Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave (1995)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

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 15 wins

Cast

Peter Sallis	...	Wallace (voice)
Anne Reid	...	Wendolene Ramsbottom (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 designer
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
Del Lawson	....	model technician
John Parsons	....	model coordinator
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	....	photographer
Sam James	....	camera operator
Ian Jewels	....	gaffer
Tristan Oliver	....	photographer
Frank Passingham	....	photographer
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
Douglas Calder	....	thanks
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)
• BBC Children's International (in association with)
• Wallace & Gromit (in association with) (as Wallace & Gromit Ltd.)

Distributors

• BBC Bristol (1995) (UK) (TV)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1995) (UK) (TV)
• Northern Arts Entertainment (1996) (USA)

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)

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: The porridge gun shoots at Wallace, and some of it lands on the wall. In the next shot, the porridge is gone.

Quotes:

Wallace: Won't you come in? We were just about to have some cheese.
Wendolene: Oh no, not cheese. Sorry. Brings me out in a rash. Can't stand the stuff.
Wallace: [gulp] Not even Wensleydale?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (2003) (TV)

One of very few movies that actually would deserve a spot in the TOP 250...

Oh, if only this great, great movie wasn't so short! WALLACE AND GROMIT: A CLOSE SHAVE is one of the best and most original movies ever made. Every hilarious and charming character is made out of clay, so it takes the committed claymators a horribly long time to film everything, but boy does it look good.

The story is about Wallace (voiced by the incomparable Peter Sallis, and the equally good Claes Månsson in the dubbed Swedish version) and his clever dog, Gromit, who usually has to clean up the messes his master gets himself into. Working as window cleaners, Wallace falls in love with Wendolene, who sells wool together with her dog, Preston, who isn't very fond of Gromit. After Gromit gets life in prison after being set up by Preston, it soon turns out that Wendolene and her dog are up to no good.

The movie has the best plot twist since perhaps "I am your father", so I won't give it away. The voice acting is passionate and great, and the claymation is also beautiful. The unique characters and story are very imaginative, the cutest character being Shaun the sheep (who wears a sweatshirt made of his own fur after Wallace accidentally shaved him).

A short, but very tragic, funny, exciting, and touching work of art by the incomparable Nick Park and the Aardman animation studios. I love this classic movie more than any movie and I hope that the upcoming third sequel, "Curse of the wererabbit" won't suck or be too American (fart humor).

10/10! If I could give it 20 I would!