Charm hops right out of Claymation

Nick Park created the lovable Wallace and Gromit characters using

old-fashioned stop-motion animation. In “The Curse of the

Were-Rabbit” he adds a touch of computer graphics and several sly

references to other famous movies. The result is a family-friendly

movie that will delight younger kids and still give their parents

something to smile about.

The story unfolds with more than a touch of silly English wit. The

plot centers on a vegetable competition held by the kindly Lady

Tottington for the local working class town. A plague of rabbits

threatens to munch out all the best veggies before the contest can be

held. The desperate population calls on Wallace and Gromit to save

them. They operate a humane pest control business to capture but not

kill the offending critters.

Fantastic machines that could have been designed by Rube Goldberg

are employed in the process. The Mind-O-Matic Rabbit Brain

Transformer is the one that inadvertently creates the monster of the

movie’s title. Our heroes are thwarted in their compassionate efforts

by the pompous Lord Quartermaine. When he just wants his hunting

rifle to solve the problem, many pranks and pratfalls ensue.

With some childish twists and turns, this enjoyable film is not as

sophisticated as “Shrek” or “The Incredibles.” But it has a full

measure of charm and thoughtful zest that remains a cut above the

genre.

Don’t judge before seeing (or walking a mile) ‘In Her Shoes’

The undeniable reality of having a sister is more than the

consideration that she might put you through hell and back in one

night, disregard your need for an individualistic lifestyle and

borrow your shoes without asking.

The contradiction between what you think and what you feel is

evident in the emotion that surfaces in the midst of a sisterly

dispute. Truly, it is the incompleteness experienced when she is not

making your life more complicated that you find what she does is of

no significant consequence.

“In Her Shoes” is more or less a commemoration of sisterhood,

celebrating the strength of a bond not found anywhere else in nature.

In some ways, the connection between sisters is defiant of the

gravity that pulls a person toward the definitively “right” state of

mind, a friendship that can never be severed.

Cameron Diaz plays Maggie, a young, free-spirited,

there-are-no-rules gal who milks her resources for all they’re

willing to give. Without very good reading skills, it is difficult

for her to find and retain a job for more than two weeks.

Her sister Rose, played by Toni Collette, has everything Maggie

doesn’t -- a career, her own place, and somewhere to go everyday that

defines who she is in the circus that is the world. As Maggie gets

drunk one night at a high school reunion and Rose goes to pick her

up, therein lies the beginning of the contested attacks of each

sister’s character.

Through all the fight, fight, bicker, bicker that ensues, a

transition takes place. The thematic element that “In Her Shoes”

offers becomes a force that displaces each sister’s outlook on life

and transplants the other sister’s “way of the world.”

The role reversal is more of an experiment, a trial of the other

side of the spectrum, if you will. Although each sister’s personality

remains consistent, it is within the steps that each sister takes

toward understanding the other that a reconciliation of character is

made. It is also through the acknowledgment of abandonment by a

grandmother whose daughter died that seemingly uncompromising ends

are mended.

To say the least, this film is an appraisal of the human spirit,

and the realization that you must see through at least two sets of

eyes to see the bigger picture. The humor is witty and

unconventional.

The whole process is exemplary of the saying, “Don’t criticize

someone until you’ve walked a mile in her shoes.” Because it is

within the context of stepping out of your safety zone and trying

something new that a novel and broader sense of self is achieved.

* SARA SALAM is a senior at Corona del Mar High School.