Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers

Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers

Aardman Animations

Released 1989 (A Grand Day Out), 1993 (The Wrong Trousers)

Director & Writer: Nick Park

Starring: Peter Sallis

Unrated

Grade:  4/5

Today we’re going old school. And British. We’re looking at two of the original Wallace and Gromit shorts today: A Grand Day Out, and The Wrong Trousers. I was going to watch A Close Shave too, but that short is basically the reason why I don’t watch horror movies and while I’m supposedly an adult, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it, it’s also the least gay of all the original shorts and it’s my blog I can watch if I want to (or not, in this case).

I loved these shorts as a kid. The charm of the stop animation, the simplicity of the characters, their overwhelming Britishness, and how totally gay they are make for some excellent 20-minute storytelling. Wallace and Gromit at are basically the English version of Bert and Ernie. They are domesticated male companions who share a love of cheese! You can’t get much better than that.

These two shorts chronicle their charming inter-species relationship (intersectionality points anyone? Inter-racial metaphor maybe?), it’s ups and downs, and emotional twists and turns. Before we get started, I want to mention this inter-species thing. I’m definitely not talking about equating gayness and bestiality and that whole anti-gayness arguement. There’s actually some interesting scholarship on fictional human-animal relationships as metaphors in queer coming of age stories. Kathryn Bond Stockton talks about girls and dogs (think movies like Lassie) as codified lesbian relationships. So…there’s that.

A Grand Day Out is the first ever Wallace and Gromit short film and I couldn’t get enough of it as a kid.

One small step for man, one giant leap for claymation

The story is simple. Wallace and Gromit are trying to figure out where to go for the upcoming bank holiday (that’s a long weekend for all you American dweebs out there, jk HAPPY almost FOURTH OF JULY!). Wallace realizes they are out of cheese. OH THE HORROR! And he wants to go on a cheese vacation! Cause, duh. They decide to build a rocket ship so they can taste some delicious moon cheese, cause everyone knows the moon is made of cheese. 

Say cheese!

They get themselves to the moon (which apparently has oodles of gravity) with Wallace’s inventing genius brain and sample its cheesy offerings. But there’s a robot on the moon! And it really doesn’t want them to steal any moon cheese. While they escape in their rocket ship, the robot tries to stowaway, but it messes up while trying to keep them from going and it gets all robot-y sad until it fashions itself a pair of metal skis from parts of the rocket ship that got left behind and everyone is happy.  Wallace and Gromit head home with their cheese-y conquest.

Hmmmm, tastes a bit crater-y

This first look at the brilliance of Wallace and Gromit introduces us to their charming dynamic. They do everything together and are the very definition of true companionship. They invent together. They holiday together. They picnic on the moon together. And they share an epic love of cheese. #relationshipgoals

If that’s not gay AF, then idk what is.

Next up is The Wrong Trousers, by far my favourite. 

We start off with Wallace and Gromit’s morning routine full of funny Wallace contraptions like the bed that turns into a slide and slips him straight into his chair at the breakfast table where another contraption dresses him while he eats his toast. The simple brilliance. I really wanted that machine as a kid. It would have made mornings so much easier. And then it’s Gromit’s birthday! Wallace presents him with a pair of electronic trousers he can wear and do cool things in like walk on the ceiling. And then they get a new roommate? Still a bit iffy on how that part happens, oh well. It’s a penguin! Yup. But it’s an evil penguin who takes over Gromit’s room and basically ruins everything. The penguin traps Wallace in his own electric trouser invention. 

This is not what I expected from yoga...

Gromit spies on the penguin and figures out that it’s trying to steal diamonds from a museum! The penguin’s a jewel thief! And it’s going to make Wallace steal the diamond while he’s wearing the trousers! Penguin mayhem ensues and Gromit ends up saving the day! Yay Gromit! Boo penguin!

