News

Following the sad news that Peter Sallis has taken his last grand day out, the folks behind “Wallace and Gromit” have paid tribute to the departed actor. Sallis voiced the human half of the duo from its inception until 2010, including four short films (“A Grand Day Out,” “The Wrong Trousers,” “A Close Shave” and “A Matter of Loaf and Death”) and the feature film “Curse of the Were-Rabbit”; his gentle voice is one of the beloved stop-motion series’ most distinctive traits. Watch the video below.

Read More: Peter Sallis, Voice of Wallace in ‘Wallace and Gromit’ Series, Dead at 96

“At the time when I did it, I didn’t think this is going to make cinema history” he says as clips of the cheese-loving Wallace play. “But six years later in 1989, when the phone went and he said, ‘I finished it,’ I thought, ‘Oh, it’s only taken him six years.

Peter Sallis, who is best known for voicing Wallace in the animated Wallace and Gromit movies, has passed away at the age of 96. He died on Friday at his home in the U.K. and reportedly died peacefully. Peter Sallis' acting career lasted more than 60 years, with his first role dating back to 1947. He continued acting until 2010 before retiring from the business.

With more than 150 credits to his name, Peter Sallis was very prolific during his long career, but there are two roles for which he will always be remembered. One being Wallace, a role which he first took on in 1989 in the Wallace and Gromit short A Grand Day Out. He also played Norman Clegg on Summer Wine, the longest-running British sitcom in history. Per Deadline, his agents Jonathan Altaras Associates released this statement.

"It is with sadness that we announce that our client Peter Sallis died peacefully,...

Aardman co-founder Peter Lord grabbed a ball of clay before his conversation last week at the Fmx International Conference on Animation, Effects, Vr, Games and Transmedia in Stuttgart, Germany, and slowly molded a puppet of Morph, Aardman’s first creation, while discussing 40 years of stop-motion glory at its animation studio in Bristol, England.

From “Wallace & Gromit” to “Creature Comforts” to “Shaun the Sheep,” Aardman will be firmly dedicated to the hand-crafted technique of stop-motion as long as audiences continue to embrace it. For Lord, who co-founded Aardman with school chum David Sproxton before adding animator-director Nick Park to the creative team, it’s all about the comedy of manners and empathy.

Here are Lord’s five rules for stop-motion animation:

1. Never forget the importance of Ray Harryhausen.

When Lord was ten years old, he saw “Jason and the Argonauts” and was so amazed at the brilliance of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen...

Aardman Animations and Studiocanal are planning to produce a sequel to the Oscar-nominated 2015 children’s film Shaun The Sheep Movie, to be directed by the first film’s co-director Richard Starzak, Deadline reports. What’s not immediately apparent, though, is that this not merely a follow-up to a successful film, but an expansion of a 27-year-old complex expansive universe of short films, feature films, and TV shows known as the Aardmaniverse. The fact that you’re probably not even familiar with that term really just goes to show how little respect this umbrella of droll storytelling gets. Named for studio Aardman Animations, the shared universe is an ever-expanding outgrowth of British stop-motion animator Nick Park’s 1989 short films Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out (about a man and his dog) and Creature Comforts (in which human interview subjects are replaced with animated animals).

In his third Wallace ...

Sean Wilson Sep 16, 2016

With Kubo & The Two Strings now playing, we salute some of our favourite stop motion animated movies...

With Laika's visually sumptuous and breathtaking stop motion masterpiece Kubo And The Two Strings dazzling audiences throughout the country, what better time to celebrate this singular and remarkable art form?

The effect is created when an on-screen character or object is carefully manipulated one frame at a time, leading to an illusion of movement during playback - and such fiendishly intricate work, which takes years of dedication, deserves to be honoured. Here are the greatest examples of stop motion movie mastery.

The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898)

What defines the elusive appeal of stop motion? Surely a great deal of it is down to the blend of the recognisable and the uncanny: an simulation of recognisably human movement that still has a touch of the fantastical about it. These contradictions were put...

