Wallace & Gromit is a British claymation comedy media franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists mainly of four short films, two television shows and two feature-length films, but it has also spawned numerous spin-offs and multimodal adaptations. The series revolves around the adventures of Wallace, a good-natured and eccentric cheese-loving inventor, along with his companion Gromit, a silent yet loyal and intelligent anthropomorphic dog.
Short films[]
A Grand Day Out (1989)[]
A Grand Day Out is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film created by Nick Park. It is the first Wallace & Gromit short film. In the film, Wallace and Gromit spend a Bank Holiday building a homemade rocket to go to the Moon to sample cheese. The film was Park's first major work and was started as a student project before he joined Aardman. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but it lost to Park's other short released the same year, Creature Comforts.
The Wrong Trousers (1993)[]
The Wrong Trousers is a 1993 British stop-motion animated short film created by Nick Park at Aardman Animations. It is the second Wallace & Gromit short film. In the film, a sinister penguin (Feathers McGraw) uses Wallace and Gromit's robotic Techno Trousers to steal a diamond. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and won it.
A Close Shave (1995)[]
A Close Shave is a 1995 British stop-motion animated short film created by Nick Park at Aardman Animations. It is the third Wallace & Gromit short film. Wallace and Gromit now own a window-cleaning service where Wallace meets the love of his life, Wendolene Ramsbottom. But after sheep have went missing Wallace and Gromit try and uncover the sheep rustler, a sinister dog who goes by the name of Preston. Like its predecessor, the film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008)[]
A Matter of Loaf and Death is a 2008 British stop-motion animated film created by Nick Park. It is the fourth and most recent Wallace & Gromit short film. The film is a murder mystery, with Wallace and Gromit starting a new bakery business. They both learn that bakers have been mysteriously murdered, and Gromit tries to solve the case before Wallace ends up as a victim himself. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, but it lost to Logorama.
Feature film[]
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)[]
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. The film is the only theatrical Wallace & Gromit film. It was the final DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box as the second feature-length film by Aardman after Chicken Run (2000). In the film, Wallace and Gromit solve the mystery of a dangerous garden-guzzling rabbit-like beast.
It was a critical and commercial success, and won numerous awards including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, making it the second film from DreamWorks Animation to win (after Shrek), as well as both the second non-American animated film and second non computer-animated film to have received this achievement (after Spirited Away). It became the second highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time, only out grossed by Chicken Run.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)[]
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is an upcoming Wallace & Gromit feature-length film made by Aardman Animations and directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. It will debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 25 December 2024 in the UK and stream internationally on Netflix on 3 January 2025. In the film, Gromit's concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified when Wallace invents a 'smart gnome' that seems to develop an evil mind of its own.
Television series[]
Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions (2002)[]
Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions is a 2002 short-form series produced by Aardman Animations of 10 Wallace & Gromit shorts varying in length from 1 to 3 minutes. Each episode features one of Wallace's new inventions and Gromit's sceptical reaction to it.
Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention (2010)[]
Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention is a 2010 science-themed miniseries produced by Aardman Animations, which originally aired on BBC One from 3 November to 8 December, 2010. The program focuses on a look at inventions based around various themes, and consists of live-action films interlaced with animated claymation segments hosted by Wallace and Gromit, which often focus on a side plot connected to that episode's theme. The programme ran for 6 episodes and was the last production that Peter Sallis performed in before his retirement from acting due to ill health.
Television specials[]
Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels (2012)[]
Wallace & Gromit's Musical Marvels is Prom 20 of the 2012 season of The BBC Proms that was broadcast on radio and as a television special before coming a full touring show in 2013. The television special focuses on orchestral renditions of Julian Nott's theme of Wallace & Gromit and classical music set to scenes from the franchise. It was performed at The BBC Proms and released on 29 December 2011. The video broadcast has not been widely redistributed since its original airing.
Spin-offs[]
Shaun the Sheep (2007-20)[]
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated television series and spin-off of the Wallace & Gromit franchise. The series revolves around the adventures of the titular character Shaun, a small sheep who previously appeared in the 1995 short film A Close Shave and the "Shopper 13" episode of Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions. Two short-from series of smaller shorts, Shaun the Sheep 3D and Shaun The Sheep Championsheeps, were released in 2012. A feature-length film based on the series, titled Shaun the Sheep Movie, was released theatrically in 2015. A 30-minute television special based on the series, titled Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, debuted on Amazon Video in the United States on 13 November 2015. A second feature-length film based on the series, titled A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, was released theatrically in 2019. Another 30-minute television special titled Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas debuted on Netflix in the United States on 3 December 2021,
Timmy Time (2009-12)[]
Timmy Time is a British stop-motion animated children's television series made for the BBC's CBeebies by Aardman Animations. The show is a spin-off of the Shaun the Sheep television series, which itself is a spin-off of the Aardman series Wallace & Gromit, which introduced the character of Shaun. The series revolves around Shaun's little cousin Timmy and his friends having to learn to share, make friends, and own up to mistakes. They are supervised by two teachers, Harriet Heron and Osbourne Owl. The series aired from 6 April 2009 to 13 July 2012. The first two seasons ran for 26 episodes and the third season ran for 30 episodes. The series had two special episodes in "Timmy's Christmas Surprise" and "Timmy's Seaside Rescue".
