A CLOSE SHAVE (1995)

A CLOSE SHAVE
Directed by Nick Park
Starring the voices of Peter Sallis and Anne Reid

The biggest question at the end of the previous Wallace and Gromit short, “The Wrong Trousers” is “How does Nick Park top the climactic ending in the next film?” Well, he manages too, and “A Close Shave” was the biggest and most epic Wallace and Gromit film to date. He wouldn't be able to top himself again without turning the duo's adventures into a full-length film, which he did in 2005 with “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”. But that's getting ahead of things.

“A Close Shave” is the third Wallace and Gromit film. Times are still hard, and inventing still isn't making ends meet. Wallace and Gromit have learned their lesson when it comes to renting out rooms, so in this movie they've taken to window washing.

Plaguing England is a shortage of wool used to make yarn due to wranglers who are stealing all the sheep. Wallace and Gromit are hired to clean the windows of a wool shop owned by the beautiful Wendolene Ramsbottom, and Wallace is smitten. She has plenty of wool, and repeatedly needs her windows cleaned, so Wallace keeps finding reasons to come back. She is smitten with Wallace too, but Gromit doesn't trust her. He also doesn't trust her dog Preston, and rightfully so. Preston is the one who is stealing the sheep, only he frames Gromit and gets him thrown in prison. Now Wallace and a bunch of sheep must rescue Gromit and clear his name.

“A Close Shave” pushes the limits of what can be done with plasticine clay. There are some truly remarkable shots in this film, and they're even more remarkable when you realize that they were done without the use of CGI. Nick Park once again proves himself to be a master of creating great expression from the least amount of work. Yes, there is a second talking character in this film, but there are also a bevy of non-talking sheep. One in particular, named Sean, is remarkably expressive without uttering a single word and while having a very blank expression on his face most of the time.

This film is the perfect end cap to the original Wallace and Gromit trilogy. Children will love it, and adults will too. It's the kind of movie that families can watch together without anyone being bored.

“A Close Shave” won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. The other nominees were “The Chicken From Outer Space”, “The End”, “Gagarin”, and “Runaway Brain”.

This review was written on June 10, 2008