Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Stage Fright" is a Bristish animated short film that runs for 11 minutes and won a BAFTA almost 20 years ago. It was written and directed by Steve Box quite a while before his Oscar win for Wallace & Gromit. My title for this review has to do with the fact that it all comes down to the animation style and whether you like it or not. It's a love hate thingey I guess. I personally did not like it and that is why I give this one a fairly negative rating. I did like, however, the scenes that were in black-and-white and smartly brought this film back to the days of silent film, which also existed in the parallel universe of this movie. Story-wise, I wasn't really impressed either. Overall the bad outweighs the good and I think the BAFTA got it wrong. Not recommended.

adampotter Well, whereas I was a little upset or distressed in places by some scenes in Wrong Trousers and Close Shave, with this I was completely and utterly speechless!The film was directed by Wallace & Gromit co-director Steve Box, yet even though Park was an producer on this film, I feel this is the darkest, most harrowing project from the folks that brought us the Were-Rabbit and Chicken Run. I was very saddened and yet engrossed by the film from the very first couple of minutes, and then at the very end it really felt like such a sad film, deeply moving and haunting in a way that Walace & Gromit could never be! PS: I first saw this when I was 12 and I felt it was a little depressing and sad, it had some bad language (bloody, bugger) as well as some harsh dialogue from a particularly nasty character, so be careful about showing this to kids!

MartinHafer In a way, I feel bad about this film because the staff at Aardman Productions really tried hard but it's natural for there to be comparisons to Aardman's biggest stars, Wallace & Gromit. However, Steve Box, who directed this short, is the same person who has also paired up with Nick Park for some of Aardman's best works--including CHICKEN RUN and several of the Wallace & Gromit films. So, such comparisons really aren't fair at all and not every Aardman film can be Wallace & Gromit.However, if you were to think that perhaps the quality of STAGE FRIGHT is a bit below that of the Wallace & Gromit films, then this would be correct--it is very good, just not quite as good. Nor does it look quite as good as the Shaun the Sheep films, though these are newer and represent the studio at its best--having learned and perfected their craft with many films--including STAGE FRIGHT.The film is about a man and woman who have a trained dog act. Tiny juggles his chihuahuas and has them do lovely tricks, but the audience is bored, as movies are now the rage. So, his lady friend, who loves Tiny, agrees to do some films with a boorish jerk who hates the dogs but knows he can make money by using them in his films. Eventually, though, his abusiveness and thoughtfulness is too much--leading to a rather grim and gruesome ending.This is a lovely stop-motion animated film and I can see why it won the BAFTA--even if it isn't the best thing that ever came from Aardman. Heck, that's because EVERYTHING that comes from Aardman is fantastic!

maggysimms I think this movie stands out from the rest of the Nick Park stable because it is basically not funny and not meant to be - it is slightly disturbing and thought-provoking, whereas we are used to funny little Gromit and bumbling wallace chasing cheese. It shows an excellent command of historical context - the transition from vaudeville / music hall to movies. But man, is it strange. don't show it your little nephews unless you really want them up all night! Incidentally I think the little chap is called 'Tiny', not Tinny as in earlier review. The movie puts me in mind of that one about the murderous ventriloquist dummy, the title of which completely evades me.