Man's Best Friend

If everyone had a dog like the one in “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” the world would be a happier place. Gromit watches over his owner Wallace with bemused care and is always there to help the naïve inventor out of difficult situations he gets himself into. But his time, Gromit must work extra hard to defeat a creature Wallace has created in an experiment gone terribly wrong. The creature in question is a huge rabbit capable of devouring all the vegetables scheduled to be entered in Lady Tottington’s upcoming annual giant vegetables contest.

Filmed in claymation, this amusing British full-length cartoon, features characters who look quite bizarre. Gromit doesn’t have a mouth, so he never utters a word. But his eyes, brow and body language are as effective in communicating his thoughts and emotions as those of any silent movie star. Wallace’s enormous mouth makes up for his partner’s missing one; Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter) appears to have a fuzzy red anvil for hair; and the goofy giant were-rabbit, frightening only because of his size, looks very funny in a scene parodying “King Kong.”

Although a bit slow-moving at first and not as hilarious as co-director Nick Park’s previous film (“Chicken Run”), “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” offers fun for the whole family. WARNING: If you don’t have a dog, you’ll want to rush out and get one after watching this movie.