A Close Shave (1995)
★★★½ — A Close Shave (1995)
The third Wallace and Gromit short from Nick Park and Aardman Animations, A Close Shave arrived in 1995 as a co-production between Aardman and BBC Bristol, continuing the partnership that had already yielded A Grand Day Out (1989) and The Wrong Trousers (1993), the latter of which had won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Park, who had been developing his signature plasticine aesthetic since his student days at the National Film School, was by this point firmly established as the leading figure in British stop-motion animation. The short took roughly two years to produce, the painstaking frame-by-frame process being standard for Aardman's work, and it screened on BBC One before going on to win Park a second consecutive Oscar in the same category.
A Close Shave (1995) is Aardman at its most effortlessly charming, a 30-minute stop-motion gem that packs more wit, warmth, and visual invention into half an hour than most features manage in two. Wallace, ever the hapless romantic, falls for the lovely Wendolene while Gromit (silent, soulful, and infinitely resourceful) uncovers a woolly conspiracy involving sheep-napping and a sinister robotic dog named Preston. The animation is tactile perfection: every knit jumper, every tuft of sheep's wool, every expressive eyebrow raise from Gromit feels lovingly handcrafted. The gags land with clockwork precision (that washing machine escape sequence!) and the pacing is brisk. This is the short that gifted the world Shaun the Sheep, who'd go on to headline his own wildly successful franchise, arguably eclipsing his origins in popularity. A testament to how richly imagined even the background characters are in Aardman's universe. Just shy of The Wrong Trousers' flawless heist-thriller tension, but still a masterclass in miniature storytelling. Funny, inventive, and brimming with heart. Proof that the best family entertainment speaks to all ages without a single condescending note.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1995 | Watched: 2026-03-16
Where to watch (UK)
Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Nick Park: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) · Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) · A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) · A Grand Day Out (1989)
More with Peter Sallis: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) · A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) · A Grand Day Out (1989) · The Wrong Trousers (1993)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
