Genres

Visitors Review

Polaris_DiB 2012-05-23 23:10:08

Most excellent!

This is my favorite Wallace and Gromit yet, if for nothing more thanWallace's expression when he gets caught in the machine... "Gromit,you've gotten the wrong trousers!" Funny, funny voice actingcompliments a very good animated short about an evil penguin (or isit?) that tries to deplace Gromit as the favored household pet in orderto have a building place for its diabolical schemes! The creativity ofthese shorts are astounding. The stop-motion animation is not onlyflawless in movement, but rife with specific detail and very well-donefacial expressions. Even the eyes of the characters have their owndepth. It's a work of patience and skill that is amazing to behold, andall of it for some good family laughs! --PolarisDiB

Chrissie 2012-05-23 13:14:04

An absolute delight!

Words fail me. My advice is to rent this little gem, gather all yourfriends in a home with a big screen TV (bring the kids too!) and enjoy.Absolutely everything is poignant and funny, from the dog reading"Pluto's Republic" at the breakfast table to the evil penguin wholistens to Muzak.The only -- and I stress, ONLY -- drawback is that it should be labeled"Warning: Choking Hazard! Do not consume food or beverages during thisfilm. Sudden uncontrolled laughter could cause substances to beinhaled." But hey, it's only 30 minutes -- you can live that longwithout pizza and Coke.

ccthemovieman-1 2012-05-22 03:53:25

Tenants, Trousers & Trains!

This was the second in a series of three short BBC programs featuring aman and his dog. With a full-length feature film that came out a dozenyears later (just recently in 2005). Wallace & Gromit is now farbetter-known. But, to those of us who "discovered" W&G back in themid-to-late '90s, they were a fun pair we enjoyed in these three30-minute shows."The Wrong Trousers" is best at the end with a very funny chase sceneinside a toy train set. Earlier, Wallace, the inventor, is trying toinvent a pair of remote-controlled trousers. He's a bit short on moneyso he rents out a room in house. The lodger prefer Gromit's room.Gromit is Wallace's pet dog. The dog is literally put out in the doghouse, and is not happy about this.In a crazy series of events, the tenant - an evil penguin - getsWallace inadvertently involved in a jewel heist and Gromit has to cometo the rescue. It's very silly but the unique animated cinematographyhelps make this a winner.

2012-05-21 14:39:17

Great goofiness

This is about the best stop action animation ("claymation") ever. It's a clever and kid-safe movie, but it's also an incredible technical achievement. The plot is well within the range of any five year old: a home inventor creates a wonderful but ridiculous device, an evil-doer puts it to criminal use, thre's a great chase scene, the bad guy ends up behind bars, and the righteous live happily ever after. The real fun is in the characters, the little details of the script, and especially in the stop-action animation. Nick Park has put together a perfect blend of characters, voices, and background music, all in the serivce of his wonderful clay figurines. There's no way I could describe this and do it justice. You'll just have to see it for yourself - then see it again and again.//wiredweird

Robert Reynolds 2012-05-17 15:42:39

The short that proves one shouldn't let one's spare room to unfamiliar penguins without excellent references!

This marvelous short won the Academy Award and is the best of the series,though all so far have been delightful! The praise heaped on Wallace andGromit has been vast and well-deserved, so my additions are gilding thelily, but I'll still say something. The Wrong Trousers is funny, sad,insightful and just plain mad, frequently all at once. If there's anyjustice, they will remain in print in perpetuity. Mostrecommended.

letmein-1 2012-05-16 21:55:29

A true mile stone of animation

Nick Park's hysterical plasticine duo Wallace and Gromit are back in this,their second outing, pitting themselves against the plotting penguine whosedevious nature is taking advantage of Wallace's niavity. However, the eversuspicious Gromit is seeing through the Penguine's frosty exterior and setsout to uncover his secret scheming shadowy plan.The Wrong Trousers is the best so far from Peter Lord and Nick Park,puttingeven the outstanding Chicken Run and Close Shave in it's shadow. Thecharacterisation is simply electrical. The ever suffering but mute Gromitand the clumsy well meaning Wallace muddle their way to stopping a truelyoutstanding criminal genius penguine (whose pesona is portrayed with suchsubtlety and effect that the cute bird becomes the very essence of evil).Park and Lord's pace and cinematography in this animation medium are truelyworld leading, climaxing in the mad mayhem of a train-set chase throughtheir house.The plot is simple yet full of nuances and details (check out theheadline'son Wallace's newspaper and the wall paper in Gromit's bedroom)raising thisabove even the best that that big studios can produce. A film almostwithoutfault which pays homage to the greatest and most farciscal works of thegreat Ealing comedy era (there is something sinister happening but, itisn'tthat sinister really). Watch this film and let the quality and clarity ofthe humour seep into your soul. A true mile-stone of animation whichdeserved it's oscar like no other animation ever will.

