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Visitors Review

Chrissie 2012-05-18 04:09:01

Delightful!

Who says they don't make entertainment for the entire family any more?Jadedadults -- go rent some W&G.A Close Shave rivals The Wrong Trousers for laugh-out-loud fun. When theTerminator-like Preston (a villain named Preston?!) emerges from theKnit-O-Matic, I nearly lost it. And Sean the sheep in the sweaterinadvertently knitted from his own wool is hilarious every time I see him.Enjoy!

Michael Alford 2012-05-17 18:55:07

Nick Park's best effort to date.

Every one of the Wallace and Grommit cartoons are remarkable in their witand humor. The visual and audio puns and sight gags that are all over mostframes are more than can be caught in quite a number of viewings. The firstof Mr. Park's W&G cartoons that I know of (A Grand Day Out), was amazing inthe detail of the claymation animation. Each of the next two was better! Ibelieve that it will be a very long time before anyone else creates anybetter entertainment from clay. It is truly a great 30 minutes ofentertainment for anyone. (I liked it.)(a lot!)

Sonatine97 2012-05-08 10:21:34

The Best Yet......

Of all the W&G films A Close Shave is by far the best of all. Not only isthe animation far more polished & detailed than its earlier predecessors, AGrand Day Out (1992) and The Wrong Trousers ('93). But in addition the storyis far more engaging, light & humourous compared to the darker moremechanical nature of TWT (my least favourite of the three).For the first time, A Close Shave introduces an extra dimension to the W&Gpairing, in the form of Wendolene, a lady woolshop owner who Wallace fallsin love with when both he & Gromit clean her shop windows.With the addition of a female into the story we are given a little morecharacter development concerning Wallace. The previous two stories onlycentred around his self-serving interests in cheese, inventions, makingmoney and relying on his pet pooch to get him out of sticky situations. Butin ACS we are offered a more rounded perspective of his personal life andhis keeness to have a woman sharing his home at long last.As the film progresses the relationship between the couple grows, in spiteof all the dangers & hazards that they face along the way. And by the end ofthe film we are left on tenterhooks as to whether Wendolene will finallymove in with W&G for good!So not only is the animation and attention to detail significantly improvedover TWT but so too is the characterisation and storyline. The voice ofWallace, Peter Sallis, is dependable & easy on the ear, even though hedoesn't have much to say compared to the previous films.But it is to Gromit where the real plaudits lie. Because he can't speak (orbark apparently!) we have to rely on his facial expression to understand howhe feels & reacts to those around him. Because of the wonderful attention toanimated detail Nick Park and his crew have spent, we can connect & relatevery easily to Gromit's body language, especially within his eyes. I don'tthink I've ever seen such wonderful expressions since Laurel & Hardy. Infact the next time you have the benefit of seeing a L&H film take note ofOllie's facial expressions to-camera and you'll understand the comparisonbetween him & Gromit.Its now 6 years since the last W&G installment and it is to be hoped thatNick Park will do another follow up. I only hope he doesn't rely on lifelesscgi for his animation technique. On average it took NP between 2 to 3 yearsfor each of the W&G episodes. But it was worth the wait. However, theDreamworks Studio to which NP is affiliated, may not like having to waitsuch a long time for the next installment to be made, a may insist on usingcomputer animation rather than clay to speed the production process upsomewhat.Chicken Run (2000), NP's first full-feature movie in conjunction withDreamworks was, on the whole, ok. But the story seemed so formulaic & safethat you just knew the studio had "influenced" the production more than NPwould have liked. And as a result you get a bland film built on hype. So Ionly hope the next W&G doesn't follow the same route otherwise the entireW&G franchise will be ruined for the sake of the mighty dollar yetagain.****/*****

emasterslake 2012-05-07 19:48:35

The 3rd and final of the Short film trilogy.

This here is the third Wallace and Gromit short film.This was aired 2 years after the previous one.Has the same style as in "Wrong Trousers" If you like Sheep then thisone would be recommended to you. Cause there's a lot of sheep in thisone.The story involves Gromit and Wallace encounter a small Sheep namedShawn. And a mystery of a sheep Napping crime involved.Even contains another human character in it besides Wallace. Which is awoman, which Wallace has a crush on.Has a few good moments to it as well. Even large looking backgroundstoo. And plenty of sheep with wool to last you for more than a year.It's yet another fine Wallace and Gromit film to see.

2012-05-02 06:43:54

Funny, cute, delightful.! A must have!

