matt_zimmer | Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death Review (Spoilers)

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Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death Review (Spoilers)

Also reviews for the latest episodes of Heroes, Smallville, Dollhouse, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and the first episode of The Cleveland Show.

Wallac & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death

VERY cool Aardman stop-motion cartoon. I have always loved Wallace and Gromit and I think Nick Park is a genius. This one was a little different from the cartoons that came before it in that the ending has some bittersweet pathos in it and is somewhat moving. Granted, the feature film Curse Of The Were-Rabbit also had some touching stuff in it but that was completely balanced out by the silliness of bunnies spouting rainy tears. Here Fluffle's pain is real and you completely believe that the short is about to give her a sad ending.

I'm a little bit miffed at them giving Wallace a new girlfriend. Granted, making her the serial killer was probably the thing that made the plot move forward, but what happened to the lady-friend he hooked up with at the end of Curse of the Were-Rabbit? I really liked her and I would have liked to have seen her (and Thatch) again although it's pretty clear that each Wallace and Gromit short has only VERY loose continuity with each other.

I also really really appreciated the characterizations of both Wallace and Gromit here. When Wallace believes Gromit has bitten Piella he becomes bewildered and disappointed rather than outright mean which is something that always happened in those annoying Pluto cartoons with Mickey Mouse. And I love Gromit's conscience which is something the writers could have EASILY forgotten for a cheap joke involving a dog using the bomb to blow up kittens. I LOVE that they didn't even try to make a joke about going there because it makes Gromit look VERY noble (which he is). Although the people of Yorkshire might not think so (that was hilarious).

I think that Gromit not being able to talk is one of his greatest strengths and weaknesses. Weaknesses because this inability obvious frustrates him and if he was able to the cartoon would end in five minutes. Strengths because it makes the animators going to absolutely heroic lengths to makes him the most expressive cartoon character of all time. You know exactly what he is thinking even if Wallace doesn't. My favorite Gromit expression for this film was when he was gingerly, and insincerely, comforting Wallace after Piella dumped him. That was hilarious too.

Random Thoughts: This reminded me a lot of Flushed Away in the fact that this seemed to really use more pop-culture gags than the previous shorts or movies (including Chicken Run). Granted, Flushed Away used a LOT more but they were pretty noticable (and funny) here. I loved the "Ghost" reference.

I'm glad Gromit was the one to find a true lady friend in Fluffles. Her character was so great because at first you didn't quite understand why she was so afraid to connect with anyone until it's revealed her owner was the killer. GREAT forshadowing for a the twist.

I think my ranking of the Wallace and Gromit cartoons goes like this:

1. The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
2. The Wrong Trousers
3. A Matter Of Loaf And Death
4. A Close Shave
5. A Grand Day Out

So even though this wasn't my favorite of the Wallace and Gromit cartoons (the climaxes of Were-Rabbit and Trousers were both more exciting) it's still one of the best cartoons I've seen in a long time. Even though Aardman doesn't have Pixar's track-record for box office hits, it definitely shares it's penchance for quality. A wonderful cartoon. ****1/2.

How They Donut: The Making of "A Matter of Loaf and Death": Cool featurette on Nick Park but I have to wonder why it was in widescreen when the American DVD of the film was in full-screen. It makes you feel cheated to see all of these beautiful shots in widescreen when the feature itself is cropped off at the sides. ****.

Shaun the Sheep: Bonus Episode: "Off the Baa!": Cabbage football! This short is a little boring when compared to the Wallace And Gromit stuff but it's cute and charming none-the-less. I really like the pigs and Shaun himself is adorable. I REALLY hope a season set of this show comes out soon or I will be sorely tempted to pick up the four volumes (Off the Baa!, Back In The Ba-a-th, Sheep On The Loose, Little Sheep Of Horrors). I've only seen one or two of the shorts on Disney Channel and I'd love to own a big collection of them. ****.

Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa! Trailer: Very cute and funny. ****1/2.

A Matter of Loaf and Death DVD Menu: Too much emphasis on trailers (which sort of makes the FastPlay option pointless) and I've always considered main menus that automatically play the movie if you leave them on too long a no-no (Warner Home Video is the most guilty of this). Plus, maybe I was spoiled by the animated menus of Curse Of The Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away but the static menu here seems a HUGE step backwards for Aardman. *.

Heroes "Ink"

VERY interesting stuff involving Peter and Samuel (T-Bag). The idea that Peter could get sued for his troubles is an interesting angle that superhero cartoons or shows (with the notable exception of The Incredibles) don't deal with all too often. I also hope that Peter's partner's suspicions that Peter is causing the accidents is further explored as that a neat angle too.

