Before Netflix took us back to the world of cheese-loving British creators Revenge Most Birdsthe next entry for Aardman’s beloved Wallace and Gromit series, the original TV movies are getting a fresh new release that would have made Wallace grin even more from ear to ear, even if his head hadn’t been shaped like that.
Today Shout Factory has confirmed that they will release a new one Wallace & Gromit collection (aptly called the Complete the Crack Collection) this December, to coincide with Netflix’s release of Revenge Most Birds later this winter. The set includes the four original short films that began the series—in 1989 Big Day Outin 1993 The Wrong Pants (which saw the debut of Revenge Most BirdsReturning antagonist and greatest villain in animation history, Feathers McGraw), 1995 A Close Shaveand 2008 The Story of Bread and Death—and the 2005 theatrical film Curse of the Rabbit.
However, it appears that only four of the short films have been updated for a 4K UHD release, with new remasters and newly remastered soundtracks. While the collection will also include a standard Blu-ray disc with new remasters of Big Day Out, The Wrong Pants, Close the Shaveagain Bread and Deathfiled copy of Curse of the Rabbit included on its own separate Blu-ray disc.
Along with movies, the Crack Collection includes audio commentary for four short films, an interview with Aardman’s Nick Park and Peter Lord, and a series of recently released behind-the-scenes documentaries:
- The Wonderful World of Wallace & Gromit
- Inside Wrong Pants
- A Close Shave – How They Did It
- The Making of Bread and Death – How They Did It
- When Wallace meets Harvey
The collection will also arrive in a box designed like Wallace’s suitcase packed quickly from Big Day Outincluding a visual sticker sheet, photo gallery, and a series of technical blueprints inspired by Wallace’s various creative designs from throughout the series. Although that is a bummer Curse of the Rabbit misses out on the duplicate treatment (especially considering the hefty price tag attached to the deluxe release), this is a great way to get some of the best bits of British animation history in a format that deserves to be seen, before the latest addition to Wallace and Gromit‘s claymation oeuvre.
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Crack Collection is available for pre-order now, ahead of the December 10th release, for $120. Just hold your nose and try not to think about how much cheese you could buy with that instead.
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