# Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
**Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit** is a 2005 British-American stop-motion animated comedy that pits the cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his silent dog Gromit against a giant vegetable-devouring rabbit threatening their village's annual giant vegetable competition. It was Wallace and Gromit's first feature film, directed by [Nick Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-park) and Steve Box and produced by [Aardman Animations](https://www.edgepedia.org/aardman-animations) with [DreamWorks Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/dreamworks-animation), and it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) • [2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/embed/2006)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 2005; earliest release date September 15, 2005 (APAC); running time 1 hr 25 min; rated G[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/) |
| Directors | Nick Park and Steve Box; screenplay by Park, Box, Bob Baker, and Mark Burton[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) • [4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/pdf/2024-09-29-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.pdf) |
| Voice cast | Peter Sallis (Wallace), Ralph Fiennes (Victor Quartermaine), Helena Bonham Carter (Lady Campanula Tottington), Peter Kay (PC Mackintosh)[4](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/pdf/2024-09-29-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.pdf) |
| Box office | $192,799,463 worldwide on a $30,000,000 budget; domestic opening $16,025,987[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/) |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature; BAFTA Outstanding British Film; Annie Award for Best Animated Feature[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/embed/2006) • [1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) |
| Critical scores | 95% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (184 reviews); 87 on Metacritic (38 reviews)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wallace_and_gromit_the_curse_of_the_were_rabbit) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wallace-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) |
| Production scale | Five years from concept to premiere; 30 animators led by supervising animator Loyd Price; 40 new characters built[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and characters
Wallace and Gromit run Anti-Pesto, a humane pest-control business that protects the village's vegetable patches from hungry rabbits ahead of the annual Giant Vegetable Competition at Tottington Hall. Their tool is the Bun-Vac 6000, a giant vacuum that sucks up rogue bunnies and stores them in hutches at Wallace's house. To cure the rabbits of their appetite, Wallace hooks his Mind Manipulation-O-Matic to the Bun-Vac 6000 to brainwash them into hating vegetables, and the experiment goes wrong, creating the ravening giant Were-Rabbit of the title.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/) • [8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/d11be4d2-1776-5b94-94af-1f95c9144c1c/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit)
The duo's client is Lady Campanula Tottington, the animal-loving aristocrat whose competition is at stake, and her would-be suitor Victor Quartermaine, a gun-toting game hunter who rivals Wallace for her affections.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wallace_and_gromit_the_curse_of_the_were_rabbit) • [8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/d11be4d2-1776-5b94-94af-1f95c9144c1c/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit) [Peter Sallis](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sallis), who had voiced Wallace since the 1989 short *A Grand Day Out*, was joined by [Helena Bonham Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/helena-bonham-carter), Ralph Fiennes, and [Peter Kay](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-kay).[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-13-et-park13-story.html)
Park and Box described the film as the world's "first vegetarian horror film," a parody of werewolf and monster movies. It carries references to *King Kong* (the Were-Rabbit grasping Lady Tottington on the roof of Tottington Hall), *Jaws*, and *The Wolf Man*, alongside wordplay gags such as Wallace's books *Grated Expectations*, *East of Edam*, and *Waiting for Gouda*.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/) • [10](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/advanced-art-stop-motion-animation-history-stop-motion-feature-films-part-3)
## Production
The film was Aardman's second feature, following *Chicken Run* (2000), and the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit story after three Oscar-winning shorts: *A Grand Day Out* (1989), *The Wrong Trousers* (1993), and *A Close Shave* (1995).[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/) • [10](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/advanced-art-stop-motion-animation-history-stop-motion-feature-films-part-3) The original title, *The Great Vegetable Plot*, was changed to appeal to a wider international audience.[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) The premise grew from an idea Park developed with the writer Bob Baker: a werewolf movie in which a big funny rabbit eats vegetables instead of people.[11](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/4767/93/EXHIBITION%20GUIDE.pdf)
**Hand-made scale.** Production took five years from concept to premiere and was shot entirely in the UK, on 35mm film.[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) • [12](https://thebristolmag.co.uk/gnome-improvements/) The crew grew from about 40 on *A Close Shave* to close to 200, including 30 animators, and Aardman reports 10 seconds of completed animation per day across the production; the Los Angeles Times, reporting from Cannes, put the daily figure at three seconds per animator, or about two minutes per week for the whole group of thirty.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-13-et-park13-story.html) • [1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) *Time* counted 122,400 shots based on 24,000 storyboards.[13](https://time.com/4609386/best-animated-films/) Nick Park likened the stop-motion technique, repositioning clay figures before each of 24 frames per second, more to live-action filmmaking than to cartoon animation.[14](https://www.tvguide.com/news/wallace-gromit-rabbit-37006/)
Not everything was animated by hand. [Computer animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/computer-animation) was used for the bunnies floating inside the Bun-Vac 6000, which would have been difficult to animate in stop-motion; the clay texture of the bunnies was scanned onto the CG models to keep the appearance consistent, and the film also used green-screen compositing and fog effects for its horror-film atmosphere.[10](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/advanced-art-stop-motion-animation-history-stop-motion-feature-films-part-3) Park said the Were-Rabbit itself was made as a large fur puppet rather than in CGI, deliberately harking back to *King Kong* and its sympathetic monster.[15](https://www.animationartconservation.com/making-his-mark-in-clay%2C-an-interview-with-nick-park.html)
