Nick Park worked alongside Aardman Animation to produce the “Lip Synch” series and he created “Creature Comforts” to contribute towards the series. Also they helped finish Nick’s “Wallace and Gromit” feature length film “A Grand Day Out”. Nick also worked along side the Aardman co-director Peter Lord on the animated, feature length film of “Chicken Run”. He co-directed and co-wrote the new “Wallace and Gromit” movie. “The Curse of the Ware Rabbit” with Peter Lord the co-founder of Aardman Animation and creator of the plastercine figure of “Morph”.
Nick Park aims his films mostly at adults but children can enjoy them as well. The adults respond to the more sophisticated elements of the films’ humour with the children responding to the broad comedy of the films’ humour. Nick included humour in all of his “Wallace and Gromit” feature length films, so that all the family can enjoy his films. For example the film “The Wrong Trousers” 1993 animated film has got sophisticated humour in it for adults which children won’t understand but Nick has put sections in his films which do appeal to children. The humour of all Nick’s feature length films come from what the characters say and their actions. All the “Wallace and Gromit” films can be watched over and over again and still be extremely funny, because every time you watch them you find bits and pieces you missed the first time and so you get different meanings every time.
Nick Park has a sense of pride when he’s creating his animations. He loves art and writing stories, especially ones with a strong comedy theme. Basically Nick just wanted to make people laugh when they where reading his stories. He was encouraged by both his parents and teachers. Nick’s notebook at school was covered in cartoons which got the attention of one of his teachers. They didn’t support what Nick was doing and told him that he wouldn’t make a living out of cartoons. “It’s just not art” they said, but Nick proved them wrong. Nick has loved cartoons since he was a child not because they were a lot of fun but he was intrigued to know how they were made.
Nick was influenced and inspired by Ray Harryhousen’s films, Terry Gilliam’s abrupt cut out animation for “Monty Python” and Bob Godfrey’s shakily drawn “Rhubarb series”.
Nick used different techniques in his work. He used a basic notebook to produce a flip book for the debut of “Walter the Rat” which was showed Walter walking along, drinking cider and falling over. Nick had to try this again but he tried it in felt cut out characters on a felt covered background which became the making of the film “Rat the Beanstalk”. Nick also tried cel animation using tracing paper as he couldn’t afford proper cels. Nick also used puppets and clay animations in the makings of his films. He used clay plastercine in the making of “Wallace and Gromit” films.
Nick produced two animated films using puppets which were never completed. He also made one completed film using chalk on a blackboard which was an alternative version of “Jack and the Beanstalk”.
Nick also uses marketing to raise interest in his films like “Wallace and Gromit”. He sells memorabilia of the films like cups, figures, films, games etc. So he also makes money not only by his fab feature length films but also by his memorabilia products. Nick also bumps up his ratings on his films because he’s known all over the world so he also sells his products not just in the UK but all over the world.
Nick started with clay plastercine to produce his characters of “Wallace and Gromit” and they took 10 years before the figures were first moulded. To produce his feature length films Nick had to move the clay models carefully so that a two second footage would end up taking a whole day. Despite the fact 30 cameras were rolling all day everyday with 30 animators working on 30 different sets.
Unfortunately for Nick and Aardman Animations the fire at their Bristol storage unit lost many of their original sets and figures from the movies “Chicken Run”, “Creature Comforts” and three of “Wallace and Gromit’s” short feature length films. Luckily though the materials of the new “Wallace and Gromit” feature length film “The Curse of the Ware Rabbit” wasn’t in storage at the time of the fire. Nick didn’t think it was that much of a big deal even though it was dreadful. Nick and Aardman animation went on to produce pop videos, adverts, short films and two feature length films after the tragic fire at the Bristol storage unit.
Nick adores his creations of “Wallace and Gromit” so much he would rather make more films about the outrageous, eccentric, wensleydale cheese loving inventor, Wallace and his faithful companion Gromit, than any of his over characters like “Walter the Rat”. Even though it has been 10 years since “Wallace and Gromit” film “A Close Shave”, he is adamant that he has never stopped thinking about them and he would never change the size or anything else about his beloved pair. Even though Nick mentioned in his workshop, that at first he wanted a man and his cat, but then Nick came up with Gromit the dog he has never had. Thanks to Nick and the financial muscle of Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks studios, they invested a whopping £30 million to let the eccentric Wensleydale cheese loving inventor and his faithful companion feature in their first feature length movie “The Curse of the Were Rabbit”. The “Wallace and Gromit” movie “The Curse of the Were Rabbit” has a lot of CGI parts in it unlike Nick’s previous work. Nick says though that “ the films will never go 100% CGI because I work better in clay plastercine and Wallace and Gromit work much better in clay plastercine than anything else even though its hard work”.
Nick says “if you want to become a successful director and animator, you have to be slightly mad and need to know what you want; also you need good ideas, a sense of story telling and a vision of how to execute it”. He also thinks “when you watch animations on television for years and think it is quite cheesy thing. It’s so glitzy but when you’re there doing the animations yourself, your heart is in your mouth and you take it really seriously because it starts to actually matter”
My opinion about Nick Park is that he is a genius and he influences and inspires me to become an animator because I absolutely love his work especially “Wallace and Gromit”. I also like the fact that he doesn’t do things like other animators do like using only CGI. I also admire the fact that Nick doesn’t care how long his films take to shoot and the fact all he wants to do is make people laugh and see the humourous side in life.
