Richard Moody's Favorite Childhood TV Shows

1. The Addams Family (1964): The Addamses are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests. They all have supernatural abilities, although no rationale for their powers is ever explicitly given.The very wealthy, endlessly enthusiastic Gomez Addams is madly in love with his refined wife Morticia. Along with their two children, Wednesday and Pugsley, Uncle Fester and Grandmama, they reside in an ornate, gloomy, Second Empire style mansion, attended by their servants, Lurch, the towering butler, and Thing, a hand that usually appears out of a small wooden box. Occasionally, episodes would feature relatives or other members of their weird subculture, such as Cousin Itt or Morticia's older sister, Ophelia. Much of the humor derives from their "culture clash" with the rest of the world. They invariably treat normal visitors with great warmth and courtesy, even though their guests often have evil intentions. They are puzzled by the horrified reactions to their good-natured, if extremely bizarre behavior, since they are under the impression that their tastes are shared by most of society. Contrarily, they view "conventional" tastes with generally tolerant suspicion. For example, Fester once cites a neighboring family's meticulously maintained petunia patches as evidence that they are "nothing but riff-raff."The tone was set by series producer Nat Perrin, close friend of Groucho Marx and writer of several Marx Brothers films. Perrin created story ideas, directed one episode, and rewrote every script. Much of the dialog is his (albeit uncredited). As a result, Gomez, with his sardonic remarks, backwards logic, and ever-present cigar (pulled from his breast pocket already lit), has been frequently compared to Groucho Marx. In addition, the series often employed the same type of zany satire and screwball humor seen in the Marx Brothers films. It lampooned politics ("Gomez, The Politician" and "Gomez, The People's Choice"), the legal system ("The Addams Family in Court"), Beatlemania ("Lurch, The Teenage Idol"), and Hollywood ("My Fair Cousin Itt").

2. Bewitched (1964): A young-looking witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent). While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the couple's lives. Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace and confound the devious elements that failed to separate them. The female witches have names ending with the soft "-a" sound (with one exception, "Elspeth," in season 4 episode 15). Their male counterparts are known as "warlocks." The witches and warlocks are very long lived; while Samantha appears to be in her twenties, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds of years old. To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin. Nevertheless, the perplexing unexplainable effects of their spells and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from mortals drive the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks usually use physical gestures along with their magical spells, and sometimes spoken incantations. Most notably, Samantha often "twitches" her nose to perform a spell. Modest but effective special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight the magic.

By Richard Moody, Tanya Ross & Greg Ross

3. The Muppet Show (1976): Since 1969, Sesame Street had given Jim Henson's creations exposure; however, Henson began to perceive that he was pigeonholed as a children's entertainer. He sought to create a program that could be enjoyed by young and old. Two specials were produced and aired that are considered pilots for The Muppet Show. Neither led to the sale of a prime-time network series. However, the prime-time access rule had just been enacted, which took the 7:30 to 8pm ET slot from the networks and turned it over to their affiliates. CBS suggested it would be interested in Henson's proposal as a syndicated series it could purchase for its owned-and-operated stations, to run one night a week in that time slot.Lew Grade, head of the British commercial station ATV, offered a deal to Henson that would see his show produced at the ATV studios in Elstree, England. ATV would network the show to other ITV stations in the United Kingdom, and its distribution arm, ITC Entertainment, would sell the show in the United States and around the world. Henson put aside his misgivings about syndication and accepted.At first, signing guests was a challenge and producers had to call on their personal contacts. The breakthrough was the appearance of the ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev. His appearance on such an unusual show generated such positive publicity that the series became one of the sought-after productions to appear in. The Muppet Show premiered in 1976 and finally, after five years and 120 episodes, it went off the air in 1981 because of Henson's desire to move on to other projects and the sale of ATV's Elstree studios.

