Wallace & Gromit In Three Amazing Adventures/Chicken Run (1996) (Belly Band)

This double feature pairs up two wonderful showcases of stop-motion animation at its best.

WALLACE & GROMIT IN THREE AMAZING ADVENTURES: The first three programs of Nick Park's award-winning stop-motion animated series WALLACE & GROMIT are compiled here. In A GRAND DAY OUT, which took Park more than six years to make, ingenious inventor Wallace and his smarter-than-average dog, Gromit, build a rocket ship and travel to the moon in a quest for cheese. In THE WRONG TROUSERS, Wallace's invention, a device that transports him out of his bed, dresses him, and prepares his breakfast, malfunctions one morning. It plops him in the "wrong trousers," a pair of mechanized pants, which take him on a wild ride. Meanwhile, the domestic bliss of Wallace and Gromit is shattered when a mysterious penguin leases a room in their home. Finally, in A CLOSE SHAVE, love nearly melts Wallace's heart when he meets Wendolene Ramsbottom, a yarn-shop proprietor with a menacing mutt and a dark secret. Meanwhile, poor Gromit is accused of turning the local sheep into mutton meat. Can Wallace bust Gromit out of jail and catch the real culprit in time to share a bit of cheese with his newfound love? The femme-fatale story gets the claymation treatment in Park's third Wallace and Gromit story, which won Park yet another Academy Award.

CHICKEN RUN: Facing imminent death while laying eggs at Tweedy's English farm, a group of chickens plan their escape. The situation goes from bad to worse when the sinister Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) decides to stop selling eggs and use the hens as the main ingredient in chicken pot pies. However, some hope literally falls from the sky in the form of Rocky (Mel Gibson), an American rooster who promises to teach the chickens how to fly. As the hens begin their struggle to get airborne, the monstrous pie-making machine arrives, giving the chickens precious little time to make their great escape. Aardman Studios' first full-length feature film utilizes the unique Plasticine designs of the acclaimed WALLACE & GROMIT and CREATURE COMFORT shorts. CHICKEN RUN features vibrant visuals and colorful characters that are immediately endearing. With its clever writing, witty film references, and pitch-perfect combination of comedy, drama, and romance, CHICKEN RUN is one of those rare movies that genuinely appeals to viewers of every age.