Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death (2008)
Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

Looking for a fast way to earn dough, Wallace decides to make it. Armed with a batch of ovens, an army of robotic kneading arms and an old-fashioned windmill, Wallace & Gromit? start "Top Bun," their new bread-baking business. Sales rise quickly and Wallace falls head over buns in love with a seductive bread-industry icon, Piella Bakewell. But when bakers suddenly start disappearing, Gromit realizes that his master is in danger as he follows a twisting, turning trail of crumbs to solve a murder mystery that becomes.. A Matter Of Loaf And Death!

User Comment: Mr Ben from Hampshire, England, 2 January 2009 • Wallace and Gromit, those two animated clay heroes who have been entertaining families at Christmas for nearly twenty years, have returned from their big screen outing to bring us "A Matter Of Loaf And Death". No doubt about it, their return has been long awaited - easily the biggest viewing figures on Christmas Day when it was first broadcast, this is their first short film since "A Close Shave" in 1995. Technically, it is very impressive and you can see the lessons learnt from their movie outing. But personally, I didn't feel it was as strong as their earlier shorts - the plot felt tired and the in-jokes and references seemed crow-barred in. But these two are so far ahead of most other family films of any length that you still enjoy yourself.

For this film, Wallace (still perfectly voiced by Peter Sallis) and his long-suffering canine companion Gromit are running a very successful bakery business - Top Bun - despite a serial killer apparently targeting bakers in the area. But when Wallace falls head-over-heels in love with the beautiful Piella (Sally Lindsay), things get nasty when Gromit begins to suspect that Piella might not have Wallace's best intentions in mind and soon, he teams up with Piella's own pooch Fluffles to save his beloved master from a fate worse than no cheese!

Classic Aardman animation is nigh-on unbeatable entertainment and from a technical stand-point, this sets new boundaries whilst somehow retaining its earlier charm - fingerprints are still visible on characters clothes and noses so one assumes that Aardman's undoubted success still hasn't brought anyone at the studio gloves. But while the animation has improved, there isn't as much humour in this short as the others. Gone are the glorious and original set-pieces like the train-set chase from "The Wrong Trousers" and they are replaced with endless references and in-jokes instead of their own ideas. But this is still Wallace and Gromit, still as quintessentially English as earl grey tea and still quality entertainment.

Summary: A decent effort but not quite up to the earlier standards.

[CSW] -4- I agree with the summary above but I still enjoyed it.

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