I saw this video for the first time when babysitting and the kids had it. I was surprised how engaging, charming and funny it was. Saw it again when I borrowed it from my library and liked it even better the second time. It's good for family viewing, for adult viewing if you like English humor, are tired of the typical action or comedy movie and/or just want to pass an enjoyable 30 minutes. It's a great pick-me-up if you've been feeling down. Wallace and Gromit are fun, the stories are interesting and not at all dumb or childish in my opinion. Shaun the sheep is adorable and Wallace's interest in Wendolene Ramsbottom (:D) is fun too. Absolutely wonderful! A must have!

adam-blackley 2012-05-01 14:04:05

Brilliant third outing for the British animated pair.

This is a brilliant piece of film-making. Just like The Wrong Trousersbefore it, Nick Park uses Hitchcockian devices to compel the viewer andto raise suspense. I love the fact that as an audience we are putthrough a series of emotions like any "regular" film would - joy at theromance between Wallace and Wendelene, pity for poor Gromit, the dogwho goes through so much and it is rewarded by being put in prison,etc. - the examples are endless, and we really feel for thesecharacters - yet they are just photographs of specially shaped lumps ofclay, put together in such a way as to fake movement. And I genuinelyfeel a lump in my throat when dear Gromit is stuck in prison reading"Crime and Punishment". Thoroughly recommended for anyone aged 5 to100.

Lee Eisenberg 2012-04-29 11:02:12

Don't shave this one off of the list of movies to see.

This time, Wallace and Gromit take in a lost sheep named Sean, and getdrawn into a sheep-rustling conspiracy. As always, there's a plethoraof wacky inventions (namely the motorcycle sidecar). I think that myfavorite scene was when Gromit was reading "Crime and Punishment"(check out the author's name). Nick Park certainly always knows how tocome up with something clever in these cartoons, and you'd betterbelieve that he does just that in "Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave".Park showed the talent that he previously brought to "CreatureComforts" and would later bring to "Chicken Run". You just might thinktwice about using wool after seeing this movie. Really cool.

2012-04-28 22:42:30

Witty, gentle, surreal - a perfect piece of animation.

In the UK, everyone loves Wallace & Grommit. They seem to appeal to tiny children and (in my case) middle-aged ex-hippies alike. The rich complexity of the visual imagery, the barmy scenario presented in a totally matter-of-fact way, and the way they combine innocence with gentle surrealism, with true humour - from the north of England, like (oddly enough) The Full Monty. The joy is that it appeals to my many friends in the USA as well.

2012-04-26 03:07:25

Far-out for anyone!

I first saw this Wallace and Gromit film when it was run on Cartoon Network. I loved it and I had to watch it again so I rented it and liked it even more the second time around! And now I bought it! In the film, news gets around town that there's mysterious sheep rustling going about, and it really gets suspicious when Wallace, the polite inventor and his faithful pet dog Gromit are hired to clean the windows of a wool shop. On that day, Wallace becomes hopelessly infatuated with shop owner Wendolene. Little does he realize that she (or rather her evil dog Preston) is behind the sheep rustling, and frames Gromit for his dastardly deeds. So it's up to Wallace, Shaun and a slew of other sheep to get him out of jail and stop Preston from slaughtering innocent sheep to make dog food out of. All in all groovy, very cute, and non-violent. I reccomend it to anyone at any age! :o)

Shawn Watson 2012-04-25 07:34:02

Oscar number 2 for Nick Park

A lone sheep, later named Shaun, escapes from a sheep rustling plot andhides in the home of eccentric inventor Wallace and his long-sufferingdog/best pal Gromit. A silent but deadly canine down at the wool shopappears to be the mastermind behind the plot and frames Gromit for therustling scam. With a little help from Shaun, Wallace must rescueGromit and catch the real crooks.There are more laughs and jokes in this half-hour short than mostfeature-length comedies manage in their entire running time. Nearlyevery frame has some kind of wit or imagination. The world of Wallaceand Gromit, much like the stop-motion world of Postman Pat, is anincongruous mix of post-war Northern countryside crossed with sci-fiand a touch of horror. The horror themes would be explored in greaterdepth with Curse of the Were-Rabbit but it's handled with more care andsly invention here than in most slasher sequels.A fun time. Catch it on its inevitable Xmas Day screening.

