Cinefantastique Online

With little excitment  in terms of new cinefantastique this weekend, we are taking this opportunity to dig through our archives a present a retrospective series of reviews and interviews regarding the work of stop-motion animator Nick Park, in particular his plasticine pals Wallace and Gromit. The characters first reached the screen in the Oscar-nominated short A GRAND DAY OUT. Since then, they have been in two more short subjects (THE WRONG TROUSERS and A CLOSE SHAVE) and a feature film (CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT), all of which won Oscars; plus, they appeared in a series of short “webisodes” called CRACKING CONTRAPTIONS. Park’s other work includes the Oscar-winning CREATURE COMFORTS, which launched a television series, in which stop-motion animals lyp-synch to non-scripted interviews of people discussing various topics). This technique was pioneered by Aardman Animations, which hired Park out of college. Aardman has a stable of animators who have created interesting and entertaining films, but Park’s Wallace and Gromit remain the studio’s true stars.

Articles posted today include:

• “Slipping into THE WRONG TROUSERS” – Nick Park discusses the early years of Wallace and Gromit through to their first Oscar-winning short subject
• ‘Giving Wallace and Gromit A CLOSE SHAVE” – A look at the making of Wallace and Gromit’s next Oscar-winner
• ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Early Adventures” – Capsule reviews of the first three short Wallace and Gromit films.
• “Chicken Run” – A review of Park’s first feature film, co-directed with Peter Lord
• “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – A Review of the first feature film starring wallace and Gromi