Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Directed by Nick Park and Steve Box
By Noel Dix

After much success in adapting The Great Escape with poultry for Chicken Run, Nick Park returns to his beloved Wallace and his loyal pet dog, Gromit, for yet another fantastic claymation adventure. After searching the moon for cheese, doing battle with a penguin criminal mastermind and foiling a dodgy sheep operation, Wallace and Gromit now face their largest obstacle as pest controllers tracking down a monstrous rabbit that is set to demolish the town's annual giant veggie competition.

There's a slight hitch though, as this abnormally sized rabbit's existence is thanks to one of Wallace's inventions gone wrong - the scatterbrained but kind-hearted man tried to implement a mind-meld with captured rabbits in hopes of brainwashing them into thinking carrots aren't tempting. There are subplots involving a blossoming romance between Wallace and competition hostess Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), which of course leads to the violent jealousy of balding suitor Victor Quartermine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes).

But even with a great supporting cast the absolute stand-out in Were-Rabbit (as well as past adventures) is the amazing Gromit, who manages to practically save the day single-handedly yet never peeps a word. The fact that so much emotion can be seen in only Gromit's eyes and hand gestures is simply remarkable, as Wallace's faithful companion manages to be the only sane person in the entire neighbourhood.

The animation is without a doubt intricate and mesmerising but, and such is the case with Pixar, this doesn't rely on its visuals to carry the film, as the screenplay is clever, sharp and often hilarious. Don't let the overly-Americanised trailers fool you, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit doesn't stray once from its British charm and is easily the best animated film of the year. (Dreamworks)

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