	mechanical models
Stella Bogh	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Pete Hanson	....	studio manager: CFC (uncredited)
Alison O'Brien	....	visual effects producer (uncredited)
Kevin Phelan	....	scanning and recording producer: CFC (uncredited)
Tim Wellspring	....	visual effects coordinator: CFC (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Bradley	....	gaffer
Simon Jacobs	....	photography
Sam James	....	camera operator
Ian Jewels	....	gaffer
Tristan Oliver	....	photography
Frank Passingham	....	photography
Paul Smith	....	camera operator
Nick Upton	....	camera assistant

Animation Department
Steve Box	....	key character animator
Gary Cureton	....	character animator
Sergio Delfino	....	assistant animator
Nick Park	....	character animator
Peter Peake	....	character animator
Loyd Price	....	character animator
Nick Upton	....	animation assistant
Ian Whitlock	....	assistant animator
Allan Yates	....	animation systems engineer

Editorial Department
Bridget Mazzey	....	assistant film editor
Tasmin Parry	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Nic Raine	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Simon Rhodes	....	music scoring mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Alan Gregory	....	technical crew
Bob Gregory	....	technical crew
Glenn Hall	....	technical crew
Harry Linden	....	floor manager
John Oaten	....	technical crew
Peter Thornton	....	production consultant

Thanks
Tara Bacon	....	thanks
Lisa Bilbe	....	thanks
Mike Booth	....	thanks
Elizabeth Buttler	....	thanks
Dug Calder	....	thanks (as Douglas Calder)
Ben Cook	....	thanks
Charles Copping	....	thanks
Maxine Guest	....	thanks
Toby Hannam	....	thanks
Beverley Issacs	....	thanks
Curtis Jobling	....	thanks
Janet Legg	....	thanks
Beth MacDonald	....	thanks
Stuart Markovic	....	thanks
Jason Marshall	....	thanks
John McAleavy	....	thanks
Viv Paeper	....	thanks
Darren Robbie	....	thanks
Susannah Shaw	....	thanks
Arthur Sheriff	....	thanks (as Arthur Sherriff)
Barry Shutler	....	thanks
John Truckle	....	thanks
Adam Vernon	....	thanks
Sophie Wright	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Aardman Animations (as An Aardman Animation Production)
• BBC Bristol (in association with) (as BBC BRISTOL)
• Wallace & Gromit (in association with) (as Wallace & Gromit Ltd.)
• BBC Children's International (in association with)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1995) (UK) (TV)
• BBC Bristol (1995) (UK) (TV)
• Northern Arts Entertainment (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• 2 Entertain Video (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection)
• ProSieben Entertainment (1996) (Germany) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (optical effects) (as Computer Film Company)
• General Screen Enterprises (optical effects) (as GSE)

Other Companies

• Aardman Animations  thanks (as the staff of Aardman Animations)
• Cod Steaks  set construction

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (as Dolby Stereo)

Certification:

Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | Australia:G | Finland:S | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Spain:T | South Korea:All | Netherlands:AL | UK:U (video rating) (1995)

Company:

Aardman Animations

Trivia:

In a radio interview, director Nick Park said that Wallace's references to Wensleydale cheese in this film unintentionally saved a small British cheese-maker from bankruptcy. Interest in the cheese was sparked by the film, and one of the few makers of Wensleydale suddenly found itself with numerous requests for it, thereby saving it from financial ruin.

Goofs:

Continuity: Wallace loses his green vest from beneath his overalls when he lands on his motorbike.

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:

Featured in Animated Century (2003) (TV)

As technically impressive as the rest, but a bit too over-whelming to be the best

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

The resurgence in popularity of the plasticine two-some has caused me to also seek out this 1995 entry into the series, the last short film and the only other one I've seen (I don't think I got round to A Grand Day Out.)

This time, dodderingly traditional Yorkshire-man Wallace and his faithful manservant Gromit have come up with a spot of bother in the shape of a mysterious pest that's leaving holes in everything in the house, especially the cheese! Wallace won't be having this and vows to investigate! But, first things first, him and Gromit have to run their new window-cleaning service, and their latest customer is Wendolene, who runs a wool shop left to her by her departed father. But, aside from providing a tricky love interest for Wallace, she also has a brutish looking pet dog. And, after a series of local sheep are killed for their fur, the finger of suspicion points somewhere.

Technically, this is as fine as TWT and it's very funny in parts, but the plot here just feels a bit disjointed and over-whelming compared to the smoother flow of the plot to TWT. But it's still a far-cry from bad, as such impressive model craftsmanship would be, with Park's twisted blur between the laws of man and animal as high as ever, as Gromit is dealt with not by the RSPCA after being wrongfully convicted of sheep-murder, but the police and jail! ****