This short is the gayest. Wallace and Gromit live in simple domestic bliss. Their routine is down pat. Gromit knits while Wallace reads the morning paper. Ah, wedded bliss. I think it’s fascinating (despite perpetuating gender roles) that Wallace and Gromit take on these gendered stereotypes of married life, even though they are both male (and supposedly in a non-romantic relationship). Any romantic parallels magnify when the penguin comes into the picture. It’s totally mimics the break up narrative. Gromit gets ousted from his room by the penguin, then gets kicked outside into the dog house where he watches Wallace and the penguin have a nice candle-lit dinner. Gromit packs up his things in a bandana, ties it to a stick (FYI, it is very difficult to get this to work, my 5-year-old self can attest to it), picks up a picture with him and Wallace, cries all the sad break up tears, and leaves his home in the rain. 

Nooooobody knows, the trouble I've seen

But then Wallace realizes that the stupid penguin is evil and makes up with Gromit and all is right with the world again. They are OTP through and through.

MVQ: The moon robot. It’s just so happy on its metal moon skis!

I'm pretty sure this is where Pixar got the idea for Wall-e...

OTP: Do I even need to say Wallace and Gromit? What’s their ship name? Womit? Grollace?

Favorite moment: The train scene in The Wrong Trousers is seriously epic.

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid

Disney Animation

Film released 1989

Directors: Ron Clements & John Musker

Writers: John Musker & Ron Clements

Based on the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen

Music & Lyrics: Alan Menken & Howard Ashman

Starring: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Samuel E Wright, Kenneth Mars

Rated: G

Grade:  3/5

We’re back to the classics today!

Let’s dive into the deep with this one.

First, we’ve got the walking and talking human world with Prince Eric and his regal cohorts. Then, we’ve got the swimming and fishies of the underwater world, complete with trident.

Queer vs norm is always difficult when we are dealing with two worlds because the main character usually transitions from one world to another. Let’s start at the beginning with Ariel.

Evidence of Ariel’s queerness lies in her love for Eric (it’s kind of creepy stalker love, but oh well), Trident’s reaction to it, and finally Ursula. Let’s break it down.

Ariel is a total misfit amongst her royal mermaid family.  She’s late for her singing debut, she doesn’t hang out with her fellow mer-teens. She’s also a total hoarder. But most of all, she wants to be where the people are. Not mer-people. People-people. She dreams of a place completely out of her reach, outside of her world. She dreams of a home for her queerness.  “Part of Your World” is Ariel’s ode to her queerness and her longing for a place where she can be herself.  

I whip my hair back and forth

It reminds me of the period in my life where I was out to myself and started exploring my queerness, but I was still hiding my L Word Netflix history and hadn’t really come out yet. I collected gay culture, researched, and read anything Google would point me to on “how to be a lesbian,” but I wasn’t actually a part of that world yet.

Side note: I wonder about the implications of a trans* interpretation here, of a girl who grows up feeling like she is somehow in the wrong body; that she should have legs instead of a fin….interesting.

This little piggy went to the gay bar...

And major points to Ariel for taking up the hero’s mantle and saving Prince Eric, her damsel in distress. At first I thought this was really subversive and cool, but taking another look at it, Disney is mostly just abiding by ancient mermaid mythology where the mermaid saves the drowning human-dude. Well, points for sticking to a vaguely feminist history of mythology?

Lose some weight, why dontcha?

On to dear old dad. When King Trident finds out about her secret human love and her collection of bits and bobs and thingamawhatsits, he flips his shit. His reaction to Ariel’s forbidden love (sound familiar) represents old school homophobic ideals that are still very real. This mentality gets out kids kicked out on the street, or in Ariel’s case, left out at sea.

You can't sit with us

And who comes to save her? Ursula. Or, The Drag Mother Supreme. Did you know that Ursula’s character design was modeled off of the noted drag queen Divine?!? Cool, right? 

Weeeeerk

But, she’s another queer villain. Ugh. Again? Disney? I’m getting pretty tired of this trope. At least she has a kickass song? But what’s interesting about her very clear queerness in her animation is that she facilitates Ariel’s transition from the underwater world to the human world.  Ursula acts as a kind of queer guide. While she fulfills Ariel’s queer wish (within the underwater world) to get rid of her fins in lieu of legs, she forces Ariel to maintain a queer status (in the human world) by taking her voice. Ariel’s differently-abled-ness (and obvious cultural naivety) keep her queer. And that’s all Ursula’s doing.

