The Wallace and Gromit comedy film series has been a huge hit with audiences for more than 30 years.
The animated productions by Aardman Animations about an inventor and his dog were created by Nick Park, with their first outing coming in 1989 in A Grand Day Out.
READ MORE: Netflix viewers left in floods of tears over new Jason Momoa movie Slumberland
Each of the characters are made out of plasticine and filmed using a technique called stop-motion, which involves moving each model a tiny amount and filming each bit at a time – meaning films can take hours to make.
A different look
(Image: PA)
The original versions of Wallace and Gromit looked a bit different from how they did in Park’s original sketches of the pair.
Wallace still looked similar to Park’s tinkerer father but he initially had a moustache and worked as a postman, and Gromit was actually a cat.
Park changed Gromit into a dog because he thought it was easier to animate dogs.
(Image: Galloway News)
Gromit can’t speak in any of the films, but Park created him with a mouth originally and in his early sketches was depicted as larger and rounder.
It is believed that when Park spotted how expressive Gromit could be using only small movements of the eyes – ears and brow, he decided he didn’t need to speak.
Cheese fan
(Image: PA)
Park decided Wallace should be a lover of Wensleydale cheese to give him a reason to build his space rocket in A Grand Day Out.
Wallace, of course, travelled to the moon because he believed it was actually made of cheese.
In real life, Wensleydale Creamery, which makes his favourite cheese, before it was mentioned in the film.
But after the film aired, it approached Aardman about marketing a special version of the cheese – Wallace and Gromit Yorkshire Wensleydale – and the product went on to become a worldwide hit.
Painstaking work
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
A team of 30 animators are typically needed to bring Gromit to life on each film.
They are required to painstakingly animate every aspect of his movements and the most difficult parts for them to animate are his paws.
Due to the method of the production, this means that filming a scene can take a day, meaning each of the 30 animators are hard at work for hours.
Fire on set
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
When A Grand Day Out was being made, Gromit was seen welding and a sparkler was used for effects.
But disaster struck one day during filming and the set caught fire – resulting in Wallace’s welding nozzle to melt – but it was later replaced and it did not show up in the final cut, leaving fans none the wiser about the incident.
Lost in a cab
(Image: ROYAL MAIL)
Park visited New York to promote A Close Shave in 1996 – but after arriving at his hotel, he was horrified as he realised he’d left the models of the duo in the taxi cab.
Thankfully after Brit newspapers reported the loss of the national treasures – the driver got in touch with Park and reunited him with the pair 36-hours later.
First Wallace voice
(Image: Aardman Animations)
The person to voice Wallace was the late Peter Sallis, who influenced the way the character’s mouth moved, because of how he pronounced his vowels.
In the 2000s Sallis’ health began to fail and he was replaced by Ben Whitehead, who now voices the character in shorts, commercials and games.
For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here .
READ NEXT:
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
