"What would Wallace - everyone's favourite amateur Yorkshire inventor look like with a moustache, straw boater and postman's coat? Would a huge set of teeth suit his faithful beagle, Gromit? How about a nose shaped like a banana? Such questions are answered by an illuminating and sometimes alarming exhibition at east London's Young V&A that showcases the work of the world's leading stop-motion outfit, the Bristol-based Aardman studios."
"Early sketches for Nick Park's much-loved characters reveal that Wallace was once just a few bristles short of Hitler, while Gromit had fangs and the ability to speak. Such designs were judiciously smoothed along the way, with Gromit becoming toothless and mute, and Wallace's long, thin face massaged into something wider and friendlier after Park watched Peter Sallis, the original voice of Wallace, enunciating the word cheese."
"Aardman, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is one of UK film's most enduring and endearing success stories, with a current total of four Oscars and eight Baftas. Its first film, Chicken Run, is still the highest-grossing stop-motion movie of all time, taking $225m about five times its budget while its latest, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, became the BBC's most-watched scripted show in two decades after it aired on Christmas Day in 2024."
An exhibition at east London's Young V&A presents over 150 items from Aardman studios, including never-before-seen models, sets and storyboards from the studio's archives. Early sketches show alternative designs for Wallace and Gromit, such as Wallace with a moustache, straw boater and postman's coat, and Gromit with fangs and speech, which were later softened to a toothless, mute beagle and a wider, friendlier Wallace. Aardman marks its 50th anniversary, holds four Oscars and eight Baftas, and achieved major commercial success with Chicken Run ($225m) and popular broadcasts like Wallace & Gromit specials. A 2005 fire destroyed thousands of archive items, increasing the rarity and value of surviving materials. The exhibition runs until 25 November and has strong ticket sales, with early weeks sold out.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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