I love the art of stop-motion animation, and I couldn’t be happier that there’s a studio like Laika keeping the art form alive. They recently released the film Kubo and the Two Strings, which is easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year. As a tribute to the art of stop-motion, Vulgar Efendi created a wonderful video that shows us how stop-motion animation has evolved through the years. It starts with the year 1900 and takes us all the way through 2016. It’s 116 years of stop-motion awesomeness in only three minutes! You'll find a full list of films featured in the video below.

The films included are:

- The Enchanted Drawing (1900)

-Fun at the Bakery Shop (1902)

-El Hotel Electrico (1905)

-Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906)

-The Cameraman's Revenge (1912)

-The Night before Christmas (1913)

-Häxan (1922)

-The Lost World (1925)

-The Tale of Fox (1930 version)

-King Kong...

Perhaps sensing that everyone will be sick of looking at him by the tail end of 2017 (what with the multiple Oscar nominated transformations, the actual Oscar, and that new Fantastic Beasts franchise), Eddie Redmayne will give his ginger mug a wee break from gigantification on the big screen. Instead he'll be leading the voice cast of Aardman's Early Man which just went into production for release in 2018. The best part of the news is that Nick Park will be directing and he's been absent from that particular chair for too long. (His last feature was 11 long years ago, the Oscar winning Curse of the Were Rabbit.)

You can pencil it in for a Best Animated Feature nomination right now (albeit two years from now) because Aardman has quite a track record of delights (sorry Flushed Away!). They've got a heavy shelf of awards to prove it including Oscar nominations for...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrates the work of Aardman Animations with three programs featuring the studio’s Oscar-winning and nominated Wallace And Gromit shorts on Friday, August 7, and Sunday, August 9.

Aardman’s latest film, Shaun The Sheep Movie, will be released in U.S. theaters on August 7.

Wallace and Gromit Restored – The Marc Davis Celebration of Animation

Friday, August 7, 7:30 p.m. │Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills

As part of the Academy’s Marc Davis Celebration of Animation series, Aardman Animations co-founder David Sproxton and Wallace and Gromit cinematographer Dave Alex Riddett will discuss the making of the studio’s Oscar-winning shorts “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave,” and the Oscar-nominated shorts “A Grand Day Out” and “A Matter of Loaf and Death.”

The program also will include the world premiere screening of the restorations of all four films, the result of a collaborative effort...

Louisa Mellor Apr 26, 2017

Puns, movie references and nods to Aardman’s past abound in Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death…

Animator Nick Park’s fifth Wallace and Gromit film, A Matter Of Loaf And Death (named for the Powell & Pressburger 1946 fantasy romance A Matter Of Life And Death, the first of many such baking-related puns) became the most-watched television programme in the UK in 2008, attracting a Christmas day average audience of 14.4 million viewers. It saw 62 West Wallaby Street, Wigan, transformed into a granary, making Wallace the target of a “cereal killer” intent on ridding the world of bakers. Gromit, as ever, came to the rescue.

See related Why Alien: Isolation proves the Alien deserves another movie

We’ve scoured the half-hour short to unpack some of Aardman’s characteristic in-jokes and film references…

1. The name and look of Baker Bob, who meets an unfortunate end at the hands...

Have I Got News for You was Friday's (May 1) highest-rated show outside of soaps.

Hosted by Alexander Armstrong, the topical panel show attracted an average audience of 4.07 million (19.8%) from 9pm.

BBC One's evening began with 3.24 (19.1%) for The One Show at 7pm, followed by 3.11 million (16.9%) for A Question of Sport at 7.30pm.

A repeat showing of Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out filled the void left by Masterchef at 8.35pm, and managed to secure an average audience of 2.12 million (10.9%).

Mrs. Brown's Boys entertained 2.88 million (14.4%) at 9.30pm, while The Graham Norton Show secured ratings of 2.72 million (23.1%) at 10.40pm.

