There are frequently Wallace and Gromit exhibits throughout England (like World of Cracking Ideas that I was able to visit while visiting England in 2009!) but it’s not every day that we see exhibits open elsewhere in the world. It’s a delight to be able to report thatWallace & Gromit’s World of Invention at Scienceworks, Melbourne will be opening on May 19th 2012. Based on the exhibit description it sounds like there will be a lot of overlap with the Cracking Ideas exhibit, but also some new things from the recent World of Invention series. Also see: article by Sydney Morning Herald.
Still no reports of Wallace and Gromit for Android, but in December Widebeam Digital Ltd. released the Wallace And Gromit – Chat-O-Matic, “an app that turns an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into Wallace’s mouth, complete with a selection of catchphrases. The idea is that the device is placed in front of the user’s real mouth” as reported by The Guardian.
We added 5 new levels to the game in a recent free update, and this walkthrough includes them, so it’s a complete tutorial to the entire game.
App store link here, you can grab it for just $0.99.
Finally, some exciting news for disadvantaged young people helped through Prince’s Trust, two watercolour illustrations from Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park were among the 35 artists featured in a recent auction at the Prince’s Trust Evening of Art and helped raise £74,000! Article here: Artists raise £74,000 for youth charity.
Posted in News by Elizabeth K. Joseph |Comments Off on Upcoming Exhibit in Melbourne, Chat-O-Matic and Home Sheep Home apps, Charity Auction
Here’s the latest roundup of Wallace and Gromit news from the past couple months!
Thanks to Nick Hilton for letting me know about this interview with classic Wallace and Gromit writer Bob Baker about his career in British television: Interview with Bob Baker
Play with Google Street Maps much? There are lots of goodies to be found by browsing through neighborhoods, and one of the recently sighted gems is the Wallace and Gromit Floral Display! Google Maps link here.
In this The artists’ artist: Animators article from September several artists talk about talk about some of their own favorite living artists, the list starts off with Sharon Colman talking about Nick Park.
Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal hosted an auction of art from November 1-10.
The auction is now over, but if you click through the auction link you can still visit the auction link for a few other items still being sold by thegrandappeal on ebay. Also, see here for their Christmas catalog, including beautiful Wallace and Gromit Christmas cards: grandappeal.org.uk/christmas/
Have a Garmin GPS? There is now a Wallace-voiced GPS bundle for download to your GPS, guaranteed to “work better than most of Wallace’s crazy contraptions”!
In England and a fan of Kingsmill bread products? They’re continuing their great history of offering free Wallace and Gromit products with purchases with their latest promotion. Visit kingsmillwallaceandgromit.com for more.
In the market for something more fancy? A reminder that Robert Harrop Designs offers a gorgeous line of Wallace and Gromit products! Visit the Wallace and Gromit category of their site to see the latest collectibles for sale: http://www.robertharrop.com/cat-52
Perhaps you’re just looking for some standard gifts? The Aardstore is always a great source, particularly when they are having a Sale on a great selection of Wallace and Gromit merchandise!
Finally congratulations to Titan Comics for hitting their 1 million downloads mark for the Wallace and Gromit comic!
“Titan comics is pleased to announce that their Wallace and Gromit digital comic has hit over 1 million worldwide downloads, a first for a British comic!
Wallace & Gromit comic was launched as a free iPhone app on November 7 2009 and took the iPhone app charts by storm, hitting number one in the UK, US and Canada free books app store and number three spot overall in the free apps chart.”
Have an iPad/iPhone and longing for some Shaun? A few weeks ago Brad Cook of Virtual Programming tipped me off that they had released an iOS version of the popular (addictive!) flash game Home Sheep Home!
App store link here, you can grab it for just $0.99.
No word yet on an Android version.
Looking for some Wallace and Gromit goodies? Andrew May reminded me that Marks and Spencer frequently has Wallace and Gromit goodies for purchase in store and on their website (and they ship to the US!). Thanks Andrew.
Finally the Wallace and Gromit Foundation’s annual Wrong Trousers Day is coming up on June 24th! Check out this cute video they created for it this year:
Better late than never, I finally have some screenshots from The Simpsons episode Angry Dad: The Movie which aired here in the US in February!