tedg 2012-05-16 10:11:50

Synthetic Actors

Spoilers herein.I've been writing IMDB comments for about a year and a half now. I startedwith an interest in exploring how directors deal with the uniqueness oftheir vision, especially when self-aware or self-referential. (Self-aware iswhen the film shows how it is made, like the obvious effects in`Beetlejuice.' Self-referential is when the film comments on itself, likewhen the story is about a filmmaker (or writer) who is worried about atechnique that one can see in the film.)Over time, I've become aware of what some directors call the actor problem.The public thinks of films first in terms of the people they see, theactors. And those actors drive the business. The problem is that actors havesomewhat different goals than filmmakers, and often a strong actor will ruinthe effect intended by a gifted director.So I've been studying the various techniques and instances where each partysucceeds in a solution that works. They are few, it seems.Here is the ultimate solution: invent the actors. Shucks, invent their wholeworld. Invent their reason to be. Walt Disney shocked the whole system when he first did this. He created theactor, but not their world: Micky and later Donald and the others belongmore or less in the ordinary world. However, the roadrunner and coyotebelong in different world, one where the emotional physics comes from themind of the filmmaker. We come to know just how that world works. Both theactors and their world come from a single mind.Now with claymation comes a particularly unique development: the actor iscreated, the world is created. But the camera and lighting is `real,' andmodern notions of camera movement are used, just as in a `real' film. Thetechnique is self-aware: one can see that the characters are clay, see thethumbprints.And it works, largely because one man's mind can be coherently presented inthe context of real movies.`The Wrong Trousers' is the peak of this man's mind though. The first filmwas better in the sense of literally exploring the possibilities of anotherworld and its physics. The claycraft was more primitive and appealing, butthe story was weak and the actors hadn't really learned how to use theirfaces.The film after this `Shave,' necessarily involved many collaborators, whichdiluted the vision. And more people meant more costs which means loweredrisks which means vanilla story. That ultimately led to the slightly cleverbut wholly mainstream `Chicken Run.'So this film is a peak of sorts. A couple things make it uniquely fine: thestrong self-reference and the cinematic expression.The `Wallace' world is fully Hitchcockian here, moreso than before or after.Hitch's innovation was to advance the drama by making the camera act, insubliminal but powerful ways. Nick has studied and mastered this -- it isthe real power of `trousers.' The technique is as much a matter of thecamera humor as anything else.And the story is self-referential as well: the basic problem of thefilmmaker is that each film cements the future of films that follow. Thereis a straitjacket of expectations from the viewer that you cannot escape.One example: if you have a spaceship battle, it must rumble and flash likethe movies before or it will not seem real, though the actual behavior ofsuch a battle could never really appear so.All film -- down to the smallest detail -- is so constrained. It issomething deeper than formula.In his natural state, Wallace's `clothing' is unconstrained, only the mannerin which he has to put it on. So here we have Wallace dressed by mechanicalmeans. That's the normal state, Nick and Wallace tinker with those mechanicsto have fun.But now comes the real challenge: how to put Wallace in a fully Hitchcockworld with all the plot formula that entails. It is mostly mechanical, that.Well, in a self-referential way, you put Wallace in some automatic,mechanical pants, that literally walk him through the plot, that literallydrag him through all the stuff you need to have a `real' Hitchcock film.It's a brilliant notion, one that ranks as the most successful in thehistory of film.But Nick is already creatively worn out or more likely compromised by thesystem. The torch passes to Pixar.

john in missouri 2012-05-15 16:34:51

A hilarious, well-done classic for ALL ages.

