Since Wallace and Gromit managed to save the annual giant vegetable-growing competition in their feature film debut, it’s only fitting that their movie should win Rotten Tomatoes’ Golden Tomato award for the Best Reviewed Film of 2005. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit got the most thumbs up from then nation’s critics, whose reviews are compiled on www.rottentomatoes.com.
Directed by Oscar winner Nick Park and Steve Box for Aardman Animations and distributed by DreamWorks Animation, Were-Rabbit garnered a 95% ‘fresh’ rating on the Tomatometer. That impressive score put it solidly ahead of all other 2005 releases, including the Warner Bros.’ faves Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (89%) and Batman Begins (83%), as well as Universal’s King Kong (83%).
The year’s other big stop-motion release, Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, also made the top-ten list, coming in at No. 9 with an 85% fresh rating. The film comes in at No. 2 in the Golden Tomato Animation category, followed by Disney’s release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, Disney’s Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and Fox Animation’s Robots. Disney’s presentation of Vanguard Animation’s Valiant scored lowest with just 24% on the T-meter.
Though beating out all widely released live-action films for the top award is a major coop for Aardman and Dreamworks, it’s nothing new for them. Their first collabortation, the clay-animated Chicken Run, received the Golden Tomato for best reviewed movie of 2000.
Director George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck, a historical account of newsman Edward R. Murrow’s battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy, nabbed 2005’s top award for films in limited release. Golden Globe winner and Oscar frontrunner Brokeback Mountain comes in at No. 13 on the list.
Animation was tops last year as well, with Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles taking the wide-release award with a 96% fresh rating to edge out Sony’s Spider-Man 2. A complete list of this year’s winners can be found at www.rottentomatoes.com/features/rtawards/index_2005.php.
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