1. 13:40 8th Mar 2010

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    OOC3d.8 in Wallace and Gromit news…. It has been more than 10 years since Nick Park’s animated short A Close Shave. 1995 brought the cap to a six year reign where Wallace and Gromit were the coolest thing on the planet. If you have not seen the three 30 minute animated shorts please stop right here and watch them. Ill wait. … Alright, nice to have you back. I write this post in news of Nick Park’s defeat at the Oscars. Park’s most recent short A Matter of Loaf And Death was usurped by Nicolas Schmerkin’s Logorama. I completely agree with the decision not because the other nominated shorts were outstanding but because Loaf and Death isn’t all that great. Wallace and Gromit have fallen on hard times since their majestic golden in the early 90’s. Anything after A Close Shave had been sub par including the dull feature length films Curse Of The Were Rabbit and Chicken Run. Loaf and Death was Park’s return to the format which brought him initial fame. Despite a few clever parts and charming delivery, Park’s newest short fails to do anything but dredge up memories of previous, better films. First and foremost is the absence of a third character who the audience can enjoy. The robot, the penguin and the sheep have all become iconic third party characters in Park’s universe. Loaf and Death only offers a feminine poodle whose role in the story matters little. The actual narrative fails to be inventive or original and tips its hand within the first 15 minutes. The genius of Park’s shorts is their climatic crescendos The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave both became sublime in the last 20 minutes of their running time. Loaf’s climax felt powerless and above all confusing without closure. While Loaf and Death is probably light years ahead of other animated films in intelligence and sophistication, it still rests in the meaty middle of Park’s oeuvre. The animation industry has gone through leaps and bounds and the charming aspect of stop motion has been long forgotten for three dimension rendering and presentation. Because the style has become ridiculously unneeded, its place in the world has become that of darkroom photography and mix cassette tape. The act of  stop motion itself has become a conscious effort to participate in an archaic and outdated process which will always be attached to the final product.  Park’s films have become works of art in themselves for the construction of a stop motion universe. Wallace and Gromit have been signed to a new British show “Wallace and Gromit’s World Of Inventions set to premiere on BBC1 this year. I realize that my last sentence made it seem like the two lumps of clay were living being capable of singing contracts. The show will be an introduction to inventors hosted by the bumbling Wallace and the silent Gromit. It is my only hope that Parks offering of Loaf and Death was a warm up to a glorious return to a personal stop motion renaissance.

    OOC3d.8

    in Wallace and Gromit news….

    It has been more than 10 years since Nick Park’s animated short A Close Shave. 1995 brought the cap to a six year reign where Wallace and Gromit were the coolest thing on the planet. If you have not seen the three 30 minute animated shorts please stop right here and watch them. Ill wait.

    …

    Alright, nice to have you back. I write this post in news of Nick Park’s defeat at the Oscars. Park’s most recent short A Matter of Loaf And Death was usurped by Nicolas Schmerkin’s Logorama. I completely agree with the decision not because the other nominated shorts were outstanding but because Loaf and Death isn’t all that great. Wallace and Gromit have fallen on hard times since their majestic golden in the early 90’s. Anything after A Close Shave had been sub par including the dull feature length films Curse Of The Were Rabbit and Chicken Run. Loaf and Death was Park’s return to the format which brought him initial fame. Despite a few clever parts and charming delivery, Park’s newest short fails to do anything but dredge up memories of previous, better films. First and foremost is the absence of a third character who the audience can enjoy. The robot, the penguin and the sheep have all become iconic third party characters in Park’s universe. Loaf and Death only offers a feminine poodle whose role in the story matters little. The actual narrative fails to be inventive or original and tips its hand within the first 15 minutes. The genius of Park’s shorts is their climatic crescendos The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave both became sublime in the last 20 minutes of their running time. Loaf’s climax felt powerless and above all confusing without closure. While Loaf and Death is probably light years ahead of other animated films in intelligence and sophistication, it still rests in the meaty middle of Park’s oeuvre.

    The animation industry has gone through leaps and bounds and the charming aspect of stop motion has been long forgotten for three dimension rendering and presentation. Because the style has become ridiculously unneeded, its place in the world has become that of darkroom photography and mix cassette tape. The act of  stop motion itself has become a conscious effort to participate in an archaic and outdated process which will always be attached to the final product.  Park’s films have become works of art in themselves for the construction of a stop motion universe.

    Wallace and Gromit have been signed to a new British show “Wallace and Gromit’s World Of Inventions set to premiere on BBC1 this year. I realize that my last sentence made it seem like the two lumps of clay were living being capable of singing contracts. The show will be an introduction to inventors hosted by the bumbling Wallace and the silent Gromit. It is my only hope that Parks offering of Loaf and Death was a warm up to a glorious return to a personal stop motion renaissance.