The Wrong Trousers (Nick Park, 1993)

Narrative Structure

Its Gromit’s birthday, and Wallace has spent every last copper on his companion at the expense of his bank balance so decides to let out a room. Along comes a penguin, who instantly clashes with Gromit and takes a liking to his present, a pair of robotic trousers. Unknown to them, the penguin is a criminal out to exploit their hospitality as he attempts to steal a diamond by tearing Wallace away from his friends. After a long chase and an successful diamond operation, the penguin is captured a placed in the only place worse than jail for a penguin, a zoo.

Genre

The film genre fits into the comedy category.

Editing

Editing is simple but effective. Shot reverse shot is most commonly used during conversations between characters whilst the pace of the editing increases in scenes such as the train chase at the end of the film to create a thrilling feeling for the audience as they attempt to catch the criminal penguin.

Mise-en-scene

The house has a basic design with colourful furniture and wallpaper but what sets it apart from the other locations in the film is the collection of abstract gadgets such as the wake-up call machine where Wallace presses a button which engages the machine that gets him dressed instantaneously and serves him breakfast.

Mise-en-scene is often used for a comedic effect but still has a genuine purpose in the scene as the characters’ ingenuity allows them to succeed in capturing the criminal. The lamp on Gromit’s head, the rolling pin and gun and the cardboard box are all used to aid in his capture, using the lamp to shield from the bullets and the rolling pin to appear intimidating only to have a gun pulled on him.

Performance

The performance is quiet and controlled at times but then becomes overexaggerated in certain circumstances such as when Wallace bounces in the trousers down the street above houses for a comedic effect.

The only dialogue in the film comes from Wallace with Gromit having no dialogue so his personality is reflected through his facial expressions at what is being said or what is happening to convey emotion and create sympathy.

Meaning and Response

The film has a unique look due to its plasticine appearance which means that the filmmaker can be more creative with their style and express ideas that would be difficult to show in the real world. This also allows for a set design that can be manipulated with ease so that the characters can move about more freely without pushing the absurdity of the film to the point where nothing is believable.