20 Years Later: How Hollywood Tried to Make Wallace and Gromit “Cool” — and Almost Lost Aardman’s Soul

Twenty years after its release, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (released 7 October 2005) stands as Aardman’s first feature-length Wallace film — and the production nearly went very differently because of creative pressure from DreamWorks. The dispute concerned tone, setting and how “cool” Wallace should appear, and it shaped Aardman’s relationship with Hollywood going forward.

1. Background and early shorts
2. Production conflict with DreamWorks
3. Release and reception
4. Legacy and return to shorts

Background and early shorts

Aardman Animations created Wallace and Gromit with director Nick Park. The characters first appeared in shorts, beginning with A Grand Day Out (1989). That initial short did not make them instant global stars, but it established the claymation style and the dry British humour that followed.

Subsequent shorts — notably The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995) — won awards and raised Aardman’s profile. For context about the first short, more details can be found on this BBC page.

Production conflict with DreamWorks

After Aardman’s co-financed feature Chicken Run (2000) performed well at the box office, Aardman and DreamWorks agreed to make further films together, including a Wallace feature. Box office reporting for Chicken Run is available on Box Office Mojo.

However, during production of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, DreamWorks executives and Aardman clashed over creative choices. DreamWorks reportedly pushed for changes intended to make the characters and settings feel “cooler” or more modern, while Aardman resisted because the plain, everyday look was central to Wallace and Gromit’s identity. According to archived reporting, Nick Park described the experience as stressful and said the collaboration left “a sour taste in” his mouth; that account can be read via this archived Telegraph report.

Park recounted specific notes he received, and his response. He said, “I would get these notes saying, ‘Shouldn’t Wallace have a cooler, more modern car?’ and I would say, ‘No, you’re missing the point. The irony doesn’t translate. It’s cool because it’s not’,” which illustrates the exact nature of the disagreement during production.

Release and reception

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit premiered on 7 October 2005. The voice cast included Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, and the film used Aardman’s stop-motion animation techniques. The film kept the small-town British setting and many of the franchise’s established comedic beats, while expanding the story to feature length.

Commercially and creatively, the partnership with DreamWorks did not continue smoothly after this film. Reports indicate that the collaboration between Aardman and DreamWorks ended not long after the release, and Aardman returned to producing shorter Wallace and Gromit projects and other works independently.

Legacy and return to shorts

After the feature, Nick Park and Aardman moved back toward shorter Wallace and Gromit productions. In comments preserved by the BBC archive, Park said, “It’s nice to be out of that feature film pressure now. I don’t feel like I’m making a film for a kid in some suburb of America — and being told they’re not going to understand a joke, or a northern saying. I’m making this for myself again and the people who love Wallace and Gromit.” You can read that interview via the BBC web archive.

As a result, Aardman continued to produce stop-motion shorts and other projects that reflect the studio’s original sensibilities, keeping the franchise’s plain, local charm at the centre of new work.