A fire in October 2005 destroyed the warehouse holding Aardman's archive, including the Wallace and Gromit sets, props, and models from the film.[11](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/4767/93/EXHIBITION%20GUIDE.pdf)
## Reception and awards
The film topped the worldwide box office for three weeks and was nominated for 37 awards internationally.[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) At the 78th Academy Awards in 2006 it won Best Animated Feature, beating *Howl's Moving Castle* and *Tim Burton's Corpse Bride*, with [Reese Witherspoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/reese-witherspoon) presenting the Oscar to Park and Box; it was the first stop-motion feature to win the category.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/embed/2006) • [16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r45PIBgVa68) • [10](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/advanced-art-stop-motion-animation-history-stop-motion-feature-films-part-3) It also won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film and the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.[1](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/)
Critics responded warmly. Rotten Tomatoes records a 95% Tomatometer from 184 reviews and a 79% audience score; Metacritic gives 87 based on 38 critic reviews.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wallace_and_gromit_the_curse_of_the_were_rabbit) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wallace-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/) Reviewers singled out [Ralph Fiennes](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-fiennes)'s first fully comedic role as Victor Quartermaine and Helena Bonham Carter's Lady Tottington.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wallace_and_gromit_the_curse_of_the_were_rabbit)
## Box office and aftermath
The film earned $56,110,897 domestically (29.1% of the total) and $136,688,566 internationally, for $192,799,463 worldwide, against a $30,000,000 budget, playing 61 markets in its original September 15, 2005 to May 3, 2006 rollout.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/) France was the strongest single overseas market at $15,711,783, followed by Germany at $9,554,426.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/) Later re-releases were small: a 2025 UK re-release on April 18 grossed $76,567, and a 2023 New Zealand re-release $336.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/) • [7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/)
Despite the film's success, DreamWorks' partnership with Aardman was dissolved after this film and 2006's *Flushed Away* fell short of U.S. box-office expectations, with Aardman reportedly unhappy at relinquishing aspects of creative control.[17](https://filmhubwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ANIM18-WALLACE-_-GROMIT.pdf) Wallace and Gromit did not return to theaters for 19 years, until *Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl*.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/) The film remains available on digital purchase and rental platforms and on Blu-ray and DVD from [Universal Pictures Home Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures-home-entertainment).[18](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/wallace-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit)
## References
1. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Aardman Animations](https://aardman.com/film-tv-games/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/)
2. [2006 Academy Awards, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/embed/2006)
3. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0312004/)
4. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit credits, BFI](https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/pdf/2024-09-29-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.pdf)
5. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wallace_and_gromit_the_curse_of_the_were_rabbit)
6. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wallace-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit/)
7. [20 years later, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is still as clever and funny as it was in 2005, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/20-years-later-wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit-is-still-as-clever-and-funny-as-it-was-in-2005/)
8. [The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/d11be4d2-1776-5b94-94af-1f95c9144c1c/the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit)
9. [Wallace & Gromit go to any length, Los Angeles Times (2005)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-13-et-park13-story.html)
10. ['The Advanced Art of Stop-Motion Animation': History of Stop-Motion Feature Films: Part 3, Animation World Network](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/advanced-art-stop-motion-animation-history-stop-motion-feature-films-part-3)
11. [Exhibition guide, Falmouth University repository](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/4767/93/EXHIBITION%20GUIDE.pdf)
12. [Wallace and Gromit: Gnome improvements, The Bristol Magazine](https://thebristolmag.co.uk/gnome-improvements/)
13. [The 25 All-TIME Best Animated Films, Time](https://time.com/4609386/best-animated-films/)
14. [No. 1 Movie's Secrets Revealed!, TV Guide (2005)](https://www.tvguide.com/news/wallace-gromit-rabbit-37006/)
15. [Making His Mark In Clay, an interview with Nick Park, Animation Art Conservation](https://www.animationartconservation.com/making-his-mark-in-clay%2C-an-interview-with-nick-park.html)
16. [Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Wins Animated Feature: 2006 Oscars, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r45PIBgVa68)
17. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Film Hub Wales](https://filmhubwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ANIM18-WALLACE-_-GROMIT.pdf)
18. [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/wallace-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated film studios and franchise animation*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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