Wallace and Gromit!
 

Any fans here of that loveable duo, the eccentric cheese loving inventor and his long-suffering canine sidekick?

A Close Shave was on the TV last week (on a wednesday evening, a little odd as it is ususally shown Christmas/holidays), but nether the less it was a real delight to see it again. Also, the pair have been starring in a new advert, to tie in with the World Cup.

I'm biased here, but no other animation/s come close to the quality of anything Nick Park has done (not even Fosters!)

Does anyone have a favorite?
I think I'd have to go with The Wrong Trousers as mine- a pure masterpiece, it starts off slow/calm, then sad, hyper, mysterious, tense, dramatic and an epic finale, then calm again, all with differnet tones of humor and suspense throughout. I've treied not to give too much away for those who have never seen it (do somthing about that today!)

I've always been a fan of the duo dating back to years ago, when one of my local cable channels had a marathon of all their shorts that were out at the time. (Grand Day Out, Wrong Trousers and Close Shave.) I was taken in almost immediately by the charming characters and crazy situations that Park's work provided.

I'm a Wallace and Gromit fan too! I have all of their shorts (including A Matter of Loaf and Death) and the feature film on DVD, and out of all of them, The Wrong Trousers will always be my favourite.

Not mentioned in the poll, but they have also starred in a seris of 10 shorts (much better than the* Fosters shorts) called Cracking Contraptions, in which they test Wallace's inventions. They aren't shown very often and are a little obsucre, but definatly worth checking out. Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cxAuU5nReU


*to my mind rather lacklustre

The Cracking Contraptions are available as a special feature on the DVD of A Matter of Loaf and Death. I'm not sure if that is the case in the US.

Some very exciting news that has come to me recently is that the pair will be making an apperance in the next comming season of The Simpsons! This was annouced at the recent Comic-Con, but that is all I know. Is there anything mentioned on any videos/blogs?

To me this is a major suprise, but I have not idea in what form we will see them in. A Family Guy style quick joke? A major role? I expect more than a mere mention, and that Peter Salis (Wallace's voice actor) will have a speaking part. Will they be drawn or in stop motion? Will Wallace be yellow? How much involment will Pick Park have?
Time will tell.

No more news on the Simpsons apperance, but here is an interview I have found with Nick Park. The Cracking Contraptions are also available on this channel, but this might only work in the UK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jwp-0oEoJM