The deaf woman's ability is amazing. The ability to see sound is just great and her realizing how to use it for the first time with the cello was absolutely moving. It was also nice to see Louise Fletcher getting work especially since the character she played here was benevolent for once.

Matt and Sylar this week was tragic. I actually hope Matt goes back to New York soon to undo what he did. Yeah, Sylar's a serial killer but Angela and HRG had NO right to ask him to do what he did especially since he's the one who has to live with the consequences. I think an opportunity for him to reverse it could come the next time Angela calls him for a "retouch".

Am I the only one who thinks setting up Sylar as Nathan's replacement is a TERRIBLE idea? It occurs to me the amount of damage Sylar could do as a U.S. Senator if he ever broke free from Matt's spell and that there wouldn't be an easy way for Angela and HRG to remove him from that position if he "woke up". Even worse, would be if he woke up and Angela and HRG weren't aware of it. I don't think they'll make things THAT dire but I honestly think Angela and HRG need their heads examined.

I hate Gretchen. She is SO annoying and I'm saddened that the producers seem to be setting up a romance between her and Claire. She's the new West. What happened to that underwater kid? He was cool and I'd love to see him and Claire hook up.

Good episode this week. ****.

Smallville "Savior"

Liked this. Not bad. Chloe is no longer an idiot and it's been a LOOONG time since we've seen the entire cast in a single episode. Zod is pretty great but I'm wondering how he connects to the Zod that Lex was possessed by. And what happened to Lex?

I understand the "no tights, no flights" rule but the show is smart to start exploring flight and costumes. Granted flight should have happened five years ago but with Millar and Gough running the show they were less interested in the Superman mythos than teenage angst.

I think it's neat that they are exploring the city in a bottle from the comics. The JLU comics did an issue on it and I almost wish it had been explored in the show.

Nice episode. ****.

Dollhouse "Vows"

This show is starting to show the potential Epitaph One hinted at (that STILL needs to be shown on Fox) even though what shook down in that episode were barely hinted at here (involving a potential romance between Claire Saunders and Boyd Langton). They also pulled off some impressive casting coups with Alexis Denisof (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galatica). Upon the Bamber casting I reflected that Joss is as big of a geek as any of us.

Wasn't too impressed with the Echo storyline. It was too self-contained after the mythology the latter part of the season last year dove into. Thankfully it wasn't the be-all and end-all to the episode so I'm still giving it a super-high grade.

Paul Ballard is getting messed up. It's now clear how damaged the character is becoming and you could tell DeWitt's words about November cut him deeply.

Best scene of the episode was part with the existential musings by Topher and Claire. It was simultaniously sexy, violent and heartbreaking. If I were Claire I'd ask Topher to try to restore Whiskey's original persona while keeping all of her memories of Saunders. It was shown to be possible when Alpha did something similar with Echo last year.

VERY cool. ****1/2.

The Simpsons "Homer The Whopper"

Fabulous episode. Y'know, they've NEVER shown Comic Book Guy with a hidden talent before but when you think about it, the idea that he could write and draw a fantastic superhero comic book that would interest kids is a logical place to take the character. I also want to give the episode MAJOR props for not taking the easy way out and have CBG taken down by his own hubris in his desire to direct the sequel. "Worst. Movie. EVER." He SO did not sell-out and that was both completely in character and impressive that the writers realized that.

Homer as Everyman was great. I wasn't really digging the weight subplot but if something DIDN'T go wrong with the movie (and of course the suits were largely responsible) the Simpsons and Comic Book Guy would have both wound up millionaires. This isn't Roseanne (thank God).

I REALLY enjoyed this and am relieved to see the show has STILL kept the improvements it went through in it's transition to Hi-Def. VERY enjoyable. ****1/2.

The Cleveland Show "Pilot"

This was just SO great. This almost felt like a segment of The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase at the beginning of the episode with the entire Family Guy cast but once Cleveland and Cleveland Jr (missed him from the latter episodes of Family Guy) got going the show really came into it's own. Cleveland is such a sweet character and I like that the spirit of the show reflected that and seemed more geniunely emotional than Family Guy has ever truly attempted to be. Cleveland's new family is great and I really dig the theme song to the show. I'm going to have to keep my eye on Raulo because he's probably going to be this show's break-out character. I also really enjoyed the bear neightbors.

I liked this premiere a lot. ****.

Family Guy "Road To The Multiverse"

One of the best Brian and Stewie's "Road To..." segments in YEARS and the best one since the show was first canceled. It actually had, drumroll... a musical number! And the entire cast was involving for once. I love how perfect Brian found the Disney world until the anti-Semitism and the fact that Stewie still pondered staying there even after that. I love all of the different worlds Stewie and Brian wound up on and thought it was neat that the bulk of the climax was set in the dog-dominant world. I wish they hadn't killed human Brian off at the end but the entire last act seemed to be leading towards that so I wasn't surprised.