Over on ITV, Weekend Escapes with Warwick Davis was seen by 2.36 million (12.5%) at 8pm, while Slow Train Through Africa with Griff Rhys Jones entertained 2.05 million (10.2%) at 9pm.

BBC Two's evening was dominated by Live Snooker: The World Championship coverage from 6.30pm until 9pm. The event drew an average audience of 1.14 million...

Youngsters and oldsters alike…here is the reel deal: The New York International Children’s Film Festival (Nyicff) will be making its presence known in the upcoming days. On tap for the 18th annual event will be a noted variety of creative animated films and shorts for all ages to enjoy and relish. The New York International Children’s Film Festival promises to serve up an array of animated showcases that boasts all styles and formats that should prove imaginative and appealing to our past and present childhood memories.

Please note that the Nyicff will run its operation from February 27, 2015 to March 22, 2015. Additionally, the majority of these impressive feature-length and short films have experienced critical acclaim overseas. Therefore, the impact of the Nyicff’s cinematic selections should be rewarding for ardent fans of animated film fodder designed to capture the spirit of its enthusiastic viewers.

Among the films being displayed...

Hard to imagine, but there was a time, before the release of "The Little Mermaid," when even Disney's own studio chief didn't expect much from the movie because it was a "girl's film." But Jeffrey Katzenberg was happy to be proved wrong when the film was released 25 years ago this week (on November 17, 1989).

"The Little Mermaid" was not only an enormous critical and commercial success, but it also launched a creative renaissance in Disney's animated features (including such modern classics as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King") and a wave of princess-mania that continues to this day.

Still, as many times as you or your kids have watched "Little Mermaid" (probably many, many, many times), there's a lot you may not know about it, including who almost starred in it, who the characters were drawn to look like, and what was really up with that scene of the bishop with the bulging pants.

Gromit was a cat, Wallace had a moustache, and their first adventure was meant to be like Star Wars – but with cheese. Nick Park and Peter Lord on creating a British classic

Nick Park, creator

As soon as I started filming A Grand Day Out, the first Wallace and Gromit animation, I realised I was making a film about my dad. He loved tinkering about in the shed. He didn't look like Wallace, but somehow I could see him in his eyes – although my dad's eyes didn't meet in the middle, of course.

It was 1982 and, back then, Wallace had no eyebrows, hardly any cheeks and a moustache. And Gromit was embarrassing: he had a nose like a banana, or a cross between a banana and a pear. When Peter Sallis, who voices Wallace, said "No cheeeese, Gromit" for the first time, I realised how wide and toothy I was...

Feature James Clayton 7 Feb 2014 - 06:15

With the new RoboCop out now, James considers some sci-fi films that might, just might, benefit from an imaginative remake...

They remade RoboCop. I'm still finding it hard to get my head around that fact, even as I arrive at the moment I get to see the new reboot in cinemas. RoboCop remade. Paul Verhoeven's dystopian masterpiece of 1987 - the ultimate techno-tinged sociopolitical action movie - remade. Really? I mean, really?

I'm pretty sure that in ancient aeons past a divinely-appointed prophet laser-scribed "Thou shalt not remake RoboCop, creep!" on a titanium slab of commandments to be observed by obedient future generations. Nothing is sacred though and, alas, RoboCop is remade, rebooted and upgraded in line with modern filmmaking standards for today's drastically altered multimedia marketplace.

To fill you in on the details you probably already know, the PG-13 rated reboot (really?) is...

Gravity is a game-changer that makes a swath of films seem redundant. Here are seven earlier movies that broke the mould – and one that didn't

Every now and then a film comes along that totally changes everything: whether it is expensive new technology or a cute talking pig, nothing can be the same again. Gravity is the latest film that makes a whole swath of cinema look and feel redundant: its hard-won sense of documentary realism means everyone attempting to film a spacewalk or satellite explosion will have to raise their game massively. This is by no means a definitive, historical list – you would have to go back to the Lumière brothers for that – but we have narrowed it down to the seven films that have made the biggest impact on movies in their current form and obsessions.

