Arriving September 18, the picture disc features Julian Nott’s award-winning original score, produced by Hans Zimmer, as well as additional music by Rupert Gregson-Williams, James Dooley, Lorne Balfe, and Alastair King
Varèse Sarabande celebrates the beloved animated adventure Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with a collectible picture-disc edition of the original motion picture soundtrack. Scored by Julian Nott, the album also features music from Rupert Gregson-Williams, James Dooley, Lorne Balfe, and Alastair King and is produced by legendary composer Hans Zimmer. Arriving on September 18, the album is available to pre-order today.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) is the fourth installment in the Wallace & Gromit series and the first to be presented as a feature-length film. A parody of classic monster movies, the film centers on the titular inventor and dog duo in their venture as pest control agents “Anti-pesto”, who find themselves battling a giant were-rabbit which is consuming the town’s vegetables.
Nott won an Annie Award® and an International Film Music Critics Award for his work on Curse, which also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. Additionally, Nott, whose other credits include Peppa Pig, earned an Ivor Novello Award® for the 2009 Wallace and Gromit film A Matter of Loaf and Death. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit marked Aardman Animations’ second feature length movie after 2000’s Chicken Run.
Julian Nott’s relationship to the world of Wallace & Gromit goes back to the animated universe’s origins of 1989’s A Grand Day Out, with Nott and animator Nick Park having originally met as students at the National Film and Television School in London.
In an interview with Classic FM, Nott explained: “[Park] bravely decided to make this animation film. The first installment of A Grand Day Out [With Wallace & Gromit]. He was a one-man band, so it took him something like eight or nine years to complete.”
Nott’s involvement came shortly thereafter: “One day, we were all eating lunch when the animation tutor came in and shouted, ‘Are there any composers in here? Because I need one.’ That was it. I put my hand up, as it were, and got matched up with Nick, before I’d even seen the film.”
Nott also spoke about how the iconic theme for Wallace & Gromit came to be, and how his improvisatory spirit helped spur its creation into action. He explained: “I’d like to say that the theme tune for Wallace & Gromit was carefully thought through and took months or weeks to create. In fact, what happened was that we had the music session starting at 10 o’clock the next morning and I hadn’t actually got around to writing the title or credits music until about three in the morning. I’m a great improviser. That’s what I’ve spent my life doing and it’s how I came into music when I was a kid. I still do a lot of improvisation now—it’s my greatest pleasure. I just sit at the piano and play something, making it up on the spot. That’s how a lot of my composition arises. I just bash away at the piano and something comes.” That, believe it or not, is how the musical themes most closely associated with the iconic Wallace & Gromit first emerged. Now, they’re a seminal part of animated film history.
Click here to pre-order or stream/download Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Vinyl Picture Disc).
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Vinyl Picture Disc)
Tracklist:
Side A:
1. A Grand Day Out (1:52)
2. Anti-Pesto to the Rescue (3:19)
3. Bless You, Anti-Pesto (1:56)
4. Lady Tottington & Victor (2:05)
5. Fire Up the Bun-Vac (1:46)
6. Your Ladyship (1:07)
7. Brainwash & Go (2:26)
8. Harvest Offering (2:29)
9. Arson Around (2:23)
10. A Big Trap (3:25)
11. The Morning After (1:45)
Side B:
1. Transformation (4:04)
2. Ravaged in the Night (1:42)
3. Fluffy Lover Boy (4:39)
4. Kiss My Arrrtichoke (4:30)
5. Dogfight (3:38)
6. Every Dog Has His Day (2:42)
7. All Things Fluffy (1:09)
8. Wallace & Gromit (1:09)