Willice and Crimbles are a parody duo of our beloved Wallace and Gromit featured on The Simpsons as Bart Simpson goes up against “Mixar” and “Willice and Crimbles” for Best Animated Short. The Willice and Crimbles short is titled Better Gnomes and Gardens
Plus Nick Park with Lisa and Bart! And Nick Park did indeed voice himself in this episode with this amusing exchange:
Lisa Simpson: Good luck, Mr Park. There’d be no shame in losing to you. Nick Park: Oh, that’s very sweet of you. Thank you for saying so.
[Nick Park’s fingers come off as they finish a handshake] Lisa Simpson: Agh! Nick Park: No worries. I’ll just stick ’em back on. I’m more clay than man now.
This parody short was not created by Aardman, but instead by Chiodo Bros. Productions and the whole episode is quite a treat if you managed to catch it.
And quickly, some other Wallace and Gromit articles from the past few months:
Thanks to all the people who submitted their names for our contest, today I drew names out of a hat for the Holiday Raffle, and I’m happy to announce our winners, Kathryn and Darrell!
The winners are being emailed and their calendars will be shipped out on Monday.
Happy New Year!
Posted in News by Elizabeth K. Joseph |Comments Off on Congratulations Kathryn and Darrell – our Holiday Raffle winners!
No word yet on other region releases, so it looks like those of us in the US will still have to wait.
Other big news this week is the possibility of a Wallace and Gromit amusement park ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach along the Fylde coast in Blackpool, England.
Filmmaker Nick Park says he is in talks on the possible development of a theme park ride based around his cheese-loving Wallace and Gromit characters.
The Preston-born animator told Kirsty Young about the plan on Saturday’s edition of the Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.
“We are in the middle of discussions with Blackpool Pleasure Beach about a Wallace and Gromit ride,” Park said.
Winners will be announced and calendars shipped in the first week in January. Please email me if you have any questions or if you have trouble using the web form: elizabeth@wallaceandgromit.net
Since it can be difficult to get Wallace and Gromit goodies here in the US I’m asking that only US residents apply for this raffle. Thanks!
Posted in News by Elizabeth K. Joseph |Comments Off on Holiday Raffle! (US residents only please)
Click image for high-res 3.3M version of the cover
More information via Amy Brill of the BBC:
Radio Times runs aptly snowy Wallace & Gromit cover for its Christmas issue
Radio Times has shot its own exclusive picture of Nick Park’s creations for its cracking bumper Christmas issue, featuring the duo bearing gifts, crackers and sporting Santa hats. The magazine is in the shops now until 27 December, with listings covering 18-31 December) and is the most eagerly anticipated publishing event of the year – internet forums speculate about what will be on Radio Times’ Christmas cover and the on-sale date as early as August.
Oscar-winning creator Nick Park said: “I still have to pinch myself when I see my characters, that I thought up at college, appearing on TV or in magazines. But to be on the front cover of an institution like the Radio Times – and the Christmas issue – that is an honour indeed, but then W&G are top models. I started planning it months ago, working with my trusted team, to give the cover all the charm and quality of the films. It’s strange working on a Christmas themed photo shoot – when your ‘top models’ are melting in the summer heat. But we worked with dogged devotion to bring you something ‘yule’ love.”
This year’s bumper issue offers a free DVD of the excruciatingly funny Outnumbered Christmas Special, free to collect from Currys or PC World, as well as two weeks worth of in-depth listings for the festive period.
First up, I received an email from Andy Grey of Post Office Ltd who let me know of this great little countdown widget for getting your Royal Mail Christmas mailings out on time:
He also let me know of some really great stamp wallpapers, I’m now using one on my desktop!
And finally, the last Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention episode of the season is airing this week. If you’re outside the UK and unable to view these gems, there are some short clips on the Aardman YouTube page, which features a whole playlist for World of Invention: http://www.youtube.com/user/aardman#g/c/D2AF82165A5DEAA5. You can also read the summaries which some diligent folks have posted on the Wikipedia Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention page.
Posted in News by Elizabeth K. Joseph |Comments Off on Holiday stamp goodies and World of Invention Magazine
