I was interested in seeing this latest film by Nick Park, because I love the 3 short Wallace & Gromit films, and also liked Chicken Run. I had two questions in particular - how would the story hold out over the length of a feature film, and would the inevitably higher production values detract from the charm of the shorts.
It's interesting with animated or special-effects intensive films, especially if they are very innovative, that in the end they are still movies. And sometimes the effects can distract the viewer from enjoying the story, especially for a longer film. It happened with films like Final Fantasy, or perhaps Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But it doesn't seem to interfere with films like Shrek, or The Matrix. So it's nice to see the claymation of Wallace & Gromit holding up well over the whole movie, as it did in Chicken Run. Although I thought that the characters of Victor Quartermaine and Lady Tottington looked rather bizarre.
But I did feel that the higher production values did not benefit the film. One of the things I really liked about the short films was their campiness, and the feeling that Nick Park was making the films in his basement or something. Also, the smaller casts in the short films help keep the focus on the stars, Wallace and Gromit. It felt like there were a ton of characters in this movie.
Still, I shouldn't be too critical. This is an enjoyable film and another testament to the genius of Nick Park.
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