‘Were-Rabbit’ cream of the ‘Wallace’ crop

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In theaters

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, directed by Nick Park and Steve Box, written by Bob Baker, Box, Mark Burton and Park, 85 minutes, rated G.

In spite of the fear-inducing size of its massive melons, its giant heads of lettuce and its colossal clutches of carrots, the lot of which look as if they grew deep in the gardens of Chernobyl, the new Wallace & Gromit movie, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” is not your garden variety horror show.

It is, however, the best and most ambitious of the “Wallace & Gromit” lot, which includes the Academy Award-winning “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave,” as well as a handful of other shorts, all of which have been molded from the wonders of the claylike product plasticine.

Joining the recent Tim Burton freak show, “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” which did its share in startling clever lumps of clay to life, “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” will be nominated this year for Best Animated Picture. No one should be surprised if it wins.

This is clay animation at its best, with directors Nick Park and Steve Box essentially rubbing computer animation’s nose into something that very closely resembles mud.

Working from a script they co-wrote with Bob Baker and Mark Burton, Park and Box offer a story that once again follows the adventures of cheese-loving inventor Wallace (voice of Peter Sallis), who adores his Gorgonzola and Stinking Bishop almost as much as he loves his dog, Gromit, the coolest of canines who is in the know in ways that his out-of-touch master simply isn’t.

This time out, the story swirls around Lady Tottington (voice of Helena Bonham Carter, fresh from the undead success of “The Corpse Bride”) and her Giant Vegetable Competition, which has everyone around her in a snit. Indeed, in Tottington’s town, you are what you garden, so naturally everyone here wants to win the top prize of Golden Carrot.

Trouble is, fear has taken root within the hearts of these liver-lipped Brits. Apparently, bunnies are threatening the very existence of their prized produce, with one rabbit in particular – the towering, dreaded Were-Rabbit – gorging his way through everyone’s gardens. Since it’s Wallace and Gromit who own the pest control business Anti-Pesto, it’s up to them to suck out the smaller bunnies with their Bun-Vac 6000 – a splendid machine – while also ridding the world of the Were-Rabbit, which leads to stunning revelations that won’t be revealed here.

Appealingly zany, with pop-culture riffs that borrow liberally from the classic Universal Studios horror movies of the 1930s and ’40s to the King Kong franchise to the British television show, “Keeping Up Appearances,” this “Wallace” is a departure and a new beginning. Its $80 million budget finds our heroes going Hollywood in a big way, but the good news is that they haven’t sold their souls in an effort to do so. The essence of their relationship remains intact, with their bond just as vital as it ever was.

Perhaps more so, especially considering the spooky circumstances at hand.

Grade: A

On video and DVD

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, directed by Ridley Scott, written by William Monahan, 145 minutes, rated R.

Ridley Scott’s middle-of-the-road, anti-war movie about the Crusades, “Kingdom of Heaven,” puts an affectionate, understanding arm around Christians and Muslims – treating each equally in an attempt to offend as few people as possible – before it allows them to enter into one ugly, bloody holy war for Jerusalem.

And then it does something else that’s peculiar. Its story builds around a blacksmith, Balian (Orlando Bloom), who comes to lead the Crusades even though he isn’t exactly beating his chest in favor of God.

As the movie opens, we’re in France, it’s the year 1184, and Balian’s wife has just committed suicide, with her head being severed after death as a result. It’s the sort of event that tends to make some question their faith, and Balian is no exception. If God is just, then how could he have allowed this to happen? After all, if Balian is to believe his religion, his wife’s soul is now burning in hell, not exactly the most comforting of thoughts.

With this weighing on his mind, slight, unassuming Balian is put on several paths – religious awakening, self-actualization, love, war – with all leading to one locale, Jerusalem. With the film set in the Middle East, timeliness is one of its strong suits. Its substantial length isn’t. The film begins well but loses its way in a soft middle before ending with a technical flourish.

As Mel Gibson proved with “The Passion of the Christ,” a point of view is still possible in Hollywood when it comes to religion, even if it promises to cause a firestorm of controversy. Scott isn’t up for that sort of press; he’d rather get to the battlefield, where his skills flourish, than stir a pot already overboiling between Christianity and Islam. So he crafts a good-looking movie that’s politically safe first, entertaining second, with fine performances from Bloom, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton and Jeremy Irons.

Still, you wish Scott had been more daring, offered more of a comment on the times, but really, in the end, nothing he does thematically competes with his rhythmic swordplay or with the many catapults that ultimately show up at the walls of Jerusalem. As their huge, fiery globes sail across the sky and hit their mark with devastating force, the audience at my screening was finally moved as Scott meant to move them – forward in their seats.

Grade: B-

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the new archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at christopher@week

inrewind.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl In 3-D – -D-

Alexander – C

The Amityville Horror – C-

A Very Long Engagement – A

The Aviator – A

Bad Education – A

Batman Anthology – A-

Batman Begins – A

Beauty Shop – C-

Bride & Prejudice – B

The Brown Bunny – C

Cinderella: Platinum Edition – A

Constantine – C-

Crash – D

Cursed – C-

Cypher – C+

Desperate Housewives: Complete First Season – B+

The Devil’s Rejects – B

A Dirty Shame – B

Empire Falls – C-

Fever Pitch – A-

Flight Of The Phoenix – C-

George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead – B

Guess Who – C+

Hammer Horror Series – A

Hide and Seek – C

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – B-

Hostage – C-

House of D – D

House of Flying Daggers – A

Inside Deep Throat – B+

Ice Princess – B-

The Interpreter – B+

Kicking and Screaming – C

Kingdom of Heaven – B-

Kung Fu Hustle – A

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – D+

The Longest Yard – C

A Lot Like Love – D

Martha Stewart’s Holiday Collection 2005 – B+

Million Dollar Baby – A

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous – C+

Monster-in-Law – B-

The Notebook – B+

Ray – A

The Ring Two – C-

Robots – C-

Sahara – C-

The Sea Inside – A-

Sin City – A-

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – B

Upside of Anger – B

Unleashed – C-

The Wedding Date – B