Take Away English-The World of Animation 动画世界

Wallace and Gromit: a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic

British films are rarely successful in the United States. However, the animated¹ adventures of a cheese-loving, eccentric inventor and his canine² companion are proving to be a surprise hit in America, having taken the number one position in the US box office on the weekend of its release.

In a year which has seen poor ticket sales for big-budget, action movies it seems that the gentle, quirky humour of ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ has captured the American public’s imagination.

Although Wallace and Gromit have been stars in the UK for a number of years, they are less well-known abroad. For those who don’t know, Wallace is a hare-brained inventor with a passion for Wensleydale cheese. Gromit is his wily dog. Both are clay models brought to life through the painstaking³ process of stop-motion animation⁴.

Their creator, Nick Park, dreamed them up whilst still a student at the National Film and Television School in the 1980s. Their first film ‘A Grand Day Out’ began as his graduation film and was completed whilst working for his first employers, Aardman Animations⁵.

Since then their rise has been steady but slow. Because the technique of stop-motion animation is so labour intensive, typically producing two seconds of film per day’s work, Wallace and Gromit films are few and far between. They have appeared in only three half-hour films for television and ten one-minute films specially⁶ made for the Internet.

Nevertheless, they have received a great deal of critical acclaim⁷. Their first film was nominated for an Oscar whilst their second and third outings ‘The Wrong Trousers’ and ‘A Close Shave’ both won Oscars.

Hollywood came calling in 2000 when Aardman Animations made a five-movie deal with Steven Spielberg’s film studio Dreamworks. ‘The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ has taken four years and a reported $30 million to make, and features the voices of international stars Helena Bonham-Carter and Ralph Fiennes.

Despite hitting the big time, one thing hasn’t changed since their earliest days. Wallace’s voice remains⁸ that of veteran, sit-com actor Peter Sallis. Sallis first agreed to take the role after receiving a letter from then student Nick Park and an offer of a £50 donation to the charity of his choice.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
eccentric inventor 怪异（异想天开）的发明者 quirky humour 风格独特的戏剧 clay models 粘土偶 stop-motion animation 定格动画 labour intensive 劳动力密集的 critical acclaim 高度评价 came calling 主动找上门来的 then student 当时做学生的	canine companion 小狗伙伴 wily 诡计多端的 painstaking 艰苦的 dreamed them up 构思 few and far between 少见的 outings 形象 hitting the big time 一举成名

 

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

3 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

4 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

5 animations   

n.生气( animation的名词复数 )；兴奋；动画片；（指电影、录像、电脑游戏的）动画制作

参考例句：

• You'll see your team cheerleaders and mascot performing new animations as well. 你会看到啦啦队队长跟吉祥物也都会有全新的动作。 来自互联网
• Ability to create simple movie and animations using graphic & multimedia software. 能够用平面和多媒体软件制作简单的电影及动画。 来自互联网

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。