Nick Park
Posted on October 16th, 2005, by Mike, in Entertainment
Those of you in the know will recognise the quotation used for the tagline on this site.
It is, of course, the stunningly optimistic statement made by Wallace to Gromit on settling into his armchair at the end of ‘The Wrong Trousers’, a claymation film from the hands of Nick Park and Aardman Animations.
I am a great fan of Nick Park’s work and had the good fortune to meet him and his family at a civic reception in Preston. Nick originates from a village on the outskirts of Preston and was being honoured for his work by being presented with the keys of the city. As I have lived in Preston since 1988, I consider myself an honourary Prestonian and feel proud of my association with a local guy done good.
True to his Lancashire roots, Nick is very down-to-earth and shies away from the limelight, preferring to impress with his work behind the camera. His family are charming and after chatting with his father for some time I was struck by the subtle similarities to a certain cheese-loving, slipper-wearing character known for his bizarre inventions!
After the presentation, we all removed to Preston’s Charter Theatre for a Wallace and Gromit play, during which we discovered we were in the presence of three ‘Wallaces’; the actor playing Wallace on stage, Nick Park’s dad and Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace, who was sitting directly in front of me in the audience!
Recently, whilst working in Bristol, I was amazed to discover that the offices I was working in actually adjoined those of Aardman Animations where the films were created!
