Charm hops right out of Claymation

Nick Park created the lovable Wallace and Gromit characters using old-fashioned stop-motion animation. In “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit� he adds a touch of computer graphics and several sly references to other famous movies. The result is a family-friendly movie that will delight younger kids and still give their parents something to smile about.

The story unfolds with more than a touch of silly English wit. The plot centers on a vegetable competition held by the kindly Lady Tottington for the local working class town. A plague of rabbits threatens to munch out all the best veggies before the contest can be held. The desperate population calls on Wallace and Gromit to save them. They operate a humane pest control business to capture but not kill the offending critters.

Fantastic machines that could have been designed by Rube Goldberg are employed in the process. The Mind-O-Matic Rabbit Brain Transformer is the one that inadvertently creates the monster of the movie’s title. Our heroes are thwarted in their compassionate efforts by the pompous Lord Quartermaine. When he just wants his hunting rifle to solve the problem, many pranks and pratfalls ensue.

With some childish twists and turns, this enjoyable film is not as sophisticated as “Shrek� or “The Incredibles.� But it has a full measure of charm and thoughtful zest that remains a cut above the genre.

Don’t judge before seeing (or walking a mile) ‘In Her Shoes’

The undeniable reality of having a sister is more than the consideration that she might put you through hell and back in one night, disregard your need for an individualistic lifestyle and borrow your shoes without asking.

The contradiction between what you think and what you feel is evident in the emotion that surfaces in the midst of a sisterly dispute. Truly, it is the incompleteness experienced when she is not making your life more complicated that you find what she does is of no significant consequence.

“In Her Shoes� is more or less a commemoration of sisterhood, celebrating the strength of a bond not found anywhere else in nature. In some ways, the connection between sisters is defiant of the gravity that pulls a person toward the definitively “right� state of mind, a friendship that can never be severed.

Cameron Diaz plays Maggie, a young, free-spirited, there-are-no-rules gal who milks her resources for all they’re willing to give. Without very good reading skills, it is difficult for her to find and retain a job for more than two weeks.

Her sister Rose, played by Toni Collette, has everything Maggie doesn’t -- a career, her own place, and somewhere to go everyday that defines who she is in the circus that is the world. As Maggie gets drunk one night at a high school reunion and Rose goes to pick her up, therein lies the beginning of the contested attacks of each sister’s character.

Through all the fight, fight, bicker, bicker that ensues, a transition takes place. The thematic element that “In Her Shoes� offers becomes a force that displaces each sister’s outlook on life and transplants the other sister’s “way of the world.�

The role reversal is more of an experiment, a trial of the other side of the spectrum, if you will. Although each sister’s personality remains consistent, it is within the steps that each sister takes toward understanding the other that a reconciliation of character is made. It is also through the acknowledgment of abandonment by a grandmother whose daughter died that seemingly uncompromising ends are mended.

To say the least, this film is an appraisal of the human spirit, and the realization that you must see through at least two sets of eyes to see the bigger picture. The humor is witty and unconventional.

The whole process is exemplary of the saying, “Don’t criticize someone until you’ve walked a mile in her shoes.� Because it is within the context of stepping out of your safety zone and trying something new that a novel and broader sense of self is achieved.

* SARA SALAM is a senior at Corona del Mar High School.