Wallace & Gromit Activities

Eccentric inventor Wallace and his long-suffering, highly intelligent dog, Gromit, are two lovable clay-animation characters created by British studio Aardman. By 2011, the company has produced four short films and one feature length movie featuring the pair that all have been nominated for Academy Awards. Three of the films received the coveted Oscar statuette and their appeal reaches beyond age limitations as they are popular among children and adults alike. The films' themes can be used for educational purposes and inspire further activities.

  1. Make Your Own Film

    • Animation software and webcams make it possible for everyone to create their own animated stop-motion films on their computer at home. Children and adults can be encouraged to write a script, create a set in a shoe box and mold their own characters. The animation software allows for taking frame-by-frame pictures of the characters while they are slowly moved around the set. The finished product can then be released on social networking websites. In 2011, webcams cost from $24 and animation software is often offered free online through trial downloads. Professional licensed software cost from $50 to $275.

    Inventions

    • Major components in all the Wallace and Gromit films are the wildly imaginative and frequently dysfunctional inventions by Wallace. These should inspire adults and children to actively create their own inventions, from conceiving an idea to sitting on the drawing board and finally building the contraptions. If the invention is functional, it can be submitted to federal or international competitions for inventors.

    Interactive Games

    • Wallace and Gromit have their own homepage, which offers a variety of activities, including games, forums and workshops. The website also has a monthly competition for worldwide participants where children can send in drawings, inventions and ideas. Other online activities can be found on the websites of television companies that have either co-produced or received the screening rights for the Wallace and Gromit franchise. There are also a variety of console and PC games available that feature the pair in new situations and challenges. Online games are free while console and PC games cost between $2 for secondhand CDs to $76 for new console games.

    Traditional Activities

    • Free coloring in books and pages featuring Wallace and Gromit are available on the Internet, and the pair are used in suggested class activities on many teacher resource websites. Other free activities can include training your pet to do (almost) the same things Gromit can do, or throwing a Wallace and Gromit dress-up party. Crafts activities can include molding Wallace and Gromit figurines from plasticine, or shaping the characters from fondant for cake decorations. Food and cookery websites offer a variety of Wallace and Gromit recipes, mainly with reference to Wallace's cheese consumption, while Baker's Dozen in collaboration with Egmont has released a spiral-bound cookbook that should inspire some hectic activity in the kitchen.

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