Batman (1989)

The game: Superhero films were traditionally camp, trashy affairs – even Superman: The Movie,...

After the high jinks of last week in Dubai the guys and girls are back in England for the next task, and it’s something new this time — good, because I’m getting a little tired of the same ideas being recycled season after season (you want us to sell what?) — a corporate away day. Huh? Never heard of them. Oh you know: those things where all the managers and so forth get sent somewhere to learn about teamwork, bonding and problem solving. The kind of things that take people away from the office for a day, and then companies wonder why they’re losing money. Honestly, if firms spent as much time on the real day-to-day stuff as they do on these Americanised team-building exercises….

Anyway, you don’t want to hear my views on the corporate world. I’m not Luisa, though I do look well in a skirt.

Nick Park has launched a brand new Wallace & Gromit theme park ride in Blackpool.

The Thrill-o-Matic ride opened on April 24 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, with Aardman's Park joined by Managing Director Amanda Thompson and Deputy Managing Director Nick Thompson.

The ride is part of a £5.25 million investment and five years of development, and takes fans through some of the animated duo's most loved moments.

It begins in a carriage shaped as a giant slipper, before being taken through scenes from A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, A Matter of Loaf and Death and The Curse of the Were Rabbit.

Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit, said: "We have the perfect marriage between Wallace and Gromit and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

"I grew up in Preston, which is just down the road so Blackpool feels like a natural home for Wallace and Gromit.

"It has been a great...

Aardman characters to launch Thrill-o-Matic ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach as part of VisitEngland's 'staycation' campaign

Two newly appointed figureheads of a campaign to breathe fresh life into English tourism are to start working next week in Blackpool – the Lancashire seaside town that, despite its long reputation as a holiday resort, has been struggling to update its appeal.

On Wednesday Wallace and Gromit, the stars of a Oscar-winning series by Aardman Animations, are to attend the launch of the world's first theme park ride to be based on their adventures in the films A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. Their creator, Nick Park, will be at their side as visitors try out the Thrill-o-Matic, the £5.25m new jewel in the crown of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park.

"I grew up in Preston, which is just down the road, so Blackpool feels like a natural home for Wallace and Gromit,...

Head Over Heels, an 11-minute film made on a shoestring budget in Britain is up against Disney for an animation Oscar. Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park loves it – but can it beat the favourite?

Call it the Wallace & Gromit effect. A quirky British film called Head Over Heels could be about to upset the natural order in Hollywood and beat Disney to the coveted animation Oscar.

Just like A Grand Day Out, Nick Park's first, much-loved 1989 animation, Head Over Heels was made at the National Film and Television School (Nfts) and is now set to make a similar impact overseas. It is the only student film in contention for an Oscar next week.

Describing the animation, directed by Timothy Reckart and produced by Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly, as "one of those stand-out little gems that doesn't come around that often", Park said: "It's a cleverly conceived but simple idea.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ever since Wallace & Gromit’s “A Grand Day Out” Aardman Animation Studios have developed a reputation for being one of the most consistent British producers of TV & Film working today. The two characters that made their name are such national treasures that a mention in the House of Commons recently elicited rapturous applause on both sides – finally, something we can all agree on, it seems. Predictably enough, their latest film “The Pirates in an Adventure With Scientists” is a beautifully made and undeniably hilarious jaunt that ranks up with their finest work.

The Pirate of the Year awards are fast approaching and The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) is preparing his application. However, after being publicly humiliated by his plundering peers he has a mini career crisis and considers jacking it all in. Even when he’s convinced into sailing on by his number two, aptly named,...