The Robot Chicken universe was great ESPECIALLY the slam Seth MacFarlane took at a noticably angry Seth Green. Heh. He's a good sport.

This was hilarious. ****1/2.

American Dad "In Country... Club"

The weakest cartoon of Fox's Sunday line-up. I dunno, I just feel like this show has done a million Stan and Steve plots like this before. The highlight of the episode was Roger's "perfect day" subplot and I was pleasantly surprised and amused that it actually went off without a hitch (even though I didn't want that bird to die I was actually rooting for him). Funniest scene of the episode was Roger reading the original 7000 page Sex and the City Movie script to Stan as torture. It was so funny because Seth MacFarlane delivered his lines as Roger so gingerly and with equal amounts of contempt and disgust. Brilliant.

I wish the rest of the show had been as great. ***1/2.

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I saw Loaf and Death last week for the second time, on a big screen too (local film festival). The Ghost scene got the most laughs.

It's been a while since I saw Were-Rabbit, but I don't tink Wallace ever really hooked up with Totty - the way I saw it the gag at the end where it looks as though they're getting married but are actually just opening a rabbit sanctuary together was meant to tell us that Totty wasn't interested in Wallace after all. He seemed oddly accepting, but I suppose they didn't want to dampen the ending.

Yeah, the series seems to be picking up more and more pop culture references as it goes on - I don't remember any in Grand Day Out, Wrong Trousers introduced the whole genre parody angle but I can only think of a few specific references (and all of them were relegated to background props), but A Close Shave ended with the Terminator spoof which I suppose opened the floodgates. Doesn't matter, mind, always interesting to see what they can squeeze in.

You're right about Totty of course. I must have misremembered the ending. Didn't Wallace also hook up with the lady from The Wrong Trousers? Dude's a playa.

I don't mind the pop-culture references at all. I keep enjoying the series the more it evolves.

He decided a relationship with Wendolene wouldn't work when he found out she was allergic to cheese.

Kind of interesting seeing the series' universe develop - I remember when Close Shave came out thinking that Grand Day Out seemed like the odd duck in the series, since the idea of the characters flying to the moon just to find cheese is a bit outlandish compared to the other two. At this point you could say the same about Wrong Trousers - now the only animals are dogs in houses, rabbits in gardens and sheep in fields, it's hard to imagine another penguin lodger turning up.

Ya gotta admit, Feathers being a boarder was one of the most hilarious gags of the series because it showed how dim Wallace was. I think A Grand Day Out actually pales in comparison to the other shorts. It didn't even HINT at the greatness that was to come.

HEROES

Yes, I also thought using Sylar to replace Nathan was the dumbest idea ever. I would have preferred something like Matt expanding on his power and making everyone think he's Nathan, instead.

I wish someone would teleport Sylar into the Sun, already. Well, okay, that won't happen but it'd be neat if Peter learns to alter the severity of his absorption power. For instance, he can switch to his father's power theft and strip Sylar of all his power and make him powerless for good then let someone come in a put a bullet in his head.

Underwater kid...Alex Woosly? Haha, I seem to be saying this a lot to you Matt but he's been busy in the graphic novels and online iStory.

It not only made little sense from a storytelling perspective but it's something that could EASILY backfire. I'm not surprised Angela suggested it (she WAS grieving her son) but HRG should have put the kibosh on the plan immediately. He's smarter than that.

On the commentaries on the Heroes Season Three DVD sets one of the producers said that basically Peter's power is the same as Arthur's but since he's good he uses empathy to double the power rather than steal it. In other words, if Peter wanted to and figured out how to do it, he could steal Sylar's powers and leave him powerless. Only problem with that solution is that he would be stuck with Sylar's "hunger" unless he figured out how to take every power but Intuiative Aptitude. Honestly, "The Hunger" was one of the stupidest plots twists from last year. Aside from the fact that it makes Sylar seem like a victim it completely glosses over his murder spree in year two when he was powerless.

I think the interesting characters that transition to the graphic novels should probably simply just resurface on the show.

THE HUNGER

True, I hate the way it was misused on the show as the Numbers were on Lost. However, based on the Volume 3 Alternate Future, the Hunger can be controlled and with Peter's empathic nature, I think he has a better shot at it than Sylar. Besides, it seems like Peter has to 'activate' Intuitive Aptitude first.

Season 2? I don't really remember it all that much. :P

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Agreed. However, when a character who spends time in the novels then on the show, they get immediately killed off. But that may change since this season, the focus will be on the Carnival folk and fitting in missing scenes/origins of them.

