Wallace and Gromit Film Theory

 Todorov’s Narrative Theory applies to The Long Trousers. It starts with an equilibrium, with  Wallace and Gromit living together peacefully. It is Gromit’s birthday, and Wallace buys Gromit the techno trousers. This equilibrium is then disrupted when Feathers the penguin comes to rent a room at Wallace and Gromit’s house so that Wallace can pay off debts. Wallace and Gromit fall out, causing Gromit to leave the house as Wallace replaces him with Feathers.This introduces one of Levi Strauss’ Binary Opposites, as Gromit is a dog, which are typically domesticated and kept as pets, while Feathers is a penguin, which is a wild animal which typically isn’t and shouldn’t be kept as a pet. Later in the film we see this as we discover that while Gromit is loyal to Wallace, and even when they fall out will fight for him, Feathers is anything but loyal to Wallace and can’t be contained.  Feathers eventually betrays Wallace by putting him in the techno trousers and controlling him, making him run around the town without Wallace being able to stop it. This introduces the binary opposites of Man vs Machine, as well as Modernity vs Tradition. Gromit sees Wallace and the chaos he is causing, he then sees a wanted poster of Feathers, followed by the Feathers holding the remote control, controlling Wallace. Gromit then makes it his goal to stop Feathers. Eventually, the film reaches its climax when Feathers uses Wallace in the techno trousers to perform a robbery while he is asleep. Feathers sets off an alarm once he has successfully stolen a diamond, waking Wallace. Feathers then marches Wallace home and locks him in the cupboard, only to be confronted by Gromit, who is then also put in the cupboard and held at gunpoint by Feathers. Gromit rewires the trousers while Wallace and Gromit are in the cupboard so that they can escape. The climax then reaches its peak when there is a big chase scene between Wallace and Gromit, who are trying to catch Feathers, who is trying to escape with the diamond. After this chase, the film reaches its resolution when Wallace and Gromit are reunited and turn Feathers into the police, meaning Wallace can pay off his debt mentioned earlier, meaning they reach a new equilibrium.


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