Among Hugo’s admiration for the classic Georges Méliès silent film A Trip to the Moon, the new Air album of the same name, and Newt Gingrich’s obsession with establishing a lunar colony, the Earth’s celestial satellite has been getting a lot of attention of late. Add La Luna to that list, the new Pixar short film that’s been nominated for Best Animated Short at this year’s Academy Awards. The simple but breathtakingly whimsical picture follows an Italian family — a small boy and his father and grandfather — that, for reasons I wouldn’t dare reveal, travels to the moon.

[1] Over the years, we've learned a lot about how Pixar develops and produces their feature animated films, but we've learned very little about how the beloved short films get created. So I decided it was time we find out. I shot a message over to Enrico Casarosa, the director of Pixar's next short film La Luna, who was happy to shed some light on the process. "How Does A Pixar Short Film Get Made?" Find out, after the jump. While most people won't get to see La Luna until its released in June 2012 attached to Brave, the short has been playing the film festival circuit and already short listed for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. I was lucky enough to catch a screening of it at the 2011 Telluride Film Festival, and I loved it so much that they used my quote [2] in their "For Your Consideration" advertisements. [3] A Very...

With Apollo 18 offering up a horror experience on the Moon, James explores other possible reasons why visits to our nearest neighbour have ceased…

Recent release Apollo 18 is a horror movie set on the Moon. Even if the whole basis of the film being leaked footage from a secret mission is bogus, the concept is brilliant. Whoever decided to pick the Earth’s sole satellite as the setting for their scary story deserves a gold star and a Milky Bar for this stroke of inspired genius.

Indeed, the Big Black beyond the stratosphere is anxiety-inducing as an infinite unknown with terrifying potential. As the Alien poster put it, “In space, no one can hear you scream” so the void is the perfect backdrop on which to build a sci-fi chiller.

With it being Earth’s nearest neighbour rather than a far-flung or fictional destination, the Moon feels more real and relevant,...

In the run-up to the release of Apollo 18 this Friday, we examine the dangers of visiting the Moon, and what astronauts can learn from the movies...

On September 12th 1962, President John F Kennedy made a speech that set out the objectives of the space program during the remainder of the decade. He asserted that America chose to strive for the goals of travelling through space, and for a manned moon landing, “Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

Any number of astronauts in the movies will attest to just how bloody hard landing on the Moon can actually be. You never know what you're going to find there. Whether your Moon landing involves escaped Kryptonian prisoners, a metaphysical confrontation with yourself or an inexplicable black monolith, movies have never served as attractive tourism films for the Moon.

In fact, a selling point in recent films, such...

The Wallace & Gromit digital comic has a hit a million downloads worldwide, publishers Titan have announced.

The comic was launched as a free iPhone app in November 2009 and has taken the charts by storm, hitting No1 in the UK, Us and Canada free books app store and No3 overall in the free apps chart.

Titan comics editor Andrew James said: "We are really proud that we are the first UK comics publisher to get a million downloads on iTunes, but we aren't stopping there. The new Titan Comics app for iPhone and iPad demonstrates our cutting-edge technology and our diverse range of top-quality comics."

To celebrate this, Titan is releasing new Wallace & Gromit comic adventures via its iPhone and iPad app, including the Wallace & Gromit daily strips originally printed in The Sun.

To download the free app, go to the iTunes store then search Titan Comics.

Wallace & Gromit are the...

Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to the worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch.

This week Cars 2 gives sequels a bad name, and Bad Teacher attempts to cash in on the R-rated comedy wave, while limited release offers A Better Life and discovers Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. Now, if these features can’t fulfill your need for animated tales of triumph, rotten role models, immigrant-centered drama and sidesplitting tour docs, don’t fret. We’ve got a line up that’s sure keep you on the edge of your seat as you kick back in your AC!

— — —

Cars 2

Larry the Cable Guy returns to voice the buck-toothed pick-up truck Mater, who falls into a world of international espionage as his buddy Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) spins his wheels abroad. Michael Caine, John Turturro and Eddie Izzard join the free-wheelin’ cast.