The Hunger: The first thing Peter did when he acquired The Hunger was kill Future-Nathan. I don't want to have to see Peter go through a killing spree just to learn how to contol it. There has to be a better way to kill Sylar.

True but Peter has the benefit of experience now. He didn't use the power until Future Sylar gave him the watch. If I sent three agents that pissed off Sylar so much he blew up, I'd kill Future Nathan, too.

The only two I'd go for is teleporting him into the Sun or stripping his power away and locking him away like with Alpha in MiB.

Peter killing Nathan was a mistake on his part and you could tell how surprised he was when he did it. He didn't do it because Nathan deserved it he did it because he couldn't control The Hunger. I'd rather just not have to deal with it.

Teleporting him into the son would work as would pushing him into a black hole or a hole in another dimension like that guy in Villains was able to do.

Stephen Canfield? Yeah, another victim of bad writing.

I wish they'd use that solution but they probably have programmed themselves not to use a comic book/gimmicky' way to kill Sylar and something that ties into the theme of the show. As great as Quinto was, I wish Sylar died at the end of season one.

Thinking about Samson Gray, do you think his cancer was hereditary and inherited?

It doesn't matter if it's hereditary, Claire's power make it moot. Sylar can't die by any conventional means. He needs to either be put in a place he can't escape from (the sun or a black hole) or have his powers permanently removed before he is killed off for good.

Ah dang, you're right again, Matt. That sends a bad message. If you can heal, you're immortal and can drink and smoke as much as you like. And your blood is a deus ex machina that the writing staff ignores after one season of usage.

I'd vote for sun because the CG/FX sequence would be neat but I can see them going the way of a final showdown where Peter figures out how to strip powers, like his father, at the last minute then I don't knoww, HRG comes in and blows his head off with a gun or Claire impales him.

I don't think that's really a bad message at all. Because it makes it clear to the audience that if you AREN'T immortal both smoking and drinking can hurt you.

They should have used Claire's blood to heal Nathan. I think there was another death where that would have made sense too but I forget what it was (it wasn't Daphne).

They could just tranfuse her blood into Hiro and heal him up.

That's the other one I was thinking of. Thanks!

Heroes - I was actually kind of bored by the cello bit. I'm hoping it's Matt who takes control of this situation, banishes Sylar, and finds a solution to the Nathan problem rather than having to be told what to do. It looks like Gretchen is into Claire, but do you think she'd make the switch?

Smallville - I think this is a time displaced Zod, who is yet to become the Zod who possessed Lex (hence why he's not a general yet). My favorite bottle city interpretation yet was on that awesome episode of Legion of Super Heroes.

The Simpsons - Well, they did put Comic Book Guy in MENSA, so that kind of counts as a talent. I'm glad he stuck to his guns in the end.

The Cleveland Show - Cleveland is way more likeable than Peter, so you can feel for the characters more, but I'm still not sure if he's a strong enough lead or not. The show hasn't hooked me quite yet.

Family Guy - It was a pretty awesome episode, but of course, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to when Futurama did it.

American Dad - I thought it was a pretty solid episode.

Heroes: Yes, they need to give Matt a Crowning Moment Of Awesome. He's such a great character and they haven't really done it yet. I think if the producers are desperate enough for ratings they will make Claire/ Gretchen be mutual. And I'm pretty sure they are.

Smallville: You're probably right about Zod. I loved that episode of LOSH too. :)

The Simpsons: Being smart isn't a talent. It's what you do with it that counts.

The Cleveland Show: I think the show is doing a nice balance of being a bit different from Family Guy (It's MUCH sweeter) and familiar enough to be easy to get into. I was afraid that they would be doing a bunch of black stereotypes but with the possible exception of Cleveland Jr. all of the characters seem pretty well-rounded (and you have to admit Cleveland Jr here is a MUCH bigger improvement to the somewhat racist version on Family Guy.)

Family Guy: This had more pop-culture references. I have a hard time seeing either The Simpsons of Futurama doing a Robot Chicken joke. :D

I know being smart isn't exactly a talent, but I thought it was cool Comic Book Guy got to be in MENSA.

I'm still on the fence about whether or not I'm going to follow the Cleveland Show, but you're right about them avoiding stereotypes.

The Simpsons: True, but you have to realize that there were only SO many different Springfieldians they could realisticly cast in Mensa. Who was left? Cletus? Wiggum? The only other resident of the town I could believably think might be smart enough for Mensa is Apu. Everyone else is an idiot.

The Cleveland Show: They've had stereotypes but they have been nowhere NEAR as bad as I feared. Family Guy is ten times worse on it's best day.

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Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death Review (Spoilers)

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