A Complete Review of Nick Park's work

What was it about?
Top dog Gromit springs into action to save his master when Wallace's high-tech invention goes rogue and he's framed for a series of suspicious crimes.

My two cents:
Well, after almost 20 years (wow… I didn’t expect it to be so long ago, I feel so old now…), it was really neat to see these iconic characters again. As usual with Aardman and Nick Park, the animation was just top-notch and what these guys can do with stop-motion nowadays is still downright mind-blowing. After all these years, they have now decided to add some CGI as well to the mix and, while this mix was technically not bad, I’m not sure I really cared for it though. And yet, even though Nick Park and his team definitely delivered the goods once again, to be honest, I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly blown away though. Basically, the issue with this movie but also this whole franchise, was that the plot was just too similar to the previous movies. Indeed, Wallace had once again created a new daft invention which created a lot of trouble and there was also some criminal mastermind involved that W & G would have to stop somehow. I mean, I really loved ‘The Wrong Trousers’, this movie was a complete riot, but I wish they tried something really different in the movies that followed (For example, ‘A Grand Day Out’ is great and went into a completely different direction). The fact that Feathers McGraw made a come-back, 30 years after ‘The Wrong Trousers’, was maybe a neat idea but it didn't improve my feeling that they keep recycling over and over again the same concept.

My rating: 07/10

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What was it about?
Set at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures and woolly mammoths roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of Dug, along with sidekick Hognob as they unite his tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth and his Bronze Age City to save their home.

My two cents:
Well, it had been more than a decade since Nick Park had delivered a new movie so, of course, I was quite eager to check his latest directing effort. I had to admit that I was slightly worried after my daughter made me watch the trailer but, fortunately, it was still a decent watch. First of all, after 20 years of being the king of clay-motion, Nick Park still didn't loose his touch and the animation was again seriously impressive. Concerning the story, to be honest, it was nothing really groundbreaking but it was still entertaining enough. The main issue I had was that they barely dealt with the clash between the stone age and the bronze age. Indeed, I was rather intrigued to see how these cavemen would handle the discovery of their more evolved 'cousins'. Unfortunately, instead, they focused on some football game which was probably easier to swallow for the young kids but, as a result, the whole thing became seriously generic and predictable. At least, it was pretty neat how they made fun of England which obviously came up with the game of football and, yet, this country has been completely inept at winning any major title for decades. Concerning the characters, even though it was Aardman's best attempt so far, they are clearly still struggling to replace Wallace and Gromit with some strong and charismatic characters.

My rating: 07/10

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What was it about?
Wallace and his dog, Gromit, open a bakery and get tied up with a murder mystery. But when Wallace falls in love, Gromit is left to solve the case.

My two cents:
It has been ages since I saw this short feature, to be honest, I have to admit that I don't remember much about it and maybe I should check it out again at some point. The other reason I forgot most of it was probably due to the fact that, after 'The Wrong Trousers', all the W & G features followed the same pattern and this one was not different, at least, not different enough. Still, there is no denying that the animation was gorgeous and awesome to look at but, at this point, I wouldn't expect less from Aardman and their best director. Eventually, it would take Nick Park 10 more years to finally come up with a new feature and it would take 6 more years to finally see these iconic characters again.

My rating: 07/10

What was it about?
Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.

My two cents:
Even though I have always been a fan of Wallace and Gromit, to be honest, it is not my favorite feature starring those two amazing characters. As a matter of fact, I prefer 'The Wrong Trousers' which remains, in my opinion, their best movie. Indeed, I really loved the first and second short movies they made but then, from then on, I thought that the stories were not really inspired. Basically, if you have seen 'The Wrong Trousers' and, to some extent, 'A Close Shave', you'll notice that all the movies afterwards pretty much followed the same pattern. Indeed, they basically have the same plot and I always thought that it was kind of disappointing. Still, it doesn't change the fact that the animation was once again just mind-blowing, the two characters but also the supporting ones were great, the jokes were hilarious and the whole thing was still really entertaining.

