THE WRONG TROUSERS (1993)

THE WRONG TROUSERS
Directed by Nick Park
Starring the voice of Peter Sallis

This is the second short film in the Wallace and Gromit trilogy from Aardman Animation in England. As far as second parts go, I'd say that this one ranks up there with “The Godfather, Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back”. “The Wrong Trousers” brings us into the world of Wallace and Gromit again. They have returned from their “Grand Day Out” to the Moon and have resumed their lives as if people went to the Moon every bank holiday.

It is Gromit's birthday. He is up cooking breakfast when Wallace wakes up and joins him. At first we think that Wallace has forgotten about the special day, but soon we realize that he was only pretending and has invented a wonderful present for Gromit. It's a pair of “techno-trousers”--Robotic legs that can take Gromit for a walk. They are also useful for things like painting the ceiling, as they have suction feet that can walk up walls.

But, alas, the duo have hit on hard times. Bills keep going up and inventing just isn't covering the gap like it used to. Wallace decided that they must rent out the spare room to make ends meet, and the person that they find to move in is a penguin that Gromit doesn't quite trust.

The differences between this film and it's predecessor, “A Grand Day Out” are vast. The animation is much cleaner. It has much more of a finished look than the first film did. The story is much bigger in scope. It's certainly funnier, and it's filled with suspense and mystery. The music is also much grander. It sounds as if there is a whole orchestra playing for this movie.
Characterization is one of the strengths of this series and “The Wrong Trousers” earns highest marks. Two of the three main characters, Gromit and Penguin, don't speak at all. They don't even have mouths. Gromit has very animated eyes, brows, and ears, but Penguin has no moving features at all. All he has are tiny little beady eyes and a nondescript beak. Yet he is still able to convey a sense of anger and strength. I never doubt what Penguin is thinking, and this is a credit to Nick Park's skills as an artist.

“The Wrong Trousers” won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. Other nominees were “Blindscape”, “Le Flueve Aux Grandes Aux”, “Small Talk”, and “The Village”.

This review was written on June 10, 2008