The only problem with this film was that it only lasts half an hour!And that half an hour is brilliant. "The Wrong Trousers" was the second ofNick Park's Wallace & Gromit trilogy, and, in my opinion, certainly thebest. I don't think I've ever met ANYBODY, from age 2 to 92, who didn'treally like this short film!In "A Grand Day Out" (the first of the three), Nick Park hadn't yet hit hisstride, either with quality of animation, or with plot and direction.The third ("A Close Shave") was just simply TOO over-the-top.But "The Wrong Trousers," like Baby Bear's chair, was JUST RIGHT. Because ofthis film, I was sad to hear there were to be no more Wallace & Gromitmovies.Ah, BUT -- as I write this, Park is at it again. I learned earlier thisevening that JUST TODAY he's released an 80-minute clay animation moviecalled "Chicken Run!" If it's as good as "The Wrong Trousers," it'll be aclassic of the genre.Tomorrow's Saturday, and you can bet I'll be looking for any possiblematinee tickets.

2012-05-06 20:29:27

Love wallace & grommit

Wallace an Grommit is one of the best clay animation films I've seen. I have all the movies and my little sisters loves to watch them. This is a movie for babysitters. If the child wont be quiet, but on wallace & Grommit and i guarantee that you will be happy

bateauivre11 2012-05-06 04:12:55

partners in crime

Imagine…A moon of cheeseA penguin disguised as a'rooster' only to steal a diamondImagine a dog named GROMIT who reads `the republic by Pluto' and CRIME ANDPUNISHMENTBy DOG-STOIEVSKY!(while he is in prison, of course)NOW IMAGINE that Wallace and Gromit are FLESH AND BONE!The best parts of the trilogy are the `train chasing scene'.it's justbrilliant(Buster Keatoneat your heart out!)in the `wrong trousers' we see `the techno trousers',how cool its nameis!Thanks Mr Park you are a genious! 10/10

emasterslake 2012-04-28 11:45:45

the second Wallace and Gromit short film.

This here is another great Wallace and Gromit short film.This time it's taken place in their neighborhood and not the moon. Andit has a main villain which will be a surprise to you once you see it.It's mostly focused on a Mechanical "Techno Trousers" given to Gromtias a Gift for his Walks.The animation style is more improved than the previous one. Thecharacters look more smoother and has nice detail in the backgrounds.The ending is the best part too.Those who like the first one will like this one even more.It's my favorite of all 3 Wallace and Gromit short films.

2012-04-28 01:20:27

Brilliantly funny and entertaining...

Wow, what can you say ? A masterpiece.... I have never laughed so hard atanything. Without giving anything away this movie has some of the mostamazing laughs you will see in a movie. It makes you appreciate what bothsubtle, and over the top humour can and should be. From the incredibleGromit, who is the gentle soul in all of us. A dog smarter than most ofus,and who registers every emotion in such a way that talking is not needed.Wallace, a somewhat eccentric but likeable man who we all wish we had as aneighbour. And the Penguin, Feathers Mcgraw. Pure evil.... Buy it, Youwilllove it !!

Mightyzebra 2012-04-25 02:07:55

Wallace and Gromit RULE!!

I agree with you dsl3001, this is my favourite Aardman film ever too(apart from maybe "Chicken Run"). It is fun, exciting and it's a spyfilm too! I prefer it to the other WAG's because of the five followingpoints:One: The baddie never speaks. This makes him more interesting for me.Two: The baddie is a penguin. At first he seems cute and cuddly - butdon't be deceived by appearances! Three: The trousers thing is a newidea and it works with a WAG film like butter on bread. Four: You don'thave to keep remembering the characters (a little problem in WAG number4). Five: Gromit is perfect in this film!I recommend this for those amazed by the art of plasticene, dogs moreclever than their owners, unusual baddies and not too much dialogue ina film! Enjoy! :)One problem with this film is that Gromit is bullied by the baddiequite a lot. If it weren't for this point I would probably rate this 9or 10 out of 10!

qrt7 2012-04-24 14:08:45

The best of the bunch

For me, this is the best of the W&G films. Nice easy plot, a fantasticallyevil penguin (who ever thought that a lovable penguin could be a villain?),quality humour for both the young and old, and THAT scene with thetrain-set. The quality of animation and attention to detail is amazing. Anyone can watch this and enjoy it immensely, many times over. Now youcan't say that about most films can you?.10/10

Gordon Stokes 2012-04-22 16:07:20

An All-Time Classic!

