A Close Shave

Nick Park’s much loved animated characters Wallace and Gromit made their third appearance in A Close Shave, commissioned by the BBC and first shown on Christmas Eve 1995. In A Close Shave Wallace’s love for Wendolene Ramsbottom blinds him to the fact that her dog Preston is up to no good. Luckily, Gromit is on hand to save the day. He is aided by the film’s break-out star, Shaun the Sheep. Massively popular with audiences and critics alike, A Close Shave went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Peter Sallis provided the voice for Wallace and Anne Reid was Wendolene. Gromit was mostly silent, but communicated with facial expressions, despite the fact he appeared to have no mouth! Gromit’s reactions – and everything else – were created by the animators using stop-motion photography, moving the characters in tiny increments between each frame.

The success of A Close Shave was assured and a best-selling video was released after its broadcast. Besides the subsequent adventures that Wallace and Gromit got up to, Shaun the Sheep developed his own film career, firstly with a tv series on BBC One and then with two films, including the Shaun the Sheep Movie.