Eventually I remembered that putting ducks on things for photographic entertainment was part of my personal brand, and over the past year I’ve made sporadic attempts to keep the project alive.
Mind you, I don’t go very many different places so I don’t always get access to very many new fun things to put a duck upon. When TriMet started rolling out the new contactless payment system equipment, however, it occurred to me that I could at least take advantage of one new opportunity.
Now if only my phone’s camera hadn’t chosen to focus on the map behind the duck…
Originally posted to social media accounts on October 11th, 2016.
A Grand Day Out is the first of the Wallace & Gromit stop-motion animated shorts from Aardman Animations.
What kind of story is it?
A man and his dog build a rocket and travel to the moon in search of cheese.
All ready, just need to light the fuse and remember the crackers.
I mean sure, those stories are a dime a dozen, but trust me: This is the best of its kind.
Why do you like it?
This short film is entertainingly absurd, lands some solid jokes, and is a visual treat. What’s not to like? Also, this firmly establishes Gromit as one of the all-time great silent-partner, long-suffering-look-to-camera characters in all of film. Not bad for a lump of plasticine, am I right?
Lowered gravity, check. Lack of breathable air… well. Never mind that.
What might one not like about it?
The viewer is, yes, asked to suspend a lot of disbelief. All of it, in fact.
I figure these are the real backers of the Moon-cheese expedition.
Other thoughts about it?
I was torn between this one and the subsequent Wallace & Gromit short, The Wrong Trousers, and I decided to go with Grand Day because in a lot of ways it’s the more whimsical and adorable work. TWT is a masterpiece, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot going on and I think it helps to already be familiar with Wallace and Gromit’s style and setup going into it.
In other words, if you watch A Grand Day Out and are left wanting more, go watch The Wrong Trousers immediately. You won’t be sorry. After that you’re on your own; the remaining shorts (and the feature film) are more of the same, albeit kind of hit-or-miss for me.
Where can I watch it?
If you have Amazon Prime, you can queue up the “complete collection” of the shorts for streaming. (Thus, no Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which is the feature film.) Otherwise, I recommend tracking down a shiny platter version.
