Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British claymation animated comedy film, and thus far the only feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was the second co-production between Dreamworks Animation and Aardman Animations, as well as being Aardman's second full-length feature film, after Chicken Run, natch. It is mainly an homage to the Hammer Horror films of yore, with the plot being that the always absentminded inventor Wallace and his intelligent but silent dog Gromit must contend with a mythical rabbit beast before their village's annual vegetable competition. The movie was a critical and commercial success in both its maiden Britain and overseas, and even won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature that year, as well as several BAFTA's.

Tropes used in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit include:
  • Attack! Attack! Retreat! Retreat!: On hearing that their vegetables will be used as bait to attract the Were-Rabbit, Mrs. Mulch flees with her Pumpkin, whilst the townsfolk yell at her “Come back! Come back!”. The Were-Rabbit then approaches, prompting her to about turn. Cue villagers now yelling “Go away! Go away!”
  • As You Wish: Early on, Wallace makes a playful “rabbit paws” gesture in Lady Tottington's direction. She smiles and repeats it back. Later, after carrying her away from the mob and back to the greenhouse, the Were-Rabbit makes the same gesture, looking at her wistfully. She recognizes Wallace at once, stops being afraid, and pulls a Go Through Me moment when Victor arrives to shoot him.
  • The Cameo: There's two portraits of Nick Park and Steve Box (blink and you'll miss it) in the parsonage before the door slams shut.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • A lot of the phrases Hutch in "Were-Wallace" mode spouts are quotes from previous entries.
    • When Wallace leaves Gromit alone in the van, he's parked outside a hairdressers called A Close Shave.
    • There is a "have you seen this chicken?" poster with Feathers McGraw in the licensed game.
  • Creative Closing Credits: In Were-Rabbit
  • Defanged Horrors
  • Disney Death: Wallace.
  • Edible Smelling Salts: Done to Wallace with cheese, since it's his favorite food, when after being a Were-Rabbit he shifted back to human form and was assumed to be dead.
  • Efficient Displacement: The Were-Rabbit does this.
  • Executive Meddling: DreamWorks kept sending notes to Nick Park, telling him to changes things like the design of Wallace's car to appeal to Americans. Ultimately, the only change that was forced upon Aardman was toning down the British accents.
    • Also, they re-dubbed every mention of marrows to “melon” in the US release, because DreamWorks thought most Americans wouldn't know what a marrow was.
  • Human-to-Werewolf Footprints: Reversed: Originally they thought that the were-rabbit prints were leading to the basement and that the pet bunny was the culprit. Then Gromit closes the door and sees that not only do the prints continue past the basement door, they change into human prints as they lead towards Wallace's bedroom.
  • I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Victor at church.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Victor, when his wig was sucked up by the Bun-Vac 6000.

Victor: “I want… toupee, please”
Wallace: “Oh, grand. We take check or cash.”
Victor: “Toupee, you idiot. My hair is in your machine.”
Wallace: “Oh no, it's only rabbits in there. The hare, I think you'll find, is a much larger mammal.”

Also, when he was shooting the rabbit: “Eat karat.”

  • Oh Crap: Wallace when he realizes he's the Were-Rabbit.

Wallace: Ohhh dear.

Reverend Hedges: To kill such a beast would require nerves of steel and… (Dramatic Pause) a bullet. (Thunderclap)
Lord Victor: A bullet? (Thunder)
Reverend Hedges: A bullet. (Thunder)
Lord Victor: A bull– (Thunder) oh! (Victor slams the shutters of a nearby window shut, annoyed) What kind of bullet?

  • Photo Montage: The opening.
  • Serious Business: The vegetable competition.
  • Silver Bullet: Spoofed. A Were-Rabbit can only be killed with a gold bullet – 24 karat.
  • Sorry I Left the BGM On: Reverend Clement Hedges gives a doom and gloom rant about the Were-Rabbit with dramatic organ music in the background. The church organist is told to knock it off.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: Hutch, in the middle of rambling about cheese, inventing, cheese, how cracking he thinks things are, eh, Gromit?, and cheese, says “I'm Wallace” for no apparent reason. Perhaps he's vaguely aware that someone's been tinkering with his thinker, and trying to reassure himself?
  • Torches and Pitchforks: When the Were-Rabbit is loose at the festival, a booth selling “farm supplies” places a new sign reading “mob supplies”.
  • Trailers Always Spoil: One TV ad completely spoiled that Wallace is the Were-Rabbit.
  • The Vicar: Reverend Clement Hedges
  • Visual Pun: When PC Mackintosh blurts out that titular character isn't dead, the festival comes to a screeching halt, everyone is standing there in Stunned Silence, and a piece of cotton candy tumbles by.
  • What Could Have Been: DreamWorks apparently attempted to replace Peter Sallis with an American actor. Aardman disliked this request, but they came to a compromise to cast well-known British actors like Helena Bonham Carter, while keeping Sallis in the title role. The amount of Executive Meddling over the course of that film and Flushed Away led to Aardman jumping ship as the latter film released into the wild.
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