Edward Kelsey Movies

Eccentric inventor Wallace (voice of Peter Sallis) and his faithful if often perplexed dog Gromit are back in their first feature-length adventure from animator Nick Park. Wallace and Gromit have launched a new business venture just in time for a major gardening competition in their neighborhood of West Wallaby. "Anti-Pesto" is a humane pest-relocation service in which Wallace and Gromit capture rabbits and other critters who have been eating the produce from local gardens and give them new homes somewhere else. Business has been going well, and when the woman hosting the garden show, Lady Tottington (voice of Helena Bonham Carter), discovers a massive tribe of rabbits has been making a mess of her garden, she calls in Wallace and Gromit to move the bunnies elsewhere. Wallace is quite taken with Lady Tottington, but he's not the only one -- Victor Quartermaine (voice of Ralph Fiennes) is a slick but arrogant upper-class type who wants to win Lady Tottington's hand (and fortune) and is convinced he can do a better job capturing the rabbits than Wallace. However, Wallace's attempts to brainwash the rabbits away from veggies using his latest invention has disastrous results, and soon Wallace has to deal with a beastly bunny as well as a heavily-armed Quartermaine. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit followed Park's previous film with the duo, A Close Shave, by ten years, and was produced after Park broke through to mainstream success with the feature Chicken Run. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The ninth season of the satirical British cartoon series Danger Mouse provides six new adventures for the secret-agent title character and his timorous mole assistant Penfold. "I Spy With My Little Eye" finds Danger Mouse foiling a plot to induce global warming with sun lamps. In "Bigfoot Falls," D.M. and Penfold must elicit the aid of the R.C.M.P. -- Royal Canadian Mounted Podiatrists. Next is the famous "The Statue of Liberty Caper," or more nefarious nickering from the evil Baron Silas Greenback. "Penfold Transformed" is yet another robot-duplicate yarn, featuring the first series appearance by master baddie Dr. Crumhorn. Then there's "A Dune With a Viewer," wherein D.M. and Penfold are stranded in the Sahara by a faulty petrol tank. Finally we offer "Don Coyote and Sancho Penfold," with a plot that is almost as deadly as its title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This spy outing hones in on secret agent Magnus Pym (Peter Egan). Having impersonated so many different people during his career as a British spy, Pym eventually lost track of who he really was -- a confusion compounded by the fact that he knew nothing of his actual past. Ultimately feeling that he could trust no one -- not even his so-called friends -- Pym turned his back on the British and began trading secrets with the Enemy. Filmed on location in England, Europe, and the U.S., the seven-episode A Perfect Spy originally aired in the U.K. in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Danger Mouse was the animated series' shortest to date, yielding only two half-hour episodes. In the first, "Gremlin Alert," resourceful secret agent Danger Mouse and his assistant Penfold face off against the dreaded Illogical Gremlin in order to save the planet's sunlight. And in the second, "'Cor! What a Picture," arch villain Baron Silas Greenback uses his mind-control machine to turn Penfold against Danger Mouse -- and there isn't anything that the Narrator can do about it! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the light of the sale of the satirical cartoon show Danger Mouse to American television, the series' British producers assembled its biggest season yet, with no fewer than 24 episodes in its season six manifest. For openers, there is "Once Upon a Time Slip," in which super-spy Danger Mouse and assistant Penfold are accidentally transported to the future -- by the series' narrator! Later adventures take our heroes to Stonehenge, Egypt, Mexico, and the Swiss Alps. Also on deck are a musical adventure (with "singing credits"), a sneeze that causes the sneezer to change costumes with each ker-choo, a recalcitrant car that threatens to spoil Danger Mouse's award ceremony, a toadying henchman helpfully taking over the villainy when the sinister Baron Greenback takes a long-overdue vacation, and Penfold's brief career as a caped superhero. The season's final episode is "Journey to the Earth's...'Cor," wherein Danger Mouse tries to stem noise pollution at the center of the earth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The animated secret agent satire Danger Mouse enters its fourth season with nine new episodes, originally seen on British television in 1983. First up is "The Wild Wild Goose Chase," which allows the daring-and-resourceful