Items32The creator’s order
  1. 1Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) 7.5/10 on IMDbReleased Sep 15, 2005Watch the rabbits’ cheeks as they sit innocently in the garden. Their round, squeezable faces make them look like the least dangerous creatures in the world, which makes it funnier when a rabbit problem sends the village into full monster-movie panic. Start here for the contrast between cozy clay…0
  2. 2Chicken Run (2000)Chicken Run (2000) 7.1/10 on IMDbReleased Jun 23, 2000Look at the flock rehearsing for an escape. The little wings give the chickens all the enthusiasm of a team of aviators and very little of the equipment. Aardman animator Will Becher started out making clay wings for the film, and that gap between the tiny bodies and the size of Ginger’s ambition…0
  3. 3Mary and Max (2009)Mary and Max (2009) 8.1/10 on IMDbReleased Apr 9, 2009Mary and Max write to each other from worlds with very different colors. Notice how the dull gray of Max’s New York makes a small splash of color in his apartment feel almost out of place. The hand-built surroundings make his habits funny in a way that leaves room for the loneliness behind them.0
  4. 4The Wrong Trousers (1993)The Wrong Trousers (1993) 8.3/10 on IMDbReleased Dec 17, 1993The penguin barely has to move to upset Gromit. Watch the dog’s brow and the length of his looks as Wallace takes in a new lodger. The tiny adjustments to a clay face are just as funny as the full-speed toy-train chase that comes later. This is a good short to start with if you want both in one…0
  5. 5The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) 7.2/10 on IMDbReleased Mar 1, 1985The airship carrying Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Becky Thatcher is only the beginning. The jumping-frog section lets Will Vinton carry the same plasticine world from a grand voyage to an animal that just won’t cooperate. It’s a good fit for anyone who likes a tall tale to look as elastic…0
  6. 6Early Man (2018)Early Man (2018) 6.1/10 on IMDbReleased Jan 26, 2018Put a whole prehistoric tribe on a soccer field and the actions that give away a bad player get very funny. These players are all broad faces and awkward attempts to look coordinated. Nick Park’s clay comedy makes a small movement like a grimace as important as the movement of the ball.0
  7. 7Creature Comforts (1989)Creature Comforts (1989) 7.7/10 on IMDbReleased Jul 15, 1989Listen for a person’s hesitation coming out of a zoo animal’s sculpted mouth. In Nick Park’s original short, real interview recordings become a collection of complaints about things such as the weather and the accommodations. The joke is in how closely a clay animal can share someone’s particular…0
  8. 8Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) 7.5/10 on IMDbReleased Dec 18, 2024Wallace’s new gardening gnome is eager to help, and Gromit looks as if he can already see the work this is going to make for him. Watch the difference between Norbot’s bright, fixed enthusiasm and the small movements around Gromit’s eyes. It’s a neat way to see how much range there is in the…0
  9. 9Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) 6.3/10 on IMDbReleased Dec 8, 2023Look at Molly’s beak as she tries to make her case to the grown-ups. The animators had sets of separately sculpted Plasticine beaks for the characters’ speech. The change of shape from one sound to the next helps sell the comedy of a young chicken who’s convinced she can look after herself.0
  10. 10Memoir of a Snail (2024)Memoir of a Snail (2024) 7.8/10 on IMDbReleased Oct 17, 2024Grace collects so much snail-themed stuff that it starts to crowd her out. Watch for the marks of hands and brushes in Adam Elliot’s clay world. The irregular little things make the collection more believable and the excess funnier. This is an adult tragicomedy about the comfort of holding on to…0