Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit, made by the city's Aardman animation team, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of best animated feature. As the 78th Academy Awards shortlist was announced at lunchtime on Tuesday, animators, model makers and film crews at the company's Aztec West feature department gathered together to celebrate. Meanwhile, director Nick Park and other members of the team were getting ready to fly to the States to start a publicity tour.  | | The Anti-Pesto team in action |
"We had high hopes but you never know," said co-director Steve Box. "We just make films for the love of it," was Nick Park's reaction to the nomination. They're up against Howl's Moving Castle, a Japanese animated film based on a book by Bristol author Diana Wynne-Jones and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. "It's great that the Academy has gone for stop-frame animation - something that isn't the norm," said Steve Box. "Corpse Bride was made in Britain too," he added. This was the first full length feature film outing for the dynamic duo, who made their name in a trio of exciting adventures. In the past they've fought against evil cyber dogs, mechanical trousers and sinister penguins, but this time they were on the trail of a mysterious creature eating the town's prized vegetables. Two Oscars They've even picked up the golden statuette before, with two Oscars awarded to Nick Park for best short film for the duo's A Close Shave and The Wrong Trousers. In Curse of the Wererabbit Peter Sallis returned as the voice of the Wallace joined by the likes of Ralf Feinnes and Helena Bonham-Carter, with directors Nick Park and Steve Box and the Aardman crew moulding their every move. Curse of the Were Rabbit has won over audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, taking £3.81m at the box office and beating Hollywood blockbusters such as War Of The Worlds and Meet The Fockers. Now it could pick up some more honours at this years Oscars which take place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on 5 March. | 
