Smart Gnomes, Evil Penguins and Stop-Motion

Wallace & Gromit Are Back for a Full-Length Adventure With a Familiar Foe

- Agencies

The cheese-loving English inventor Wallace and his loyal dog Gromit have been stars since the beginning. In the 35 years since Nick Park introduced the world to his stop-motion creations and their eccentric, unapologetically British existence, they've won Oscars, appeared in commercials, video games, animated series and even the occasional bit of (unofficial) protest art. Feature films, however, have been few and far between. Part of the reason is the difficulty: Even a 30-minute short can take upward of two years. Besides, why mess with a formula that's produced only classics?

After working on the pair's first feature, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which was released in 2005 and won an Oscar, and Early Man, Park even doubted that he'd dabble in the form again. But sometimes inspiration requires a little more breathing room: That's how the second