Tag: stop motion

I can’t live without me best pal! “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (2024)

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directed by Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham
© 2024 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

So far I haven’t shared a single post about any Wallace & Gromit film, but I have to tell you that I’m a fan of those pals. If you’ve been reading me for some time, you already know I absolutely love stop-motion animation, so I couldn’t ignore Wallace & Gromit, could I? Especially since I was yet a child when the first films with them got released. In fact, Wallace & Gromit films are classified as claymation – so animation with the use of clay figures. Imagine how much work people need to put to make such production… Unbelievable. Anyway, for those of you who haven’t seen any Wallace & Gromit films, let me introduce you to them. Wallace (Ben Whitehead) is a bit clumsy guy in a cute sleeveless sweater who keeps inventing ridiculous machines. His best friend is Gromit, a dog, who’s the smart one and always has to save his owner from even stranger things than Wallace’s inventions. The first story of Wallace & Gromit was presented in a short film “A Grand Day Out” (1989), so we’ve been blessed by those adorable animations for over 35 years now. The one I’m recommending you today is the newest one, made in 2024. This time Wallace invented a gnome robot called Norbot in order to help Gromit in the garden (yes, the dog loves gardening, why so shocked?). Norbot does everything so perfectly that neighbours ask to hire it to their own gardens, which sounds like a great business plan to Wallace. And here comes Feathers McGraw, a penguin, which is Wallace & Gromit enemy known from the previous adventures. He’s stuck in prison, but manages to reprogram Norbot and begin his huge revenge with a whole army of garden gnomes! Are you thrilled yet? Then you must see this film! I adore how abstract Wallace & Gromit adventures can be, but I guess that’s what makes them outstanding even after all these years. Besides, despite the technological development, those animations still share the same vibe, so old fans don’t get disappointed. I feel like currently popular animations are missing good ideas. The filmmakers try to be so original that they focus too much on the form, instead of the story. We really miss some good animations about simple friendships. That’s it. And I love that Wallace & Gromit show up to remind us about that. I hope you have fun, get back to older films with those two pals, and appreciate stop-motion animation even more.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Choo-choo! “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (2019)

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directed by Richard Phelan & Will Becher
© 2019 Studio Canal. All Rights Reserved.

It’s time to relax right before the ceremony and what’s a better option than watching Shaun the Sheep fooling around? This isn’t the first film about him, but you can watch it without knowing the previous adventures, no worries. So if you don’t know Shaun, let’s say it once again – he is a sheep. Surprising. He’s living in Mossingham on a farm together with Farmer John, his dog Bongo and a bunch of other animals. Nothing much is happening there until a UFO lands close to their house. The alien that comes out of the UFO refers to herself as Lu-La and she seems very curious and friendly. That is why Shaun decides to get to know her and those two have a lot of adorable adventures, especially since Lu-La has superpowers. Unfortunately, The Ministry of Alien Detention (M.A.D.) want to find the alien and catch it, obviously. So Shaun does everything to keep Lu-La safe and help her get back to her planet. Personally, I adore the kind of humour that is present in Shaun the Sheep films. It’s both smart, goofy, sarcastic and cringy, but in a very pleasant way. Besides, if you’ve been reading my blog for longer, you may know that I’m a big fan of stop motion animation. I believe it’s something spectacular and I honestly feel a lot of respect towards people who still create in such style. Bravo and thank you! For me it’s a perfect film for everyone, because children will for sure love Shaun and Lu-La and adults will enjoy their time catching the hidden jokes. So don’t even think about it, just relax and watch this adorable and very well-made animation. Last but not least – should it win the Oscar tonight? Maybe I’ll surprise you but… yes. In my eyes, that’s the best animated film nominated this year. I’m pretty sure it won’t get the statuette, but I still liked it the most and I hope you’ll find a moment to see it.

My rating: 7/10
S.