Paul Merton's Birth Of Hollywood, Human Target, Lead Balloon and lots of Doctor Who in our look ahead at the UK TV week...

The holiday weekend telly schedule starts tonight, Friday, May 27th, with Paul Merton's Birth Of Hollywood at 9:30pm on BBC2. In the first of three episodes in a new series, the comedian looks at the early silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin and the pre-Police Academy Keystone Cops, and also reveals the first 'cliffhangers', for those not familiar with the serialised start of much of the earliest motion picture entertainment, with an unflinching look at the career of Dw Griffith, all in celebration of Hollywood's hundredth anniversary.

Human Target enjoys a season 2 double-bill tonight, Friday, May 27th at 8:00pm on Syfy. The first episode, Ilsa Pucci, is followed by The Wife's Tale at 9:00pm, in the first two of thirteen last ever episodes.

Get ready for a whole host of TV shows and movies to get you through the festive period - it's our look at UK telly...!

We've taken a scythe to the Christmas telly schedule to help you sort the geek from the chav. We hope the listing of shows and films will help brighten your holiday via the warm rays of the living room telly.

If we missed any of your favourites, please have a ho-ho-ho in the comments section, with our thanks and best wishes for a happy holiday.

Thursday December 23rd

Terry Pratchett's Hogfather Part 1 4:00pm Sky1 (repeats through 1st Jan)

24 series 8 6:00am Sky 2 (marathon consecutive run of the series' episodes)

8 Out Of 10 Cats Christmas Special 10:00pm Channel 4 (repeats 00:05am 27th Dec)

The Royle Family Christmas Special (2009) 00:45am Gold (repeats through 30th Dec)

Christmas Eve Friday December 24th

Terry Pratchett's Hogfather Part...

Having had the TV hit of the summer with Sherlock, Mark Gatiss is now bringing cult horror to the masses – and putting Edwardians on the moon. Stuart Jeffries meets a shooting star

'When I was a boy," says Mark Gatiss, "I wanted to be a whiskery man in a white coat saying, 'Look, it's a pterodactyl!'" He elaborates, mentioning one of his film heroes, who died earlier this year: "I wanted to be Lionel Jeffries in an Edwardian-set family fantasy film."

Gatiss, now 43, has his wish. He's playing Edwardian inventor Joseph Cavor in his own defiantly kidultish adaptation of Hg Wells's 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon. Cavor is white-coated, facially hirsute and occasionally ditsy. Just before they set off for the moon, fellow astronaut Arnold Bedford inquires: "I say, Cavor, we will be able to get back, won't we?"

"I don't see why not," says Cavor vaguely.

As if there isn't enough happening this weekend in the Big Apple what with Nyaff (will this guy ever shut up about that?) here is something else to add to the list.

 

If you don't care much for Asian cinema, and/or are a big animation aficionado (especially claymation) than here is a little treat the folks at the New York Int'l Children's Film Fest are presenting at IFC Center - a mini-retrospective of Aardman Animaton flicks!

You know, guys like Nick Park and Peter Lord who did such classic shorts as A Grand Day Out and good-time features like Chicken Run, which incidentally starts off the mini-retro this Saturday, the 26th. Look further below and you'll find a full press release and links for tix!

 ...

Doctor Who! Ashes To Ashes! Jonathan Creek! The Pacific! More Doctor Who! How's this for a terrific week for films and shows on UK TV?

We're all sat, antsy, pouring over stills and looping seconds' worth of trailers and preview snippets heralding the new Doctor into our lives.

The build up of anticipation continues and whether the offering up of alternate, past Who Doctors makes the ever-shortening wait for the new any less stinging, or eases the itch a bit, is a personal matter. But, we'll take all the Who we can get, thank you.

The Doctor-ful weekend starts today, and we think it must be the most Who-filled Easter we've seen. We'll get right to the schedules of all things Time Lordish, and the other great programmes guaranteed to make you smile, laugh - or get that puzzled expression that looks so good on you - over the next few days.