DAVID SIM 2012-04-25 05:24:37

Better than A Grand Day Out, but slightly lesser than The Wrong Trousers

Wallace & Gromit made a likable debut with A Grand Day Out. The filmhad some problems to iron out, but by the time of The Wrong Trousers,Nick Park had gained a command of the stop-motion process, and capturedlightning in a bottle. The Oscar-winning success of the film turnedWallace & Gromit into household names.Aardman wasted no time at all putting up the funds for a thirdinstalment. With every Wallace & Gromit film, the animators refinethey're craft a little bit more. They become more ambitious. The plotlines deepen. The animation becomes ever more polished. And this is allcertainly clear to see in A Close Shave. The Wrong Trousers has aslight edge over the film, but A Close Shave is yet another lively,hilarious Wallace & Gromit adventure.A Grand Day Out had a giddy innocence to it. But it was obvious fromThe Wrong Trousers that Nick Park was taking the characters into darkerareas. A Close Shave goes even deeper, and is further proof that theWallace & Gromit series is now in a very different place from where itfirst started.Wallace & Gromit are into a new business venture, window-cleaning.Wallace falls for Wendoline, the owner of a wool-shop he (or ratherGromit) does the windows for. But Wendoline has a secret. A secret thatropes Wallace & Gromit into an adventure with sheep rustlers and a dogwho is not the good shepherd he appears.Every film in the series develops an increasing maturation. Not just inthe way they're made, but also in the way they're written. Itsdifficult to remember at this point that A Close Shave was made by thesame team of animators who produced the light romanticism of A GrandDay Out. Aardman are working from an all new rule book.The Wrong Trousers had a seriousness to it over its predecessor. But ittook some time into the film before we began to notice. With A CloseShave, its impossible not to see it. Heck, the film even abandonsJulian Nott's signature theme music, and dives into the storyline.Right from the opening frame, an unmistakable dourness permeates thepicture. Wendoline and Preston pull up outside Wallace and Gromit'shouse in the dead of night. The way Preston is dressed, you know he'sgot crime on his mind. His face is stern, no-nonsense. Right away weknow he's the villain of the film. We need to remind ourselves herethat we're watching a Wallace & Gromit picture.That doesn't mean the film isn't funny. We get the usual sidesplittingscenes with Wallace's inventions. Especially good is Wallace gearing upfor work with chutes and levers, while Gromit just sits in a sidecarwaiting for Wallace to finish up.This film is also a departure from the others in the series by havingthe first character, other than Wallace, who can speak. Anne Reid givesa sympathetic voice to Wendoline's plight, and never comes between thedelightful double-act of Wallace and Gromit, always the heart of theseries.One of the best things about The Wrong Trousers was the surprisingpoignancy Nick Park managed to make us feel for Gromit, watchingFeathers McGraw slowly oust him from Wallace's house. He pulls off thesame trick again when Preston frames Gromit for sheep-rustling. SeeingGromit sitting in a jail cell without a friend in the world is a raw,emotional moment. Especially when he gets a present, a 5000 piecejigsaw puzzle, and he starts crying. Its impossible not to feel realsadness for the character.A Close Shave ups the action quotient too. Everyone remembers the trainset chase in The Wrong Trousers, but Nick Park and his animation teamhave gone all out to top that sequence with even more dizzying thrillsand spills. Gromit's sidecar going over a cliff and turning into anaeroplane is just as exciting as anything in a James Bond film.And A Close Shave gets itself together for a marvellous climax, whenPreston is revealed to be a robot underneath. Gleefully cribbing TheTerminator, the sequence with all of the characters on a conveyor belttrying to avoid being crushed is as breathless as it is funny.One criticism you could make of the film is that it isn't as tight asThe Wrong Trousers. The film makes many swoops and dives, and the plotline is an engaging one. But A Close Shave takes several viewings toget a proper grasp of the narrative, meaning its not as dramaticallytaut as The Wrong Trousers, or as instantly accessible as A Grand DayOut.We would have to wait a staggering ten years for the next instalment,Wallace & Gromit's feature film debut, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, adelightful story just as engaging as any of the shorts. A Close Shave is yet another worthy addition to the canon with plentyfor everyone. And look out for Shaun the Sheep, who steals every scenejust by being in it.

JerBear-2 2012-04-24 21:11:04

Nick Park is an Artist

These short films remain clever and fast paced. Viewers of every age willenjoy them and they aren't subject to "sequel syndrome". I figured theonesthat followed "Trousers" would diminish in plot, creativity, and characterdevelopment. Well, I was wrong. The characters are increasinglymultidimensional and the story lines remain original.

