I'm thankful

[Carrie]

You sound busy!

Mmmm, drinking.

I think I'm going to make myself a daiquiri tonight. I've been craving one since Lil Red mentioned it.

[Proud2BCatholic139]

I'm thankful for good Catholic friends who support what I beleive in.

[scardella]

I'm thankful that I'm going to get out of the house this weekend. Wallace and Gromit, here I come!

[Cow of Shame]

Did you hear that their studio burnt down & they lost all the props & older stuff from the other movies & shorts? All they have left is the pieces from the most recent movie...


Tuesday, October 11, 2005 · Last updated 8:39 a.m. PT

'Wallace & Gromit' archive ruined in fire

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRISTOL, England -- Fire destroyed a priceless archive of Aardman Animations props, sets and models early Monday, just hours after the company learned that its animated clay movie stars Wallace and Gromit had topped the U.S. box office.

The blaze gutted an Aardman warehouse in this western English city. On Sunday, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" finished No. 1 in the United States on its opening weekend. It grossed $16.1 million in ticket sales.

"Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, with the news that Wallace and Gromit had gone in at number one at the U.S. box office, but instead our whole history has been wiped out," Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff said. "It's turned out to be a terrible day."

The Avon Fire and Rescue service said the roof and three interior walls of the Victorian warehouse collapsed. The cause of the fire was being investigated.

Sheriff said the warehouse contained sets, props and models from all the company's past productions, from the children's cartoon character "Morph" through the Oscar-winning, anthropomorphic "Creature Comforts" series to the Wallace and Gromit films.

Aardman said the sets and props from "Curse of the Were-Rabbit," the first full-length adventure for the eccentric inventor and his indomitable dog, were not caught in the blaze.

Wallace and Gromit's creator, Nick Park, said the earthquake in South Asia helped put the loss into perspective.

"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal," he said.

Founded in 1972, Aardman is closely associated with animator Park, who joined in 1986, fresh out of film school.

Park used stop-motion clay animation to create coagulated milk-loving inventor Wallace and his mute but resourceful dog Gromit. They starred in three shorts - "A Grand Day Out" (1989), "The Wrong Trousers" (1993) and "A Close Shave" (1995). The latter two won Academy Awards.

Park and Aardman's Peter Lord also directed the 2000 feature "Chicken Run," which spoofed the World War II prison-camp classic "The Great Escape" with a cast of clay poultry.