The Lady and the Reaper, Logorama, A Matter of Loaf and Death, French Roast and Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Short Films International and Magnolia Pictures are currently screening this year's Oscar nominated live-action and animated shorts in theaters prior to the March 7, 2010 Oscar presentation. For theater listings and times check out Shorts HD.com. Below are the reviews for the five Oscar-nominated animated short films along with production videos and full versions of all five short films.

You can get my reviews of the five nominated live-action shorts right here.

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Ireland / 6:06 minutes

Nicky Phelan's Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty serves as its own piece of revisionist story-telling as Granny O'Grimm sets down to tell her granddaughter the age old tale of "Sleeping Beauty" only to lose herself along the way in fits of rage and jealousy as the plot twists and turns. The animation is pretty good,...

The idea of releasing the ten Academy Award nominated animated and live-action short films in one package into theaters is such a great one that it's a wonder no one thought of it sooner than a few years ago. As with any collection of shorts, these are always a mixed bag, especially given the Academy's century-long penchant for awarding "important" films rather than good ones. But lo and behold, there are some wonderful things here, too, and one, The Lady and the Reaper, that is just flat-out excellent.

I will refrain from making any predictions here, as it's nearly impossible to guess whether the Academy is interested in quality or in the mood for messages. Not to mention that there is one X-factor: Nick Park. Up to now, Park has won every single Oscar he has been nominated for, except one, and that's only because Creature Comforts and A Grand Day Out...

Set aside the showdown between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" for a moment. Stop obsessing over whether Sandra or Meryl will take home the best actress trophy.Further down the list of nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, there are several other races brewing that could result in genuine Oscar Night surprises -- even if those surprises will be fully appreciated only by those aficionados who track the three short-film categories. To its credit, the Academy has resisted pressures to eliminate the low-profile categories from the broadcast. At the same time, it has enhanced efforts to make the short films -- which this year range from the latest bit of Wallace & Gromit whimsy to a wrenching look at the parents who lost their school-age children in the earthquake that devastated China's Sichuan province in 2008 -- more widely available to the general public.On Feb. 19, as part of what is now a 5-year-old tradition,...

Listen up hi-def humbugs and Blu-ray Scrooges! This is the year you'll not just want, but need, to buy a new hi-def plasma screen and a shiny black Blu-ray player for Christmas (and/or whatever other holiday you choose to celebrate with lavish gifts). Why? Because this technology has reached its performance plateau. And it is finally at a reasonable price most of us can afford. Not only that, it serves as the one prefect gift the entire family can enjoy together. With more Blu-ray titles being released right now than ever before, there simply couldn't be a better time to dive head first into this leading technological platform.

But wait! There's one thing you don't want to overlook after all that exciting new equipment has been unwrapped. Without a stack of Blu-ray discs strategically placed in each family member's stocking with care, your gorgeous new HD flat screen becomes a delectable serving tray,...

...with a Google Doodle. The beloved plasticine duo appeared as an illustration on the Google UK homepage this week to mark the 20 years since Nick Park's duo appeared in public back in 1989 at an animation festival in the 22-minute romp A Grand Day Out, later broadcast by the BBC. As The Guardian reported, "so a UK institution was born". But they're pretty darn popular worldwide, too.

Considering the worldwide phenomenon Wallace and Gromit have become, it’s something of a mystery that the stop-motion duo’s latest adventure, the Hitchcockian “who-donut” A Matter of Loaf and Death, would go straight to home video in the States (as opposed to overseas, where the BBC debuted the film to through-the-roof ratings on Christmas Day). The upside of the arrangement is that it gives American fans an excuse to snag the entire W&G collection on Blu-ray, complete with commentaries, extras and a host of “Cracking Contraptions” shorts.

