Agony of Wallace and Gromit creators from catastrophic blaze to sad death
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Christmas is just not the same without snuggling up to watch Wallace and Gromit - ideally with some crackers and a nice slab of Wensleydale. And to end 2024 on a high, the duo have returned to our screens with a brand new adventure, marking their first feature-length offering since A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008). The new film aired on Christmas Day and fans have been raving about the claymation festive offering - Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl - ever since, with the return of malevolent penguin Feathers McGraw sparking plenty of excitement.
However, those tuning into Nick Park's Wigan-set animation this festive season may not realise the dark troubles creators have endured over Wallace and Gromit's eventful 35-year history, from destructive blazes to a loss that changed the series forever...
In 2005, disaster struck when a fire ripped through a storage facility owned by the Oscar-winning Aardman Animations, destroying many of the iconic figures, props, and carefully crafted sets created by the geniuses behind Wallace and Gromit. Peter Lord, one of the founders of Aardman, told The Guardian: "The sets for the Wallace and Gromit films are pieces of art, even when they are not animated because they are so beautifully made. It's very sad to think that they are destroyed.".
The ferocious blaze, which reached heights of 100ft, erupted just as the team was preparing to celebrate the incredible success of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which had just reached the top of the US box office chart. One of the greatest losses was reportedly a complete exhibition of the three Wallace and Gromit short films, which had recently returned to the UK after a tour of Japan. Thankfully, the films themselves had been stored elsewhere.