But, despite Ariel’s queerness, her character just completely falls flat in the second half of the movie. 

My bow is as big as my face...

She loses all her agency (not that she had tons to begin with) and drive and the whole thing turns into a bitch fest between her and Ursula as her human alter-ego and the movie gets way less interesting and a little emotionally scarring between the lack of consent in “Kiss The Girl” and Ursula turning into a ship-wrecking monster.

But Sebastian always manages to keep it real.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

MVQ: First half of the movie Ursula, not human-Ursula or monster-Ursula.

OTP: Sebastian and the French cook. It’s the classic he’s-mean-to-you-because-he-has-a-crush-on-you schoolyard scenario. Except the stakes are a little bit higher.

Favorite Moment: “Part of Your World” takes the cake.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Studio Ghibli (Walt Disney Home Video)

Film released 1989 (Rereleased by Disney in 1998)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Based on the book by Eiko Kadono

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Debbie Reynolds, Phil Hartman, Matthew Lawrence, and lots of Japanese voice actors (for the Japanese version, obvi)

Rated: G

Grade: 4.5/5 (only because there are no openly LGBTQ characters)

We’re going to JAPAN this week!

Miyazaki is HANDS DOWN one of the best animated storytellers of our time. Period. While I love Spirited Away and fell back in love with him with Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki will always hold a special place in my heart as my childhood favourite.

I'll have what he's having

Confession: Before last night, I hadn’t watched this movie in eons. And boy was I missing out. 
This movie is a feminist masterpiece. It’s one of those hidden gems, buried under years of watching male-driven animated features, but I am here to resurrect your worn VHS of yesteryear.  Press stop, rewind, wait for an hour, annnnnnd let’s play!

Quick recap for those who forgot the plot (like me a mere 24 hours ago). For those of you who have yet to discover this glorious piece of Japanese cinema GET ON THAT SHIT! If I could find it on the internet, so can you.

We start by meeting Kiki, our thirteen year-old female protagonist (how many times do I get to say that? Too few, that’s how many) who is a witch, which is a totally normal thing in this world! Here, witches leave home to train for a year in a foreign city on their thirteenth birthday. So Kiki jets off on her mom’s broom with her best sassy feline friend, Jiji. They find a pretty coastal city (the animation was inspired by a bunch of European cities like Stockholm, Lisbon, Paris, and Milan) where they are initially put off by big city life. They eventually find a friendly pregnant woman, Osono, who let’s them stay in her spare attic room in return for keeping an eye on the shop and then Kiki decides to start her own delivery service! She basically just flies around on her broom like a one-woman postal service, making lots of friends along the way. The film follows the trials and tribulations of a young witch just trying to find her place in the world. And the animation is gorgeous, btw.

I am Kiki! Watch me flyyyyyy!

First, let’s talk about how the characters in the film are basically ALL women. There are only four. I REPEAT ONLY FOUR! Recurring male characters. ONE OF THEM IS A CAT AND ANOTHER BARELY SPEAKS! Holy guacamole. No wonder I liked this movie as a closeted seven year-old.

Next, Kiki is a witch! I’ve already talked a bit about how entangled witches are in lesbian cultural symbols, history, the whole she-bang (did you enjoy that pun as much as I did? Maybe not…moving on). Modern example: Willow in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, historical example: all that horrible stuff that went down in Salem, Mass way back when (and all the witch burning in Europe). Maybe I'll do a separate post on that...

