A Matter of Loaf and Death

A Matter of Loaf and Death
Directed by	Nick Park
Written by	Nick Park Bob Baker
Distributed by	BBC Aardman Animations
Release date	December 25, 2008 (UK) September 25, 2009 (USA)
Running time	29 minutes
Preceded by	The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Followed by	Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention (2010)

A Matter of Loaf and Death is the fourth short film by Nick Park to star the characters Wallace and Gromit.

A Matter of Loaf and Death is a mock murder mystery, with Wallace and Gromit starting a new bakery business, Top Bun. The short introduces a new love interest for Wallace, Piella Bakewell, and a new love interest for Gromit, Fluffles. Recording started in January 2008, and the short was broadcasted in the UK on December 25, 2008. This marked the fastest production period for a "Wallace and Gromit" short.

The original working title for the film when the project was first announced was "Trouble at' Mill". However, the title was changed during production to "A Matter of Loaf and Death".

Synopsis

Wallace and Gromit have started a new bread baking business, "Top Bun", and converted their home into a granary with ovens, robotic kneading arms and a windmill on the roof. Although business is booming, Gromit soon becomes concerned when a local baker becomes the 12th baker murdered in a string of serial killings by an unknown baker hater.

One morning at Wallace & Gromit's bread baking business whilst going on the usual "Dough to Door" delivery route Wallace sees a plump lady and her dog on a bicycle. Realising that this is Piella Bakewell, a former "Bake-O-Lite" pin-up girl, Wallace falls head over heels in love. Wallace rushes into action to save Piella when her bicycle's brakes malfuction and runs out of control - heading toward the crocodile pit at the local zoo.

Wallace and Piella soon enter into a whirlwind romance, however when Gromit discovers Piella's identity as the serial killer, Wallace is too starry-eyed to pay attention to Gromit's concern, announcing that he and Piella are engaged to be married. Gromit tries all kinds of tactics to thwart Piella (including building and installing an airport-style metal detector in their home). One day Piella delivers a large box containing a cake for Wallace to enjoy at his four o'clock tea.

Gromit, suspicious of the gesture, follows Piella home, and is caught and imprisoned along with Fluffles in a store room. The two dogs manage to escape in Piella's hot air balloon, and arrive at Wallace's house just as Wallace is lighting the candle on the cake. Gromit attempts to extinguish the candle, only to discover it is a relighting wick. In the resulting struggle between Wallace and Gromit the cake falls to the floor, revealing a bomb underneath. Gromit tries get the bomb out of the house but is thwarted when Piella arrives, exclaiming her pure disdain for baking and her motives behind the serial killings. The fight with Piella escalates the bomb lodges itself inside Wallace's trousers with just seconds left before it'll blow, and the two dogs desperately use dough pressure to try to encase the force of the forthcoming explosion. As the mayhem builds, Piella flees by leaping onto the balloon and floating away. However, due to her weight, the balloon comes crashing down into the crocodile pit in the zoo, where she is eaten.

Wallace and Gromit, depressed by the lost loves, set out to continue with their daily delivery. As they head out, they almost run over Fluffles who is waiting in the driveway. They see that she is sad at losing her owner so they let her join them in the van for their deliveries. As the three drive off into the sunset, Gromit and Fluffles rekindle their romance as the 1971 song "Puppy Love" plays on the van's stereo.Wallace,Fluffles and Gromit goes to Deliever

Characters

• Wallace
• Gromit
• Piella Bakewell
• Fluffles
• Baker Bob
• Miss. Thripp
• Feathers McGraw (Brief, Cameo - Seen on zoo poster)

Trivia

• This is the first Wallace and Gromit film to be shot on digital video.
• The baker who was killed in the opening scene was based on Bob Baker, one of the writers of the film.
• In this film, Gromit reads a book called, "Electric Surveillence for Dogs". In The Wrong Trousers he gained information from a book called, "Electronics for Dogs".
• The cardboard box that Fluffles sleeps reads "Meatabix", a play on the cereal Weetabix. Gromit hides in an identical box to spy on Feathers McGraw in The Wrong Trousers.
• The scene where Wallace and Gromit try to dispose the bomb, but can't because there are ducks in a pond out of one window and runs through another one is a reference to the scene in "Batman", where Batman, played by, Adam West, has similar problems whilst trying to dispose of a bomb.

Goofs / Errors

• At one point when Piella picks Gromit off the chair, just before she accuses him of biting her, you see him from the back and his tail is missing - yet later in the film it has reappeared.
• When Piella leaves Wallaces & Gromit's home, and cycles away. The scene pans to the hallway of their house and Piella's hat and coat are hanging up, yet she has just left.
• Near the end of the movie, Piella hits Gromit away from the bomb. When the bomb falls out of the window, Piella turns and we see an impression of Gromit on her weapon. But the impression is on the wrong side.
• Piela accused Gromit of biting her yet he has no mouth.
• The bomb is knocked out of the window and gets caught in the mill sails. However, when it flies out the window, the sails have just swung past, meaning the bomb should have landed in the garden.

Quotes

[Wallace and Gromit in the baker's van]

Wallace: How's that breakfast coming on?

[Gromit presses the button on the car radio and a slice of cremated toast pops out from the cassette slot]

Wallace: Well done lad.

[Looks at the burnt toast]

Wallace: *Very* well done.

External links

• Official Website
• A Matter of Loaf and Death (full video)
• Take the Wheel! on Youtube
• Puppy Love on Youtube
• Top Bun on Youtube
• The Bomb on Youtube
• Intro on Youtube
• The whole grain (get it) short on You Ku (the site is in Chinese)