Wallace & Gromit

Wallace & Gromit is a British stop-motion comedy franchise from Nick Park and Aardman Animations. The stories follow Wallace, a well-meaning, quirky inventor who loves cheese and lives as a bachelor, and Gromit, his clever, devoted dog who acts like a person. The franchise includes four short films, two feature-length movies, and many spin-offs and TV shows. The first short, *A Grand Day Out*, came out in 1989. Peter Sallis and later Ben Whitehead have voiced Wallace, who talks often, while Gromit stays silent and communicates only with his face and body language.

Because of their popularity, the characters are seen as positive global symbols of modern British culture and the British people. BBC News called them "some of the best-known and best-loved stars to come out of the UK," and the Culture24 outlet ICONS said they have "done more to improve the image of the English world-wide than any officially appointed ambassadors."

Park has said he was inspired by his childhood in Lancashire in the 1950s and 1960s. The setting is deliberately unclear: it looks like the 1960s but includes many anachronisms, like 21st-century technology. Wallace’s home address on letters ends with Wigan, but his accent comes from the Holme Valley in West Yorkshire, and he is especially fond of Wensleydale cheese from North Yorkshire.

The films have been highly praised. The first three shorts—*A Grand Day Out* (1989), *The Wrong Trousers* (1993), and *A Close Shave* (1995)—each earned a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The feature film *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* (2005) also received acclaim and is the second-highest-grossing stop-motion animated film, behind only *Chicken Run* (2000), another Park creation. A fourth short, *A Matter of Loaf and Death*, came out in 2008. A second feature, *Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl*, which brings back the villain Feathers McGraw from *The Wrong Trousers*, was released in 2024. *Shaun the Sheep*, a spin-off featuring a character from *A Close Shave*, began in 2007. The franchise has won seven BAFTAs, three Academy Awards, and a Peabody Award.

The first short, *A Grand Day Out*, was nominated for an Oscar in 1991. *The Wrong Trousers* and *A Close Shave* both won that award. *The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. In January 2007, a five-film deal between DreamWorks and Aardman ended after three movies due to creative differences and the box-office failure of *Flushed Away*. Park later said DreamWorks executives wanted to Americanise the very British Wallace and Gromit after test screenings, which would have hurt their nostalgic charm. *A Matter of Loaf and Death*, Park’s first project after the DreamWorks deal, was the most-watched TV programme in the UK in 2008. It won a BAFTA for Best Short Animation and was nominated for an Oscar in 2010. In 2013, Peter Lord said there were no plans for a new short, and Park noted in 2014 that Peter Sallis’s declining health might prevent future films, even though Ben Whitehead was available.

In May 2017, Lord said more projects were likely, adding that Park probably wouldn’t make another feature but might do a half-hour format. Sallis died on 2 June 2017. In 2018, Park told *Radio Times* that Sallis would want them to continue, and he had more ideas. In 2019, Park announced a new project was in development. In May 2020, Aardman released *The Big Fix Up*, an augmented reality mobile app featuring voices of Miriam Margolyes, Isy Suttie, and Jim Carter, on 18 January 2021. In September 2021, a bronze bench statue of Wallace & Gromit was unveiled in Preston, Lancashire, Park’s hometown. A statue of Feathers McGraw was added in February 2025. In January 2022, *Vengeance Most Fowl* was announced; it debuted on BBC on Christmas Day 2024, then worldwide on Netflix on 3 January 2025, winning two BAFTAs and being nominated for an Oscar. A Lego Ideas set inspired by Aardman will be released on 1 October 2026.

Wallace lives with Gromit at No. 62 West Wallaby Street in Wigan, England. He typically wears brown woollen trousers, a white shirt with detachable sleeves, a red tie, and a green vee-necked knitted sleeveless sweater. He loves cheese, especially Wensleydale, with crackers. Park has described him as very self-contained.