If there is one thing these guys like, it's cheese. So, when inventor Wallace and his straight man mutt Gromit run out of queso, there is only one logical course of action -- A trip to the moon. This 1989 stop-motion short was created by Nick Park of Aardman Animation Studios. While nominated for an Oscar, this first Wallace short would lose out to one of Park's other creations Creature Comforts. Two other Wallace shorts and a feature length movie have followed, all winning Oscars. What makes them so award worthy? They all have the subtle wit and charm that only the British can produce.

In this particular adventure, finding that the proverbial cupboards are bare, Wallace builds a rocket ship (oddly consisting mostly of lumber). Then he and Gromit blast off to Luna. There, on that large heavenly ball of cheese, they have themselves a picnic. There is an element of danger added when Wallace activates a coin operated robot, who has dreams of going to the mountains to ski on Earth. The mecha hopes to steal the rocket away for a little joy ride. Do Wallace and Gromit escape? Are the robot's dreams crushed? Watch the film, it is only 24 minutes long.

This is a cute tale, and my judgment may be a bit unfair as I can't help but compare it to the other adventures of W&G that followed. This is easily the weakest and least fine tuned. The plastacine models are not as smooth as those in the later shorts, nor is there much of a supporting cast. Also, the humor compared to the later installments is much less intense. Still, there is a charm and originality that make this short worth watching and enjoyable. This is a worthy first episode in the adventures of Gromit and Wallace. Grand Day Out earns a B, with a bit of room to grow on.

The adventures of a cheese loving inventor and his faithful and more sensible dog companion had to start somewhere, it's just a somewhere that has been eclipsed by the films that followed it. Now, looking back at the first one, it just feels so quaint.

The film just fails to ignite my excitement, something that its two sequels manage to do almost effortlessly. However it is still a fun short, Peter Sallis's unique voice adds a certain charm and British sensibility to Wallace. I still enjoy the notion that the Moon is made out of cheese, and raise a knowing smile at the machine's futile attempts to stop Wallace eating Earth's natural satellite; but I rather skip pass it these days and watch that which came after.

This is where it all starts, really. With the exception of the now rather obscure 'Creature Comforts', which is more of historical interest, this is where Nick Park's rise to fame began: the first of the 'Wallace and Gromit' claymation shorts.

Unfortunately it's also the weakest of the three, but considering the stellar quality of the other two, that's not much of a criticism.

The claymation was startling at the time, and if it is any less so now, it's only because Park continued perfecting his craft, and after 'Chicken Run' there is no longer the shock of the new.

Wallace is an absent minded inventor who lives in a middle class cottage in a surreal sort of daydream vision of postwar England. Gromit is his notably more sensible and practical dog and companion. This short, where they fly to the moon to procure cheese (Wallace is obsessed with it for some reason) is the least satisfying in terms of story, characterisation and general hilarity, but it's still a little gem in its own right, and paved the way for the classic 'Wrong Trousers' which was to follow...