Katherine and I went to see Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit last night, which was delightful. Roger Ebert says that Wallace and Gromit are arguably the two most delightful characters in the history of animation, and I think he’s got something there. Stop-motion animation has such a charm to it, and Nick Park’s creations match it so beautifully.
Tragically, almost all of them were destroyed today:
A day of celebration has turned to ashes for Aardman Animations, the English studio that created animated clay movie stars Wallace and Gromit.
Aardman said an early morning fire on Monday gutted its warehouse in this western English city, destroying a priceless archive of props, sets and models.
Aardman had just learned that The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the first full-length adventure for the eccentric inventor and his indomitable dog, had topped the U.S. box office on its opening weekend.
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, with the news that Wallace and Gromit had gone in at number one at the U.S. box office, but instead our whole history has been wiped out, said Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff. It’s turned out to be a terrible day.
The Avon Fire and Rescue service said the roof and three interior walls of the Victorian warehouse collapsed in the blaze, which broke out at about 5:30 a.m. (0430 GMT). The cause of the fire was being investigated.
Sheriff said the warehouse contained sets, props and models from all the company’s past productions, from the children’s cartoon character Morph through the Oscar-winning, anthropomorphic Creature Comforts series to the Wallace and Gromit films.
Aardman said the sets and props from Curse of the Were-Rabbit were not caught in the blaze.
Wallace and Gromit’s creator, Nick Park, said the earthquake in South Asia helped put the loss into perspective.
Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn’t a big deal, he said.
Wallace & Gromit’s previous adventures are available on DVD in the form of three short films. I highly recommend them.