Product Details

• Actors: Peter Sallis, Anne Reid
• Directors: Nick Park
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: October 15, 1996
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304179022
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,371 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  Video > Animation > Stop-Motion & Clay Animation

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Hot from the international triumph of The Wrong Trousers, clay animator Nick Park knew that his third Wallace & Gromit film was going to have to be the biggest and best adventure yet for the mild-mannered inventor Wallace and his perceptive pooch Gromit. With the ambitiously zany plot of A Close Shave, Park and his fellow animators rose to the occasion and their film won the 1995 Academy Award (Park's second Oscar) for Best Animated Short. This time out, Wallace & Gromit have teamed up to provide a window-washing service, and that's how Wallace meets the lovely Wendolene Ramsbottom, a wool-shop owner whose malevolent dog Preston turns out to be the mastermind of a sheep-napping scheme! Of course, no Wallace & Gromit adventure can be without a grandiose gadget, so Wallace's latest invention is the Knit-O-Matic, a yarn-making machine capable of shearing a whole flock of sheep just a bit too efficiently! When the villainous Preston gains control of the mechanical knitting marvel, Gromit must race to the rescue, and A Close Shave reaches new heights of clay-animation mastery. Every shot is a testament to Nick Park's patience, his clever ingenuity, and his filmmaking flair. The movie's so technically impressive, in fact, that the whole world wondered where Park could go next. It was clear that Wallace & Gromit would eventually star in an animated feature-length movie, since this marvelous 30-minute film represents its own kind of short-form perfection. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The British animator Nick Park just keeps racking up Academy Awards; last month he won his third for "A Close Shave," the highlight of this seventy-seven-minute retrospective of work from the British Aardman Animation studio-probably the most fun in town. The Aardman artists employ plasticine models in stop-motion; there is something deadpan, even mournful, in their bendiness, and Park's inspiration is to play that homely tone against the frenzy of his plots. This time, Gromit, the smart dog, and Wallace, his well-meaning, slightly slow owner, set out to catch a sheep rustler. Entwined with this plot is a love story in which Wallace finds a soul mate. And the finale includes a wonderful mockery of the "Terminator" pictures. Park's 1989 Oscar winner, "Creature Comforts," is also on the bill. Brief, bright, unpretentious, and graced with the kind of immaculate gags that we associate with the slapstick of the nineteen-twenties, Park's movies have a style that you can recognize within half a second; can any of today's other filmmakers claim as much? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for all ages!, November 25, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

I had never heard of Wallace and Gromit when a resident on my floor (I'm an RA in a residence hall at college) popped it in for everyone to watch. For all of the 50 kids aged 17-21, PLUS a 5-yr old little brother, it was hysterically funny. The little boy was so amused that at one point we thought he might be he crying - he could barely get the air back in to start laughing again! I must admit, I was a bit weary when it started, because I assumed it would be childish and simple. To my surprise, we were all laughing non-stop! You won't want to leave your seat!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, cute, delightful.! A must have!, May 31, 2000

By	Dawn Livingston (Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

I saw this video for the first time when babysitting and the kids had it. I was surprised how engaging, charming and funny it was. Saw it again when I borrowed it from my library and liked it even better the second time. It's good for family viewing, for adult viewing if you like English humor, are tired of the typical action or comedy movie and/or just want to pass an enjoyable 30 minutes. It's a great pick-me-up if you've been feeling down. Wallace and Gromit are fun, the stories are interesting and not at all dumb or childish in my opinion. Shaun the sheep is adorable and Wallace's interest in Wendolene Ramsbottom (:D) is fun too. Absolutely wonderful! A must have!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible claymation, and funny sheep, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

I absolutely adore Shaun, the shorn sheep in a sweater (I *had* to buy the Shaun doll, and keep him in the bedroom, well away from our kitchen!). We saw this in a theater, during an animation festival, and the audience was laughing so hard, it was hard to hear the sound (although during the most hysterically funny part -- which just builds and builds -- you don't really need it). This is clever, compelling Wallace & Grommit at its best.