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New Wallace and Gromit Shorts

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the stuff-to-get dept.

disco_stu00 writes "Aardman Animations has produced 10 new one-minute Wallace and Gromit shorts entitled Cracking Contraptions in preparation and training for the upcoming feature length film. BBC News has the first short available for download."

37 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Wallace eyes the export market... by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Funny


    Clearly with the Soccermatic Wallace is looking to expand into the US Soccer Mom market, the domestic version will of course continue to be called the "Footymatic" :-)

    More Cheese Gromit ?

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
    1. Re:Wallace eyes the export market... by Chillas · · Score: 3, Interesting


      Odd, since the word "soccer" is a British invention.

      --
      --- Math illiteracy affects 8 out of every 5 people.
    2. Re:Wallace eyes the export market... by Quaryon · · Score: 5, Informative

      It may be a Brit invention, but the term "soccer" is not really in general use over here. We just call it "football", since it involves regular contact between the foot and the ball...

      I believe it was originally coined as a shortened form of "association football" to differentiate the game from "rugby football" ("rugger"). This we now just generally call "rugby", since it involves less contact between the foot and the ball.

      Q.

  2. I'm looking forward to the movie... by mong · · Score: 5, Funny

    I had a look at this at lunch, and I'm relieved to say that it's clear that we're in for a treat with the new movie - if this clip is anything to go by. People have suggested that W&G is old and stale now (as Chicken Run wasn't *amazing*). But this made me giggle, and I can't wait! Nice Work!!

    --

    *...Slacker, Artist, Techie - Geek *
    Remember: Nothing is Cool.
    1. Re:I'm looking forward to the movie... by Pike65 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's the thing, isn't it?

      Wallace and Gromit should have been stale when it first came out (regional English accents and dogs that are smarter than their owners?), but the sheer quality of the animation and clever direction made all three some of the most loved short films ever.

      --
      "If being a geek means being passionate about something, then I pity those who aren't geeks." - Pike65
    2. Re:I'm looking forward to the movie... by mong · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hrm, but us Brits don't complain about southern drawl, or Seattle slur in Hollywood movies! I was quite amused that a US reviewer of "Reign of Fire" (avoid, it sucks) complained about the non-rp accents of the Brits.

      Hrm, off topic I guess.

      What needs to be noted is that a soft yorkshire accent like that of Wallace is entirely appropriate. It makes perfect sense.

      But I accept your points anyway... sorry.. I'm rambling!

      --

      *...Slacker, Artist, Techie - Geek *
      Remember: Nothing is Cool.
    3. Re:I'm looking forward to the movie... by simong_oz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      ...a soft yorkshire accent like that of Wallace is entirely appropriate. It makes perfect sense.

      Heh, as a foreigner (Australian, no less) living in Yorkshire, I reckon that's because a proper yorkshire accent would need subtitles!

      --
      "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
    4. Re:I'm looking forward to the movie... by david+duncan+scott · · Score: 3, Funny
      Seattle slur? Sure:
      "Everybody in Seattle is funny-looking. And they smell bad, too!"

      There, that's two right there.
      --

      This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander

  3. ITYM by the+grace+of+R'hllor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't you mean 'trousers', instead of 'shorts'?

    Yeah yeah, 'boo', 'hiss' and all that.

  4. Here's a by oever · · Score: 5, Informative

    more convenient link

    --
    DNA is the ultimate spaghetti code.
  5. Dammit, Grommit... by pokeyburro · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...I was hoping for actual clothes.

    --
    Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
  6. Worship at the church of Shaun the Sheep by Dynamoo · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Shaun the Sheep (from A Close Shave is a huge cultural icon in the UK, even more so that Gromit. In five hundred years time when archaeologists dig through the remains of our era, they'll clearly come to the conclusion that the plethora of Shaunie socks, toys, character bags, ornaments, mouse mats etc are part of some religious thing.

    Umm maybe that's just my confession that all of these items currently exist in my household. Plus a single solitary Gromit.

    One.. two.. three.. baaaah!

    --
    Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
    1. Re:Worship at the church of Shaun the Sheep by simong_oz · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well you'll be glad to hear that Shaun makes an appearance in one of the shorts as reported by the BBC.

      --
      "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
  7. NO CGI! by scrod98 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So glad they are producing the feature in the same medium and not moving to the computerized version of W & G. Stop motion animation has such a great feel to it.

    --
    LETS DECOMPOSE & ENJOY ASSEMBLING
    1. Re:NO CGI! by doi · · Score: 5, Insightful
      So glad they are producing the feature in the same medium and not moving to the computerized version of W & G. Stop motion animation has such a great feel to it.

      I totally agree! I think George Lucas needs to sit down with Nick Park and learn from Nick how to infuse an animated character with personality and performance in a way that engages the audience. Simply using CGI to show off the latest whiz-bang Flame/Maya/Photoshop plugin that renders Yoda's hair with the appropriate translucency is not a substitute for character...especially considering that Frank Oz made the "old technology" Yoda puppet far more convincing than the CGI version was.

      --
      A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or what's an erection for?
    2. Re:NO CGI! by gaudior · · Score: 5, Insightful

      CGI, in and of itself, is not the problem. The problem is George Lucas, and his lack of artistic taste. There are good examples of CG characters that do engage an audience, and display life and personality. Pixar and Big Idea come to mind. CG is just a tool.

  8. The players and club by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Informative

    Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Nobby Stiles and of course the club in question Preston North End

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  9. Re:Not Linux compatible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's quicktime actually, and here are the direct links
    Broadband Version
    56K Version

  10. Ooooh, Aaaaahhh!!! by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Funny
    You can have your Anime, I'm just plain crackers for W & G!