AlexV-4 2012-04-24 13:43:16

Each one better than the last

Nick Park's work keeps getting better. You can see the improvements intechnique with each film, and the writing gets stronger too. In "A CloseShave" he's confident enough to take digs at other films (notably"Terminator" here), and it's a credit to the writing and his comfortable,familiar characters that this film carries it off superbly. Peter SallisasWallace's voice, Gromit's exasperation and poker-faced exploits, and theinnumerable visual puns make this a real treasure. I just wish he wouldkeepmaking W&G films.

2012-04-24 05:46:13

A fun filled movie for kids and parents alike.

Today a fun non-violent movie for all ages is hard to find. A Close Shave is a great fun filled Claymation that's hard to find and in my opinion its the best of the trilogy and has the most humorous cast of characters (Wallace, Gromit,Wendelene, Shaun, Preston and, about a dozen other sheep)-(Faethers McGraw, The Wrong Trousers, Celler Mice, and The Cooker which despite Nick's liking I prefer Moonbot).

2012-04-21 23:34:59

Incredible claymation, and funny sheep

I absolutely adore Shaun, the shorn sheep in a sweater (I *had* to buy the Shaun doll, and keep him in the bedroom, well away from our kitchen!). We saw this in a theater, during an animation festival, and the audience was laughing so hard, it was hard to hear the sound (although during the most hysterically funny part -- which just builds and builds -- you don't really need it). This is clever, compelling Wallace & Grommit at its best.

rebeljenn 2012-04-21 10:23:42

Highly enjoyable

'Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave' is a short featuring the clayanimation characters Wallace (an inventor) and Gromit (the inventor'spet dog, who seems to be smarter than the inventor and often the starof the show). This tale also features Sean the Sheep and a plot againstWallace and Gromit by a sheep thief.This is another highly enjoyable episode. It is a rare breed of filmthat can entertain both adults and children alike. Children and adultswill enjoy the imaginative sequences, lovable characters, comicalevents, and animation.This is a must-see animation no matter what your age or gender is.There is something for everyone, and it is thoroughly enjoyable. Welldone.

TheOtherFool 2012-04-17 13:42:37

Fun, but I like The Wrong Trousers better

In the first scene of A Close Shave a sheep is escaping a truck that has towait for minutes on end at a traffic light, while it's the middle of thenight, there's no traffic at all and I'm not even sure it's a crosspoint.It's those little things that make Wallace and Gromit so much fun Iguess.The sheep are being stolen from the farmers by the owner of a wool shopWallace takes a liking into, and her (mechanical) dog. Gromit is taken forthe thief mistakenly and sentenced to life, before Wallace and the sheepfree him and all ends well.Really funny stuff by the Aardman people but it's no match for the brilliant'The Wrong Trousers'.7/10.

Bea 2012-04-17 01:56:03

What a classic!!!

Well first thing I'd like to say is that I know I've included a spoileralert here (I always do) but feel safe to read on people cos the truthis there probably aren't any, i just don't want to be kicked off here.After the release of Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit I'vebeen watching my collection of Wallace and Gromit classics and I haveto say that this is my favourite! I must say that having been broughtup on Wallace and Gromit I can't help but feel a bit sad about the lossof all the old models but I suppose the reality is that its all broughtWallace and Gromit closer to my heart! Wallace and Gromit is a realgenuine classic and I know many will agree. It may have had a few yearsbreak with the creators doing other things like 'Chicken Run' and'Creature Comforts' but Wallace and Gromit exceeds them all! Don't getme wrong Chicken Run is great but it belongs to a different generationof children and I can't regard it with the same affection as I regardW+G. (Ah here comes a spoiler sorry folks)and isn't shawn justsooooooooooooo cute! I think this is their creators best achievement, Ieven still find it a bit scary at times lol... 10/10 lads! Sorry thisis a bit short (well it's short for me anyway) but I just wanted to sayhow special I think Wallace and Gromit really is and hope it continuesto be enjoyed by generations to come because in my eyes Wallace andGromit can never die!

2012-04-17 22:21:34

the best of the w&g series

this was the best of the three wallace&gromit videos. they did the best job on their clay animation on this video.Nick Park is the best clay animator in the world. (well thats my opinion) I recomend ordering this one fast.

Colonel-24 2012-04-17 02:54:44

Great fun!

Yet another witty and extremely clever short in the Wallace and Gromitseries, it makes you wish Ardman made more. It is definitely the best sofar, showing how to make something for all ages, which both adults andchildren will love. The best things about it are the voices (Peter Sallisisbrilliant as Gromit) and the models- out of this world! If only theydidn'ttake so long to make and were a bit longer!I highly recommend this film, as with the other two, a good, humorousadventure.