Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

bscrivener-50810 The final part of the original Wallace & Gromit trilogy. A Close Shave packs the charm, humour and love that we had for the previous two in an all new adventure. This third part gives us a shift in tone and change of theme, briefly delving into horror and thriller elements (intended as a parody) while retaining its comedic and childish subject matter. The story follows Wallace's latest line of business, window-cleaning and his collection of quirky new inventions. While on a job he meets Wendoline, a local shop- keeper in which the two become very attached, and also her mysterious and silent pet dog, Preston. Gromit, instantly becoming suspicious of Preston begins to investigate him after a sheep, escaped the previous night from the truck he was driving and broke into their home. Gromit is then later framed by Preston for being a sheep killer and is imprisoned for life. Separating him from Wallace in a similarly emotional scene to The Wrong Trousers. After Wallace with the help of the escaped sheep (Shaun) bust out Gromit and later come across Preston and Wendoline in a field, sheep- rustling they chase them down before Wallace and Wendoline become trapped and leaving Shaun and Gromit to save the day. After a final showdown, the film closes with Wendoline and Wallace parting ways (after humorously she dislikes cheese. Also noting she isn't a good fit due to her criminal behaviour.) While A Close Shave is generally a family-friendly and fun film to all to enjoy. Unlike it's predecessor it does have a few flaws. The first being too many sub- plots which seem to overcrowd the story, leaving to scenes such as Wendoline and Wallace's relationship and Gromit's imprisonment feeling rushed and under developed. Furthermore, the final showdown between Preston and Gromit felt underwhelming, making Preston's intimidating and dominating presence feel diminished. However, A Close Shave definitely deserves praise for its shift into darker themes while keeping it's childish humour and wit, as well as the introduction of more beloved characters such as Shaun the Sheep. 8/10

Tommy Nelson Just thinking about stop motion animation makes one think of a slow and tedious process of moving everything in the frame scene by scene. It takes forever (seemingly), and just two years after Wallace and Gromit's last adventure, we get this superbly animated, well thought out short film, that is actually as exciting as many live action adventure pictures. Proof that Nick Park and crew are about quality, because after the success of "the Wrong Trousers" it would be easy to cash in on a less than great installment, but thankfully for us, that's not the case.A mysterious wool shortage has plagued the town where Wallace and Gromit, who are now cleaning windows, live. What lies before this man and dog duo is a love interest, a sheep rustling murderous dog, and a lot of sheep. When thinking of the original three Wallace and Gromit shorts, I've always put this one and the Wrong Trousers nearly on par as perfect shorts, and while I still feel that way, this one falls a little short of their second adventure, and yet this has nothing really wrong with it to make it worse. When you have two perfect shorts, one is going to probably be favored over the other, and the lack of talking and pure clay animated suspense that "Wrong Trousers" produced stands above this equally wonderful, but more grandiose outing. Either way, this is seriously great, and one of the greatest short films out there.The animation has improved greatly since "The Wrong Trousers". The animation is smoother, the sets are more three dimensional and the town in which they live in is given more of a personality, and fingerprints aren't as prominent on the figures. And the animation on the action sequences is superb. The last film gave us the hilarious train sequence, and this one gives us many action sequences, most notably being the motorcycle chase and the oatmeal machine gun shootout which are both spectacular and hilariously implausible. The whole five (or so) minute chase scene in the film is seriously as interesting, well thought out, and action packed as most regular action flicks, and it manages to be so without any violence or explosions. Truly a testament to the writing and animation of this thing.Composer Julian Nott is also a huge part of this film. His music sounds like a mix of suspenseful thriller music, and a German polka...an unlikely combination, but one that fits so perfectly, giving the scenes a playful bounce, along with a "something bad is going to happen" feel. A new addition to the score for this film that wasn't in the previous two was the love theme which is almost a parody of love themes, but one that stands on it's own and also works perfectly in the scenes.Wallace and Gromit represent not just quality animation, but also top notch writing, well thought out jokes and gags, fantastic direction from Nick Park, and proof that animation is not just for kids. Nick Park and the team at Aardman animation can easily be thought of as the Pixar team of England.My rating: **** out of ****. 31 mins. Not rated, but good for the whole family.

Shawn Watson A lone sheep, later named Shaun, escapes from a sheep rustling plot and hides in the home of eccentric inventor Wallace and his long-suffering dog/best pal Gromit. A silent but deadly canine down at the wool shop appears to be the mastermind behind the plot and frames Gromit for the rustling scam. With a little help from Shaun, Wallace must rescue Gromit and catch the real crooks.There are more laughs and jokes in this half-hour short than most feature-length comedies manage in their entire running time. Nearly every frame has some kind of wit or imagination. The world of Wallace and Gromit, much like the stop-motion world of Postman Pat, is an incongruous mix of post-war Northern countryside crossed with sci-fi and a touch of horror. The horror themes would be explored in greater depth with Curse of the Were-Rabbit but it's handled with more care and sly invention here than in most slasher sequels.A fun time. Catch it on its inevitable Xmas Day screening.

Michael DeZubiria You can't really go wrong with Wallace and Gromit, and A Close Shave is no exception. The hilariously traditional Yorkshire duo are running a window-washing business that one day leads them to a wool shop run by a bizarre-looking British woman who immediately wins Wallace's heart, despite a deep sadness behind her eyes and a vicious-looking dog. It should be noted, by the way, that the makers of this short movie have succeeded in giving a claymation character deeply sad eyes. This alone might have been reason enough for why it won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. While Wallace follows his helplessly stolen heart, Gromit finds himself framed for a mysterious sheep-stealing and killing scheme and is thrown in prison. An adventure follows that could only exist in a Wallace and Gromit film and includes, among other things, a hilarious truck/motorcycle chase with the help of an incredibly coordinated flock of helpful sheep. Enjoy!