    Best line: "Cracking toast, Grommit!"

    Best Scene: Grommit releasing the parking brake on the rocket.

    Best Book: Electronics for Dogs

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Ooooh, Aaaaahhh!!! by JimPooley · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think "Crime and Punishment by Fido Dogstoyevsky" is a good runner up in the best book category...
      (It's the book Grommit is reading in prison in "A Close Shave")

      --

      "Information wants to be paid"
    2. Re:Ooooh, Aaaaahhh!!! by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Informative

      Look at the wall of Gromit's cell for "Feathers Was 'Ere", in reference to the evil penguin (Feathers McGraw) from The Wrong Trousers.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  11. Ditto... by Gruneun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People in real jobs often have to perform cost analysis, which usually includes a study of potential client demographics, etc.

    Exactly. I worked for a VoIP dot-com a couple years ago. Netscape was getting to be such a hassle that when we saw less than 6% of our users were on it (the absolutely horrid Netscape 6 had less than 1%) we just said, "forget it" and moved on.

    Don't get me wrong. Linux was the OS of choice for most of our developers, but when it came to making money, we had to go where the money was. It isn't in Linux.

    1. Re:Ditto... by Gruneun · · Score: 3, Informative

      This did happen, in a way. Our original plugin was Java. When MS dropped the Java plugin from Explorer, we felt screwed (there went our ideal

      Our ideal situation, using Java, would have included everyone. It isn't our fault that MS controls the greater market share. In fact, even after Java support was dropped, we can recognize that by running with MS instead of against them, it makes significantly less work for us. So, yes, I would most certainly bet on their market share. It's not the popular view around here, but it has its distinct advantages.

  12. Link for more of our heros by ewanrg · · Score: 3, Informative

    The "official" website for the series.

  13. awesomely detailed sets by simong_oz · · Score: 5, Informative

    The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television , in Bradford actually has a couple of the sets from the Wallace and Gromit films. They are only about 2m x 2m in size, but the attention to detail is absolutely amazing. It really brought home just how special the work these guys do is.

    The short is great ... can't wait for the new film!

    --
    "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
  14. Wallace & Gromit: The Game by Alioth · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Additionally, Frontier Developments are making a Wallace and Gromit game. How well it'll translate to a game, I don't know, but FD do seem to have some good animation stuff.

    --
    Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
  15. Cracking Contraptions by surprise_audit · · Score: 4, Funny
    OK, it's probably just that I'm tired and just read the RIAA/Webcasting story, but...

    Did anyone else read "Cracking Contraptions" and immediately think of the DMCA and illegal circumvention devices??

  16. Video/DVD unavailable in the US by cjpez · · Score: 3, Informative
    Drat. I was poking around on the Aardman site, and they've got a section where you can preorder the VHS or DVD version of the shorts, which includes Creature Comforts (which is phenomenal, btw) and a bunch of other things, but it's not available in the US or Japan. Curses! Will they ship to Canada, I wonder?

    I suppose that means that there's no NTSC version of the tape. I guess I'll have to settle for having 'em online, then. Ah, well.

    --
    Al Qaeda has ninjas!
  17. New shorts... by danger42 · · Score: 5, Funny

    New shorts. Wrong trousers.

    --
    -nd
  18. Re:Quicktime not Real... by pldms · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's the infernal Sorenson 3 (IIRC xine can play the other sorenson codecs, yes?). So here is the:

    Obligatory link to the crossover plugin. Very good etc

    But QT6 does support mpeg 4 (as was said). We just need some way to make people use it.

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  19. Nobby Stiles... by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Informative

    See the link above, he was a World Cup (a competition involving the majority of the world's countries) winner in 1966 for England.

    If it had been a real Nobby Stiles he would have run at Gromit, jumped on him two footed then punched him. Nobby wasn't the most elegant player in the world :-)

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  20. Download the clips here: by Antity · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since BBC only seems to support "in-browser" playback (and needs popup windows to be enabled - buah)... Here are the download links, extracted and reassembled:

    Have fun.

    --
    42. Easy. What is 32 + 8 + 2?
  21. Nobby Stiles vs Norman "bite yer legs" Hunter by fantomas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Surely as a good Yorkshireman Wallace would have gone with Norman "bite yer legs" Hunter, as a Leeds United and England hardman rather than our Nobby who was a Manchester United player even though in the 66 Final team.. :-))


  22. Wait just a minute there by markt4 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Actually, if they follow the same general methods as they did in Chicken Run, there will be some CGI, just not for the characters. In Chicken Run they used CGI for shots such as the explosion of the factory. It is very difficult (if not impossible) to do good stop motion plasticine models of exploding liquids.

  23. Rhyming Slang by angst_ridden_hipster · · Score: 3, Informative

    Of course, "Wallace & Gromit" is rhyming slang for "vomit."

    But how many people knew that it was originally the name of a wassail?

    (How many care?)

    --
    Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
    www.fogbound.net
  24. "Native" Seattlean? by hyacinthus · · Score: 3, Funny

    So, you're Duwamish Indian then?

    "Native" of Seattle = someone who moved to Seattle eighteen months before all of his friends did.

    hyacinthus (not a "native" of anywhere.)

  25. Try Amazon? by Cyno01 · · Score: 3, Informative

    i know amazon is the trendy mall of the internet and all, but they have a damn good selection, i'm not sure if this is what you wanted but here are ntsc dvds of Creature Comforts(four shorts; Creature Comforts, Wat's Pig, Not Without My Handbag and Adam) and The Incredible Adventures of Wallace and Gromit (the original three shorts)

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."