As it turns out, Loaf and Death is actually something of a letdown, trading the retro-styled charm of their three previous shorts and feature-length adventure Curse of the Were-Rabbit for faster pacing, a fair amount of CG and a bunch of recent blockbuster references (after operating in a 1940s-style time capsule all these years, does the series really need references to Aliens?...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

Yes, I know I’m a little close to the material - but you know what? I’d still recommend you pick up a copy of Shootin’ The Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of SModcast (Titan Books, $14.95 Srp). It may seem an odd proposition to read transcripts of the Kevin & Scott Mosier’s podcast, but the strength of the material means...

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly column that looks at short films, music videos, commercials or any other short form visual media that generally gets ignored.

Begun while director Nick Park was still in college, the Wallace and Gromit series is likely the most successful franchise ever built out of a student film. That the film "A Grand Day Out" went on to an Academy Award nomination at the same time as another of Park's works, the equally surreal "Creature Comforts," is a testament to just how good Park was right out of the gate, appearing in even his earliest works as a fully-formed artist in a way that’s pretty rare for any medium, let alone one which requires the shear level of craft as animation. Since then, the Wallace and Gromit pictures have gone on to win three Academy Awards as well as pretty much every other award...

In this incarnation of our Videolog column (which began in 1982 with VHS and Betamax and later laserdisc), Starlog posts information weekly regarding selected genre titles being released (or re-released) on DVD and Blu-ray. Prices listed are Msrp, though the clickable links lead to Amazon where the savings can be significant.

DVD Releases for September 22, 2009

Battle For Terra (Lionsgate, $19.98 DVD; $29.99 Blu-ray): When environmental destruction forces people to leave Earth, the remaining survivors rocket through space on a quest to find a new home. At first, it seems like the beautiful planet Terra is the perfect place to take over. But when a fighter pilot (voice of Luke Wilson) crashes on Terra, he forms an unlikely friendship with a rebellious Terrian girl named Mala (Evan Rachel Wood). Now, putting aside their differences, the young heroes join forces to protect Terra from destruction in this animated Sf adventure that also features the voices of Dennis Quaid,...

They.ve been to the moon, avoided a thieving penguin, had a close shave, and currently are avoiding demise at the hand of a deranged baker killer. Those to whom I refer are the dim Wallace and his intelligent pooch Gromit. They.re delightful adventures and fans can only glory at them in high definition. Wallace (Peter Sallis) is an absent minded inventor with a penchant for cheese, especially Wensleydale. His constant companion is his dog Gromit, who appears to be the brains of the operation. In their first adventure (A Grand Day Out, 1989), the duo was in need of a holiday and Wallace can.t think of a place to go. That is until he recalls that the moon...

At&T U-verse customers will be the first in North America to find out what animated favorites Wallace and Gromit are up to in their latest comedic escapade. At&T and Aardman Animations today announced that At&T U-verse TV will exclusively feature the U.S. premiere of the new Wallace and Gromit short film, A Matter of Loaf and Death.

The film will make its U.S. debut to all U-verse TV customers on June 5, available for free in the U-verse TV On Demand library. Beginning June 1, clips of the famous cheese lover and his canine friend will also appear on At&T wireless devices through CV-Video (Video On Demand) and on UConnect.Att.com, a site for U-verse TV customers that features the latest U-verse TV programming and television events.

"Wallace and Gromit are followed by fans worldwide, and we're very proud to be the first U.S.

In today's technology-obsessed entertainment world, most of the animated fare is done with computers. That's not to say it's any less legit than hand-drawn animation -- because if you're working on a CG feature, you Better know how to animate in "traditional" fashion -- but I'm just explaining why the sweat behind the Wallace & Gromit films is just a little extra-special. Plus, with three award-winning shorts and a fantastic feature behind them, W & G have more than proven their worth by now.

So Yay! Aardman Animation has a new one to show us! A Matter of Loaf and Death will premiere on BBC1 come Christmas Day, so I might have to wait a few extra weeks, but boy am I psyched to see it. (I've watched The Wrong Trousers, A Grand Day Out, and A Close Shave more times than I care to mention -- and I say The Curse...