Danger Mouse to utilize his new Computerized Hideout Locator. In "The Return of Count Duckula," Danger Mouse and his sidekick Penfold square off against another Cosgrove-Hall cartoon creation, while Parliament is hit with a bad case of showbiz fever. "Demons Aren't Dull" elucidates its title with a foray into the fourth dimension. "150 Million Years Lost" is the result of another misbegotten invention of dotty Professor Squakenduck. "The Planet of the Cats" is a takeoff of guess what. (Hint: "you blew it up, darn you to heck!") In "Four Heads Are Better Than Two," a robot Penfold causes trouble for Danger Mouse while a robot Danger Mouse causes trouble for Penfold. (Didn't The Flintstones do this one?) "Tower of Terror" takes place in a Manhattan skyscraper."The Great Bone Idol" chronicles the chaotic results of when Count Duckula joins forces with the evil Baron Silas Greenback. And Penfold unexpectedly saves the day in "Public Enemy No. 1." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of the animated British spy-spoof series Danger Mouse offers five new episodes starring the dauntless, eye-patched title character and his nervous assistant, Penfold the mole. The opener is "The Invasion of Colonel K," in which the evil Baron Greenback shrinks himself to do a Fantastic Voyage number on Danger Mouse's boss. Up next is "Danger Mouse Saves the World...Again," or the one with the floating signposts. "The Odd Ball Runaround" finds Danger Mouse and Penfold on a top secret mission in Australia (a good place for secrets, since no one goes there), Up next is the unbelievable "The Strange Case of the Ghost Bus." And last but not least, our hero prepares to go deep in the heart of Texas (clap-clap-clap-clap) during his "Trip to America." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twelve episodes of the satirical British cartoon series Danger Mouse were dished up during the show's inaugural season in 1981. The opener, "Rogue Robots," details Danger Mouse's first confrontation with the sinister and somewhat dyspeptic Baron Silas Greenback. Episode number two, "Who Stole the Bagpipes" is actually a reworking of the series' never-shown pilot episode "The Mystery of the Lost Chord," originally produced in 1979. "The Trouble With Ghosts" finds Danger Mouse and his timorous sidekick Penfold taking a working vacation to Transylvania. "The Chicken Run" features the first appearance of absent-minded boffin Professor Skwakencluck. "The Martian Misfit" is yet another Baron Greenback-generated diabolical diversion, as are "The Dream Machine," "Die Laughing," "The World of Machines," and "Ice Station Camel." The plot of "Lord of the Bungle" is dictated by the delusions of an amnesiac Penfold. And the season finale, "The Plague of Pyramids," finds London plagued by...pyramids, what else? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Creature From the Pit," the Doctor (Tom Baker) learns that the titular creature is actually an ambassador from the planet Tythonus, who has been imprisoned by the despotic Lady Adrasta (Myra Frances). The villainess hopes to drain the creature of the precious metals in its system, thereby strengthening her hold on the planet Chloris. Meanwhile, Romana (Lalla Ward) endeavors to rescue both the Doctor and the Creature, with Adrasta's henchmen hot on her heels. Written by David Fisher, "The Creature From the Pit, Episode 3" was originally telecast on November 10, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In episode one of the four-part story "The Creature From the Pit," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) answer a distress call from the planet Chloris. Upon their arrival, they discover that the planet's precious metal supply has been monopolized by the covetous, power-hungry Lady Adastra (Myra Frances), who keeps the inhabitants in line with the help of the sinister Huntsman (David Telfer) and his wolf weeds. Complicating matters are two other antagonists: bandit leader Torvin (John Bryans) and a huge, amorphous blob (hence the title of this adventure). Former Doctor Who director Morris Barry appears in a cameo role as Tollund. Written by David Fisher, "The Creature From the Pit, Episode 1" was originally telecast on October 27, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of the four-part story "The Romans," the Doctor (William Hartnell), Vicki (Maureen O'Brien), Ian (William Russell), and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) climb into the TARDIS and take a trip to ancient Rome. No sooner have they arrived at a picturesque villa than the Doctor and his companions are attacked by slavers. In the ensuing fracas, Ian and Barbara are captured and sold into bondage. Originally telecast on January 16, 1965, "The Slave Traders" was written by Dennis Spooner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide