Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave

I was first introduced to Wallace and Gromit through the Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures episodic adventure games made by Telltale Games a few years back. I fell in love with the designs and characters, and found the inventions and occupations of Wallace delightfully funny. Eventually, I saw the Wallace and Gromit 20^th Anniversary Collection in a store for a good price and I picked it up. I’ve very slowly worked my way through the first two shorts, (A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers), and finally have taken the time to sit down and watch this third one, A Close Shave.

A Close Shave follows the adventures of Wallace and his dog Gromit –now working as window cleaners- as they slowly become entangled in malicious sheep kidnappings. As with each of the previous Wallace and Gromit shorts, (all directed by Nick Park, the creator of the character), the premise is simple and the payoff is huge. We get sight gags every few minutes, beautiful stop motion animation that boggles the mind, and a tight, quick moving story. It’s pure entertainment, and I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it unless they are against having fun (or if they hate stop animation, I guess). The fact that it won an Academy Award at least suggests it has some merit, even to the grumblers.

As I already mentioned, the animation is great. The facial expressions and animations are suburb, but that is pretty much expected from a high quality stop motion film. The way that the little things are done is what got me when I watched this. The way oatmeal pours out of a hole in the box wowed me. The animator’s ability to show resigned acceptance in Gromit’s face whenever Wallace does something ridiculous always makes me smile. The funny and foreshadowing headlines in the many, many newspapers being read add a layer of storytelling that would otherwise slow the pace down with exposition, although younger kids will just have to accept the leaps in narrative if the whole family isn’t watching together, (though I get the impression that for many, Wallace and Gromit is a family affair).

My favourite sequences seem always to involve Gromit in these shorts, and this time is no exception. There is one sequence where Gromit is doing a massive, 5000 piece puzzle, and we see him finishing the last few pieces. He is simply staring glumly off into space, while one paw is mechanically picking up each piece and placing it perfectly into the puzzle. It’s both wonderfully absurd and yet it shows just how morose Gromit is. Everyone can at least subconsciously relate to being so deeply sad that each thing they do is just a mechanical action, where no practical thought goes into performing the daily routine while a troubling event is mulled over. Here Gromit does just that, humoring the audience while at the same time taping into that emotional state, which we project back onto Gromit. Subtly brilliant stuff.

A Close Shave is a great little short. With A Grand Day Out, by the end I was ready for it to be finished, and it came very close to overstaying its welcome. I felt that The Wrong Trousers was just the right length, and I could see how this short would spark such a love for the character that people seem to have. With A Close Shave, it felt over all too quick, leaving me with a desire for more, and if that isn’t a good way to judge whether something is good or not, I don’t know what is.