The lovable Englishman and faithful canine companion (Wallace and Gromit) have 4 shorts films, a movie and even a fewbooks. They are a scrappy duo and the studio that made them (Aardman Animation) and their director (Nick Park) deserve all the accolades, Oscar wins and appreciation they’ve received. But who are Wallace and Gromit.

Wallace is a genial and quirky inventor. Gromit is his dog who helps out around the house and with the inventions. The pair first teamed up in the short film “A Grand Day Out“. Our proper Englishman is out of cheese and tea and crackers just isn’t the same without cheese. So, they go to the one place where they are guaranteed to get a good selection of cheese, the moon. So Wallace and Gromit build a rocketship and make their way to the moon where they can get some cheese. Along the way they meet an oven-shaped robot on the moon and a good selection of cheese

The second short film (and my personal favorite) is “The Wrong Trousers“. Wallace determines that they are a bit short on money, so he rents out Gromit’s room to a shady penguin. The penguin is actually a robber who uses Wallace’s mechanical trousers to steal a diamond. The end features a model train race that is better than any movie race in recent memory.

The third short film was “A Close Shave“. Wallace and Gromit are running a window washing business and come into contact with Wendoline. Wallace and Wendoline start falling in love, but Wendoline’s dog has a sheep rustling scheme going on that throws a kink into the relationship. Featuring a motorcycle race that morphs into a plane chase. The relationship ends when it turns out that Wendoline is allergic to cheese.

After the success of the shorts, Aardman decided to make a full length movie. Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the result. Wallace and Gromit now have moved onto a non-violent pest control service. They come and capture rabbits who are harming people’s gardens in a vacuum contraption. One of Wallace’s new inventions goes wrong and he is turned into a Were-Rabbit, prowling on garden’s across the countryside. Wallace has a new love interest, Lady Tottington, who has another suitor, Lord Victor Quartermaine, who aims to capture the Were-Rabbit. A lot of action and laughs, but unfortunately not a very good box office return.

Wallace and Gromit returned in a fourth short film (which I haven’t had a chance to view yet) named “A Matter of Loaf and Death”. The reviews haven’t been as kind for the fourth short as they were for the previous three shorts. But, overall, the first three shorts are definitely worth watching and truly great films. I worry that W & G have overstayed their welcome, but we’ll always have the penguin chase scene on model trains.