With the release of the first Wallace and Gromit short film back in 1989, Nick Park and Aardman Animations launched what would soon become a beloved British cultural icon and worldwide sensation. Using claymation as its medium, A Grand Day Out was hailed as not only a critical success—snagging an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film—but a technical one too.
After spawning several more short-films and even a TV series, Aardman Animations wanted to do more with their kindhearted, cheese-loving duo. So in 2005, they released Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the first feature-length film of the franchise. As a claymated parody of classic Hammer Horror films, Curse of the Were-Rabbit’s combination of genres was basically a sound designers’ dream. Not often does a Hollywood sound team get the opportunity to create goofy, comedic sound effects that immediately follow dark, intense, horror sounds. The designers have the pleasure of making the audience laugh and shriek all in the same film. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit received critical acclaim and won the academy award for Best Animated Feature Film. Today, we celebrate its 15th anniversary—and we can’t wait for more to come.