Other media[]
Video games[]
A Wallace & Gromit interactive CD-ROM game from 1996, named Wallace & Gromit Fun Pack, was released for the PC. A sequel, Fun Pack 2, was released in 2000.
The characters were associated with a 144-issue fortnightly digest called Techno Quest, published by Eaglemoss Publications starting in 1997. It was designed to get children interested in science and technology.[1]
In 1997, an animated screensaver-themed video game entitled Wallace & Gromit Cracking Animator was released.
In September 2003, Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Windows.
In 2005, a video game of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of The Were-Rabbit was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
In July 2008, developer Telltale Games announced a new series of episodic video games based on the characters, called Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures. The first episode in Grand Adventures, "Fright of the Bumblebees", was released on 23 March 2009. The second episode, "The Last Resort", was released on 5 May 2009. Two more episodes, "Muzzled!" and "The Bogey Man" were released in later 2009. The four episodes have separately been released on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360.
In 2021, Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up was released as an augmented reality mobile app and served as the fourth video game in the franchise.
In 2023, Aardman Animations released The Grand Getaway on the Meta Quest 2 in virtual reality which served as the fifth video game in the franchise.
Cameo appearances[]
- Main article: Outside references to Wallace & Gromit
In the Limo-Land music video for the Tina Turner and Barry White song "In Your Wildest Dreams", Wallace and Gromit appear beside a caricature of Antonio Banderas. Wallace is dressed up and offering cheese whilst Gromit is sitting on a stool.
In the Rex the Runt episode "Adventures on Telly, Part 1", the gang hear a window cleaner and Wendy gets suspicious that he intends to burgle them while they're out. Bad Bob reassures that he'll take care of it whilst they start the car, Rex worrying he'll do something drastic, to which Bob denies. It's then revealed that the window cleaner is Wallace, in a reference to his role in A Close Shave, yet Bob still pushes him off his ladder, believing him to be a burglar.
In The South Bank Show "Nick Park & Aardman Animations" episode, a claymation animation is presented of host Melvyn Bragg, in which robotic arms do his makeup and Gromit accidentally bumps him with the boom mic.
In the Red Nose Day 2007 Creature Comforts-style "Wellard" animated sketch, when Wellard is imprisoned in the dog pound at the end, Gromit can be seen in the background.
In the documentary A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman, Wallace and Gromit watch the feature on their TV in the intermittent animated segments.
In Early Man, when Lord Nooth meets with Queen Oofeefa at the big match, Wallace can be seen in the crowd alongside the ears of Gromit for a very brief moment. Soon after, Feathers makes a cameo when the duck is flying the team into the stadium.[2]
In the ITV special We Are Most Amused and Amazed, Wallace and Gromit appear via video call to give a message to the then-Queen's heir.
In the Star Wars: Visions "I Am Your Mother" episode made by Aardman Animations, the Cooker makes a background appearance alongside Wallace's ball from A Grand Day Out, possibly as a nod to that film's Star Wars influence in its original story plan.
In Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget, Feathers McGraw makes an appearance in the background of the ending scene, wearing his chicken disguise and ducking back down whilst the characters go forth.
Comic[]
British publisher Titan Magazines started producing the monthly Wallace & Gromit Comic after the debut of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The characters still run Anti-Pesto, and both Shaun and Feathers McGraw have appeared in the comic.
The two characters appeared in the monthly BeanoMAX comic until its closure in June 2013, and then appeared every four weeks in The Beano. Nick Park guest-edited the 70th birthday issue of The Beano, and so it contained numerous Wallace & Gromit references. They were also heavily featured in Aardmag, the free online magazine that was unofficial but supported by Aardman.
On 17 May 2010, they began appearing daily in The Sun, replacing George and Lynne. The newspaper strip ended on 27 October 2013. A graphic novel compiling all 311 daily strips was released on 8 October 2013. A second volume followed on 7 October 2014, a third volume on 31 March 2015 and a fourth volume on 6 October 2015.
Theatre[]
In November 1997, the characters appeared in a play called Wallace & Gromit™ Alive on Stage in a Grand Night Out.