The Wide-Mouthed Lancashire Inventor and His Mute, Semi-Anthrophomorphic Pooch are Back! (Wallace And Gromit - A Matter Of Loaf And Death (DVD))

Member Name: Mask_and_Mirror

Product:	Wallace And Gromit - A Matter Of Loaf And Death (DVD)
Date:	27/07/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful humour and charm, excellent animation, great voice acting

Disadvantages: Very short, perhaps too short even to justify individual release!

The wide-mouthed Lancashire inventor and his mute, semi-anthrophomorphic pooch are back, and not before time!

It's always exciting news when a new Wallace and Gromit feature is in the making. Having been a fan since the first, it's well known that they take an enormous amount of time and effort to make, and as such, always are meticulously planned and perfectly scripted. Traditionally, each one is loosely based on a particular film genre, this one taking a stab (heh) at the murder mystery genre.

As usual, Wallace has changed his business direction, and W&G's house has been converted into a bakery, complete with it's own windmill extension on the roof (how did they get planning permission for that one?). He meets a woman who he apparently used to idolise when she was younger and slimmer and appeared in adverts for a particular brand of flour. They begin a whirlwind romance, and as usual, it takes Gromit's intellect to see through her and discover her dark side.

This is as funny as any of them, and caused me to laugh out loud at least twice, which is very rare. The humour is, as always, at the same time groan-inducing and fresh, and the family-friendly northern charm remains as sturdy as ever. On the other hand, the story is broadly very similar to A Close Shave. It's not too much of a problem, but it's in danger of becoming stale if the next Wallace and Gromit film is along the same lines. Peter Sallis is, as always, brilliant as Wallace, and Sally Lindsay plays the sinister Piella admirably well.

My main criticism is of the length; the story seems to rush by very quickly; some good ideas do not get the chance to be fully developed, which is a shame. I suppose given the amount of time it takes to create one of these films, it's difficult to make them any longer, but it is still a shame that it has to be so short.

Additionally, some may balk at the prospect of purchasing a DVD where the feature is barely half an hour long. There are some additional features but, for anyone who has watched a 'making of' for any of the other W&G tales, there isn't much new here. On the other hand, the price is fairly low. I bought this straight away, since I already owned the DVDs for the first three short films, but anyone who does not may want to wait for a future compilation containing all four, which is not unlikely.

Summary: If you love Wallace and Gromit you will love this.