"The Wrong Trousers" is up there with the classics of comic animation -including the Holy Trinity of Chuck Jones classics, "One Froggy Evening,""What's Opera, Doc?" and "Duck Amuck". The inventiveness of it, the timingof the gags, and especially the incredible amount of character demonstratedby lumps of clay (especially Gromit and the Penguin, who have nodialogue)...it's really amazing what Nick Park has created here. "TheWrongTrousers" deserves a place in the top ten of any list of the great animatedfilms of all time.

Bj Cool 2012-04-22 10:23:44

A big improvement over A Grand Day Out!

Wallace and Gromit:The Wrong Trousers is another great Wallace andgromit movie and has to be my second favourite out of all four of theWallace and gromit movies and it was one of the funniest if the thefunniest Wallace and gromit films.The movie is about Wallace has a lot of bills and he can't afford topay all of them off so he leases/rents out his spare room and thepenguin that rents it out isn't to be trusted!I won't tell you anymorebecause it will spoil the whole film I thought this Wallace and Gromitfilm was a big improvement over the other film: A Grand Day Out becausethe clay animation looks a lot better, it has a great and interestingstory that makes it worth watching not like A Grand Day Out whichdidn't really have a story.Overall this is a great Wallace and Gromit that can be watched overagain I highly recommend this movie!

RobT-2 2012-04-17 21:21:36

The "Citizen Kane" of animated shorts?

I'm not the only one who thinks "Citizen Kane" is a great film because OrsonWelles and his collaborators thoroughly exploited the potential of the soundfilm in telling their story, combining fine acting, intricate plotting andediting, and well-composed visuals and sounds in ways that just NAIL theviewer. Very few films have ever juggled so many filmmaking resources sowell, but one of the few to do so, in my opinion, is the Englishclay-animated short "The Wrong Trousers".As in "Kane", Nick Park and his crew of animators expertly combine a varietyof methods in telling their story. The "acting," or rather the characteranimation, is wonderful, more so for the dog Gromit than for thegoofy-looking human Wallace; Gromit's subtle expressions conveyingeverything we need to know about what he's thinking. Even more subtle isthe penguin lodger, with a deliberately bland face but expressive gesturesand body language. The plot is ingenious, with hardly an ounce of fat, andperfectly paced, starting slowly and gaining momentum almost imperceptiblyuntil the climax.The visual storytelling is excellent, especially since so much has to beconveyed without dialogue, and the clarity of the climactic sequence at theend marks a high point for film editing. The staging includes dramaticlighting and other bits of visual texture with which few animators bother. Finally, the music is one of "Trousers"'s most overlooked features--thesequence in which Gromit leaves in the rain while the penguin watches fromthe window offers a neat demonstration of music's effectiveness as astorytelling tool.I don't really think "The Wrong Trousers" is really BETTER than "CitizenKane", in an artistic sense. Of course, Orson Welles didn't try to make"Kane" as a 30-minute animated film with only three characters (two of whomare silent), either. As with "Kane", however, I get more out of "The WrongTrousers" every time I watch it.

rbverhoef 2012-04-17 09:44:40

Very funny

Together with 'Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave' and 'Wallace & Gromit: AGrand Day Out' this is one of the funniest things I have seen. The clayanimation looks great, the stories are very ingenious and the jokes aregreat. If you get a chance to see this, please do so. You will have agreattime.I guess this one is the best from the three, although 'A Close Shave'comesclose. You must see all three of them anyway, so it doesn't reallymatter.

Andy Steel 2012-04-17 05:18:29

Excellent stuff from Aardman!...

Again brilliantly animated with all the little subtle touches that makeAardman films so great! Of course Peter Sallis does his usual excellentjob of voicing Wallace. The plot is more complicated than the firstfilm and it shows the ambition of the studio to progress. Some of theideas are really crazy, but they work so well in this medium. For me,not quite as good as 'A Grand Day Out', but a very close second… HIGHLYRECOMMENDED.My Score: 9.2/10IMDb Score: 8.5/10 (based on 27,036 votes at the time of going topress).Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 100/100 (based on 25 reviewscounted at the time of going to press).Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 89/100 (based on 19,727 user ratingscounted at the time of going to press).You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts ofa SteelMonster.

2012-04-16 16:59:14

Hilarious

If you have never seen a criminal penguin disguised as a chicken use remote control pants to pull off a major diamond heist, then this is the 30 minute clay animation that you need to see.All the Wallace and Gromit animations are funny. This one is the best of the lot.