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Wallace and Gromit ReturnAardman Duo Star in A Matter of Loaf and Death
Aardman Animation's brilliant duo, Wallace and Gromit, return in a half-hour short called A Matter of Loaf and Death.
After the underappreciated (but Oscar-winning) Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the messy divorce from DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Animation has bounced back with a new half-hour long Wallace and Gromit film called A Matter of Loaf and Death. The new special follows the cheese-obsessed inventor, and his silent-but-smart canine companion, in an adventure that also features a new love interest for Wallace: the buxom blonde Piella Bakewell (voiced by Sally Lindsay). What's A Matter of Loaf and Death about? Here's the synopsis of the flick, courtesy of Aardman Animation: "Wallace and Gromit have a brand new business. The conversion of 62 West Wallaby Street is complete and impressive, the whole house is now a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms. Huge mixing bowls are all over the place and everything is covered with a layer of flour. On the roof is a ‘Wallace patent-pending’ old-fashioned windmill. The transformation is perfect. "Although business is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that 12 local bakers have ‘disappeared’ this year – but Wallace isn’t worried. He’s too distracted and ‘dough-eyed’ in love with local beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell, to be of much help. "While they enjoy being the ‘Toast of the Town’, Gromit, with his master’s life in jeopardy, must be the sleuth and solve the escalating murder mystery - in what quickly becomes A Matter of Loaf and Death." This short was previously called Trouble at Mill, and was co-written by director Nick Park and former Dr. Who scribe Bob Baker. Will there be another Wallace and Gromit feature film? Although Aardman was embittered by the rough relationship with DreamWorks – Curse of the Were-Rabbit took 5 years to make and, at one point, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Company attempted to replace Wallace voice actor Peter Sallis with someone U.S. audiences would recognize – the Bristol-based animation studio is clearly thrilled about bringing Wallace and Gromit back to the 1/2-hour format that first brought the duo to prominence. That said, Aardman's new distribution partner, Sony Pictures, has made it clear they would very much like to distribute another Wallace and Gromit feature film. Fun Fact: Peter Sallis has voiced Wallace since 1989. Sallis' other claim to fame is that he portrayed Norman Clegg in the British television series The Last of the Summer Wine, from 1973 to the present day. He is the longest serving cast member in the comedy, having appeared in 266 episodes to date. However, Sallis' part is slowly being cut back, due to his age (he's 87 years old) and the fact that he suffers from macular degeneration.
The copyright of the article Wallace and Gromit Return in International Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Wallace and Gromit Return in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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