Kiki’s world treats witches in a really interesting way. At first, we are in a world of witches. Kiki’s a burgeoning witch, her mom is a witch who whips up a damn good potion, and witch traditions are well-known facts. Being a witch who does witchy things is totally normal. But then Kiki takes off and leaves home, she finds a place where she is the only witch. Being a witch isn’t so normal anymore. She has to adjust to her newfound isolation. What interests me is the witch cultural adage here that this year of training (read: isolation) is a necessary part of becoming a full-fledged witch. (How many times can I say witch in one post?) When I think of someone who must undergo a year of training for whatever skill they are trying to cultivate, the narrative is that they go off to train with someone, usually an older and wiser mentor figure. But not in Kiki’s world. Her teacher is her isolation. Her teacher is her queerness in an unfamiliar world. She must learn to survive and thrive as the only one of her kind. And boy does she struggle, but she comes out stronger for it. How fucking prolific is that?

I also think it’s really cool that she, a THIRTEEN YEAR-OLD GIRL is allowed to leave home by herself for a full year. Now, this is just totally unheard of in our modern world. Young people are rarely given any kind of agency over their own lives, let alone a young girl. It’s refreshing to see a young strong willed and totally independent young person take control over her life and thrive.

She’s also an ENTREPRENEUR! She starts her own delivery business and she makes money doing it! That’s a huge feat in itself. And the fact that young girls can watch another young girl take the initiative and start her own relatively profitable business is HUGE.  

That'll be five cents please

Now here comes the lesbian speculation (you knew it was coming). Kiki meets a lot of interesting people on her deliveries. Three people stood out to me. 

There are the two older women who live in a fancy house. The house’s owner, only known as Madame, calls on Kiki’s services to deliver a herring pie (I guess that’s a thing?) to her niece for her birthday. Madame lives with her “friend” Barsa who runs around helping them make the pie and the reason for her presence is never discussed. I guess you’re supposed to think she’s a maid of some sort? All I know is that they are definitely big ‘ol homos. Dispute me, I dare ya. These two are lovely little old ladies living out their days together in their big fancy house away from judgmental prying eyes.  

This is my man-swatting broom

And there’s Ursula, the kick-ass artist who lives with the crows (yeah, she’s a bird lady) in the middle of the forest who ends up becoming a close friend to Kiki and gives her important advice when she’s down in the dumps and (spoilers!) loses her flying powers for a hot sec. Ursula is the coolest. And rewatching the movie now, it is refreshing to see a representation of a young queer twentysomething being a friend to her young compatriot. Ursula lives alone in the wilderness with no man in sight. She’s a free artistic spirit in touch with nature. And she’s not afraid to talk about her struggles, both personal and artistic. She tells Kiki about her art and her self-doubt and reveals her complexities as another vulnerable and complicated woman. What a good role model.

Paint me like one of your french women

You might have noticed I’ve barely talked about the boys in the movie. The mere four male representations include: a cat, Osono’s (the pregnant baker’s) muscley husband who barely speaks and pretty much just makes bread the whole movie, Kiki’s father who is a lovely human who is only in the first scene and the epilogue, and Kiki’s “romantic” interest (they’re only thirteen so he’s more of a friend interest), Tombo, whose advances she totally brushes off. Although his relentless pursuit of Kiki is a little creepy, he actually ends up being a good friend to her, he’s got these cute little glasses (I’ll always dole out some extra points for my fellow glasses-wearers), and he’s the damsel in distress during the climactic moment of the movie! Kiki pulls a superhero move and saves his life, literally catching him mid-air as he falls to his death from a rogue blimp. Pause to appreciate the brilliant gender role reversal. All hail Miyazaki, the secret feminist genius.

Kiki my love, Kiki my love, Kiki my loo-oooove

Also, Jiji, the cat, is the sassiest BFF ever.

Black cats are the masters of throwing shade

Fun fact courtesy of IMDB: The film takes place in an alternate reality version of the 1950s Europe where WWI and WWII never happened! Talk about utopic!

MVQ: Osono, the pregnant baker, is the story’s unsung hero, supporting Kiki and her business ventures, taking care of her when she’s sick, and putting a roof over her head.

OTP: Ursula and the pretty lady down the street who frequents the bakery. My theory is that they had a nasty breakup over Ursula’s need to move to the forest to commune with nature and the pretty lady didn’t want to sacrifice her career in fashion.  Just a theory.

Favorite moment: Kiki’s superhero moment saving Tombo. Epic. So epic. 

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a girl!