Aardman has revealed 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 favourite 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; a partnership between Aardman and the Cartoon Museum in London, showcasing Wallace & Gromit artwork over the years with a never before seen exhibition, plus public events; the launch of a new themed escape room adventure called A Grand Way Out at Locked In A Room in Bristol; and 30 performances of The Wrong Trousers with live orchestral accompaniment (staged by Carrot Productions), taking place all over the UK.
The celebrations will coincide with the production of a new Wallace & Gromit film – the first since 2008’s A Matter of Loaf and Death, which was the UK’s most-viewed TV programme of the 2000s with over 16.2 million viewers tuning in to watch.
The new, as yet untitled adventure will premiere exclusively on Netflix around the world except in the UK, where it will debit first on the BBC before also 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 (or paws-on) within the world of Wallace & Gromit and truly 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,” commented Nick Park. “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 a number of new products and ranges from the likes of Licensed to Charm, Paper Engine, Bird & Blend Tea and Carrs Pasties.
There will also be a celebration of Wallace & Gromit’s Wrong Trousers Day on Friday 30 June 2023, 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 will this year have the theme ‘make The Wrong Trousers right’. Budding inventors will be tasked with the challenge of re-inventing Wallace’s ‘Techno-Trousers’ and turning them into something that can do good for our planet. The competition will be supported by teaching resources, home study packs and a series of events in partnership with regional science centres and museums.
In addition, there will be an expanded retail presence, particularly at HMV stores across the UK; screenings across the UK of The Wrong Trousers with the soundtrack performed live by the WFEL Fairey Band, one of the world’s finest brass bands; plus model making workshops taking place at family festivals all over the UK.
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