My rating: 07/10

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What was it about?
When a cockerel apparently flies into a chicken farm, the chickens see him as an opportunity to escape their evil owners.

My two cents:
After watching all his amazing Wallace & Gromit shorts, it was just really neat that Nick Park was coming up with this first full length feature with the same clay-motion technique. I was also glad that he came up with some new characters so this movie was really promising. Well, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, the whole thing looked once again quite amazing, absolutely, and it was quite entertaining but I can’t say I was really blown away. In my opinion, the story was decent but not really strong and, above all, all these chicken were not really charismatic, especially if you would compare them to the completely awesome Wallace & Gromit but it was a fun movie nonetheless. Eventually, this movie would be one of the very few attempts so far from Nick Park to do something not involving Wallace & Gromit and it is clear that the guy has been struggling to come up with something else.

My rating: 07/10

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What was it about?
Wallace's whirlwind romance with the owner of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin; Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.

My two cents:
I actually watched this movie for the first time in the movie theater which was a total blast and I do have it as well on DVD. So, I do have seen it couple of times, even many times, and, yet, it has been a while and I actually have a hard time to remember it in details so I guess I should re-watch it at some point. The fact that I don't remember much about it probably has to do with the fact that, even though I'm a huge fan of Wallace and Gromit, I do think that their movies, above all their plot, are just too similar. Still, I won't deny that the whole thing looks really awesome and that these 2 characters are just hilarious and you should absolutely watch it if you have the slightest interest in clay-motion pictures.

My rating: 07/10

What was it about?
Gromit butts heads with a mysterious penguin lodger, who hatches a sinister scheme involving the ex-NASA Techno Trousers that have been modified by Wallace for walkies.

My two cents:
Pretty much like with 'A Close Shave', I actually watched this movie for the first time in the movie theater which was a total blast and I do have it as well on DVD. So, I do have seen it couple of times, even many times, and, yet, it has been a while and I actually have a hard time to remember it in details so I guess I should re-watch it at some point. However, in my opinion, I think it is actually the best Wallace and Gromit feature or, at least, it is my favorite one. Indeed, it was with this movie that Nick Park did set most of the trademarks that would be running through all this franchise. Sure, they might have improved the clay-motion technique afterwards but, after all these years, this short still looks pretty awesome though and it is above all so damned entertaining.

My rating: 08/10

What was it about?
To replenish their depleted supply of cheese, inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit travel to the moon in a homemade rocket-ship.

My two cents:
Pretty much like with 'A Close Shave' and ‘The Wrong Trousers’, I actually watched this movie for the first time in the movie theater which was a total blast and I do have it as well on DVD. So, I do have seen it couple of times, even many times, and, yet, it has been a while and I actually have a hard time to remember it in details so I guess I should re-watch it at some point. Anyway, that’s where it all started for Wallace and Gromit. Sure. the clay-motion might seem crude compared to their latter features (you have to keep in mind that Nick Park did the whole thing pretty much on his own at the time) but there is no denying that these characters were pure gold from the start. The other thing I really loved about this first short was that, from a narrative point of view, it still clearly stands out from their other movies and, only therefore, it did get some extra points from me. Anyway, I have a really weak spot for the damned thing.

My rating: 08/10

What was it about?
A humourous and thought-provoking view of what animals in zoos might be thinking about their captivity and surroundings.

My two cents:
Like with 'A Close Shave', ‘The Wrong Trousers’ and 'A Grand Day Out', I actually watched this movie for the first time in the movie theater which was a total blast but, contrary to these other shorts, I don’t have it on DVD which is a real pity. Indeed, it would be really great to watch it again at some point after all these years. Anyway, even though I always wish to see Nick Park working with some other characters than the iconic Wallace and Gromit, his attempts were not great though (see ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Early Man’). This short was the exception though. I think it also displayed that his stuff actually works better with such small sketches than with a full-length feature format but that’s a personal opinion. Anyway, the damned thing was just so well made and completely hilarious and it’s by far the best thing Nick Park has ever delivered which didn’t involve W & G.

My rating: 08/10