The Wrong Trousers

Nick Park, UK 1994, 26 minutes

Paired with Nixon as both films are concerned with the illegal activities of a shady and menacing figure underneath the noses of an unsuspecting group of people, this is the film that propelled Wallace and Gromit from low-budget obscurity to the A-list celebrities and national heroes they are today.

The arrival in their midst of a mysterious, taciturn penguin creates a rift between our two heroes, with the ever-faithful Gromit leaving home (in one of the most emotional scenes ever captured on film), ousted from his position by the interloper. The plot thickens, however, when Gromit follows the penguin in secret and discovers what he is really up to. Cramming into its relatively short playing time more intrigue and excitement than all the James Bond films put together, as well as an epic chase sequence to rival the likes of Bullitt or Speed and the now all-too-familiar sight of a sleeping man climbing up the side of a building in ex-NASA Technotrousers with a penguin wearing a rubber glove on its head sitting on his chest, this is nothing short of essential viewing.

Review by Ben Stephens
Taken From EUFS Programme 1996-97