I have friends who loved the original Wallace and Gromit films so much that they named their cats after them. And they were certainly not alone in their enthusiasm for Wensleydale’s greatest ambassador and his faithful, if silent, canine companion. Both The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave won Oscars for "Best Animated Short Film" and the original Wallace and Gromit film, A Grand Day Out , joined the other two in winning the corresponding BAFTA.

In the ten years since the release of A Close Shave, Nick Park and his colleagues at Aardman have kept themselves busy. 2000 saw the release of the companies first feature length film Chicken Run, which whilst weaker than the 30 minute Wallace and Gromit episodes, still deserved it’s £30 million at the UK Box Office (not to mention the $100 million it made in the US). And in 2003, Park returned to the characters that first gave him popular acclaim for a new TV series Creature Comforts.

However, despite the impressive track record, fans of the plasticine twosome have, unsurprisingly, been concerned that it might not live up to all their hopes for it. At an hour and a half, it’s as long as all three of Wallace and Gromit’s previous instalments. Would there be enough material to span the time?

Given how poorly most 30 minute translate into feature film you can understand the concern. Most feature length versions of successful shows are far worse than the original programmes. Even The Dukes of Hazard film was somehow criticised for falling below the fairly minimal standards set by the TV show.

Thankfully, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit bucks this trend, and, in so doing easily surpasses Chicken Run. It maintains the essence of the original short films, and works in so many clever visual and verbal references, you wonder how they ever found the time to animate it as well. The animation is impressive as well. Apart from Wallace, Nick Park has created few other human characters; Wendolene Ramsbottom from A Close Shave is his only other major human character. Here, however, Curse of the Were-Rabbit, adds a number of other interesting human characters as well as animals ranging from cute to menacing.

Most menacing of all is the Were-Rabbit, a giant bunny intent on devouring the prize entries for the prestigious and fast approaching, 517^th Tottington Hall Giant Vegetable Competition. One part werewolf, one part Bugs Bunny, the Honey Monster-esque Were-Rabbit threatens to undo all Wallace and Gromit’s recent good work; Security for Tottington’s vegetables has been entrusted to their quirky, technologically humane, rabbit-capturing enterprise. As if protecting the villagers’ vegetables isn’t motivation enough he has an extra incentive; He is smitten with the current occupant of Tottington Hall, Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham-Carter).

However, Wallace (Peter Sallis) has a rival for Lady Tottington’s attention. Victor Quartmaine (Ralph Fiennes), a suave suitor with his heart set more on Lady Tottington’s money than her questionable good looks, is determined to win his prize with a more traditional method of rabbit control – his shotgun.

The joy of the Wallace and Gromit films has always been a combination of loveable quirky characters, absurd scenarios, and clever dry humour, which is so wonderfully British. It’s also about nostalgia. Precious few places like Tottington exist today, even in Lancashire. The appeal of Wallace and Gromit to children is obvious, but it’s the way the films take adults back to a bygone era, when everything seemed simpler and more innocent, that is such a large part of the appeal. What’s great about the style of the animation is the way it embodies that approach. The medium is the message, and it’s great to see old-fashioned plasticine triumph in a world of often forgettable computer animated characters.

At the same time, the quality of the film has clearly benefited from the improvements in technology that have occurred in the 16 years since Wallace and Gromit first graced our screens. A Grand Day Out looks shaky in comparison to the later films. Much of it is shot against dark backgrounds. As with Film Noir the directors used darkness to hide the cheapness and poor quality of their sets. With every subsequent film, the picture quality has improved significantly, and Were-Rabbit continues this trend. In many places the camera moves dramatically, on a par with the best live action filming can offer. But it is the attention to detail that is he real winner, from the tell-tale story behind the opening sequence of pictures on Wallace’s wall, to the visual tributes that flow in every scene. There are references to a huge number of sources here, 50s and 60s Hammer Horror films, King Kong, Bugs Bunny, Harvey and Watership Down, Harry Potter, Batman and Thunderbirds, and many others that you just can’t place (such as the CGI floating bunny scene in my case). You could watch the film ten times and still not have caught every reference.

If there must be a criticism against this film, it would be that the plot is perhaps a bit thin. Essentially the story follows a similar narrative arc to The Wrong Trousers. However, as a film that will appeal to children from a very young age, such plot simplicity perhaps exhibits wise self-restraint, rather than a lack of creativity.

What the longer running time of the film does allow is the introduction of some more-interesting characters into the story. As well as the aforementioned Lady Tottington and Victor Quartermaine we also get Peter Kay’s P.C. Mackintosh (who despite the computer inspired name goes no-where near t’internet), and Reverend Hedges, who is more of a spoof of 60s horror films than of the clergy in general. The real show stealer though is our heroic duo’s new sidekick, Hutch.

At present, the film industry seems to be churning out quick and easy films to relieve uninspired parents of their cash in return for entertaining their kids (that’s you Madagascar). So it’s nice to see a film that has been so carefully and lovingly made, and which is happy to be what it is without desperately straining to be hip. By being assured, yet genuine and happy to be different it has made itself one of the most memorable films of the last few years. After all, how many other films can claim that as their closing credits rolled, the theatre resonated with a chorus of high-pitched voices endlessly repeating a single word? "Ch-e-e-se".