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License Global

January 24, 2023

3 Min Read
The Wrong Trousers x Olympia Le Tan designer clutch.
The Wrong Trousers x Olympia Le Tan designer clutch.Aardman Animation

Animation studio, Aardman, has announced its plans for the 30th anniversary celebrations of “Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers.” 

Released in 1993, “The Wrong Trousers” was the first film starring the duo to win an Oscar and introduced fan favorite, Feathers McGraw, a villainous penguin with ambitions to put Wallace’s inventions to criminal use. 

Highlights of the 30th anniversary year include: 

  • The release of a limited edition The Wrong Trousers x Olympia Le Tan designer clutch bag featuring Wallace wearing his Techno-Trousers alongside Gromit and Feathers McGraw. Only 77 of these clutches will be made. 

  • A partnership between Aardman and the Cartoon Museum in London, showcasing “Wallace & Gromit” artwork over the years with a never-before-seen exhibition and public events. The exhibition will open in September and run until April 2024. The Cartoon Museum will also be running multiple events for the public from August 2023.

  • The launch of a new Wallace & Gromit-themed escape room adventure called “A Grand Way Out” at Locked In A Room. The adventure has been piloted at Locked In A Room, Bristol’s largest escape game experience located on Millennium Square, and two further rooms will open in March.

  • Thirty performances of “The Wrong Trousers” with live orchestral accompaniment, staged by Carrot Productions, taking place all over the U.K. 

Related:Aardman Animation Partners with Primus for Sculptures

The 30th anniversary celebrations coincide with the production of a new Wallace & Gromit film – the first since 2008’s “A Matter of Loaf and Death.” The new, as-yet-untitled adventure will premiere exclusively on Netflix around the world except in the U.K., where it will debut on the BBC before coming to Netflix. It is set for release in 2024. 

Also currently in production is an interactive, narrative-led, single-player VR experience for the Meta Quest all-in-one VR headset. “The Grand Getaway” will enable users to walk around, explore and get hands-on within the world of Wallace & Gromit and be a part of the pair’s adventures for the first time. 

“It’s very exciting to have some brand-new Wallace & Gromit stories in the works as we celebrate the anniversary of such an important moment in the characters’ history,” says Nick Park, creator, Wallace & Gromit, Aardman. “‘The Wrong Trousers’ was a special film for all of us at Aardman. It’s wonderful that it continues to find new fans today, and that we can bring those fans more adventures – and more inventions, more mishaps and more problems for Gromit to solve.” 

Further anniversary plans include: 

  • Products and ranges from licensees including jewelry company, Licensed to Charm, paper engineers, Paper Engine, and tea mixology company, Bird & Blend Tea, which is launching a themed tin containing 20 tea bags that have been blended with Wallace & Gromit in mind. A partnership with Carrs Pasties will launch a new Wallace & Gromit-inspired More Cheese, Ham & Jam Pasty, containing a blend of four cheese (Wensleydale, Red Leicester, Mature Cheddar, Mozzarella), pulled ham and caramelized onion.

  • A celebration of Wallace & Gromit’s Wrong Trousers Day on June 30, the annual fundraising event from Aardman’s charity partner, The Grand Appeal, which encourages people to wear their wackiest legwear and donate for the right to look wrong. The Grand Appeal is the dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital. 

  • The annual Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and Aardman Wallace & Gromit’s Cracking Ideas competition, which this year will have the theme, “make The Wrong Trousers right.” Budding inventors will be tasked to re-invent Wallace’s Techno-Trousers and turn them into something that can do good for our planet. 

  • Expanded retail presence for Wallace & Gromit – particularly at HMV stores across the U.K.

  • Screenings across the U.K of “The Wrong Trousers” with the soundtrack performed live by the WFEL Fairey Band, a brass band.

  • Model-making workshops at family festivals all over the U.K., where fans can learn how to make their own Gromit and Feathers McGraw models from modeling clay.

 

About the Author(s)

License Global

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