By Scott Moody

Richard, James & Ben Favourite Paul Newman Films

1. The Hustler (1961): Small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman) travels cross-country with his partner Charlie (Myron McCormick) to challenge the legendary player "Minnesota Fats" (Jackie Gleason). Arriving at Ames, Fats's home pool hall, Eddie declares he will win $10,000 that night. Fats arrives and he and Eddie agree to play for $200 a game. After initially falling behind, Eddie surges back to being $1,000 ahead, and suggests raising the bet to $1,000 a game; Fats agrees. He sends out a runner, Preacher (Stefan Gierasch) to Johnny's Bar, ostensibly for a bottle of whiskey, but really to get professional gambler Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) to the hall. Eddie gets ahead $11,000 and Charlie tries to convince him to quit, but Eddie insists the game will end only when Fats says it is over. Fats agrees to continue after Bert labels Eddie a "loser." After 25 hours and an entire bottle of bourbon, Eddie is ahead over $18,000, but loses it all along with all but $200 of his original stake. At their hotel later, Eddie leaves half of the remaining stake with a sleeping Charlie and leaves. Eddie stashes his belongings at the local bus terminal, where he meets Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic "college girl" who walks with a limp. He meets her again at a bar. They go back to her place but she refuses to let him in, saying he is "too hungry." Eddie moves into a rooming house and starts hustling for small stakes. He finds Sarah again and this time she takes him in, but with reservations. Charlie finds Eddie at Sarah's and tries to persuade him to go back out on the road. Eddie refuses and Charlie figures out he plans to challenge Fats again. Eddie realizes that Charlie held out his percentage and becomes enraged, believing that with that money he could have rebounded to beat Fats. Eddie dismisses Charlie as a scared old man and tells him to "go lie down and die" by himself. At Johnny's Bar, Eddie finds a poker game where Bert is sitting and Eddie loses $20. After the game, Bert tells Eddie that he has talent as a pool player but no character. He figures that Eddie will need at least $3,000 to challenge Fats again. Bert calls him a "born loser" but nevertheless offers to stake Eddie in return for 75% of his winnings. Eddie refuses. Eddie hustles a local pool shark, who breaks Eddie's thumbs. Sarah cares for him and tells him she loves him, but he cannot say the words. When his thumbs heal, Eddie agrees to Bert's terms, deciding that a "twenty-five percent slice of something big is better than a hundred percent slice of nothing." Bert, Eddie and Sarah travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby, where Bert arranges a match for Eddie against a wealthy local socialite named Findley (Murray Hamilton). The game turns out to be billiards, not pool. Eddie loses badly and Bert refuses to keep staking him. Sarah pleads with Eddie to leave with her, saying that the world he is living in and its inhabitants are "perverted, twisted and crippled;" he refuses. Seeing Eddie's anger, Bert agrees to let the match continue at $1,000 a game. Eddie comes back to win $12,000. He collects his $3,000 share and decides to walk back to the hotel. Bert arrives first and subjects Sarah to a humiliating sexual encounter. After, she scrawls PERVERTED, TWISTED and CRIPPLED in lipstick on the bathroom mirror. Eddie arrives back at the hotel to learn that she has killed herself. Eddie returns to challenge Fats again, putting up his entire $3,000 stake on a single game. He wins game after game, beating Fats so badly that Fats is forced to quit. Bert demands a share of Eddie's winnings and threatens Eddie over the issue, but Eddie, invoking the memory of Sarah, shames Bert into giving up his claim. However, Bert warns Eddie never walk into a big-time pool hall again.

2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford), the leaders of the Hole in the Wall Gang, are planning another bank robbery. As they return to their hideout in Hole-in-the-Wall, they find out that the gang has selected a new leader, Harvey Logan (Ted Cassidy). He challenges Butch to a knife fight, which Butch wins, using a ruse. Although Logan is defeated, Butch quickly embraces Logan's idea to rob the Union Pacific Flyer twice, agreeing with Logan that the second robbery would be unexpected and likely to involve even more money than the first. The first robbery goes very well and the marshal of the next town (Kenneth Mars) cannot manage to raise a posse. Butch and Sundance listen to his attempts from mere yards away, enjoying themselves on the balcony of a nearby brothel. Sundance's lover, Etta Place (Katharine Ross), is introduced; both men vie for her attention as she also goes bike-riding with Butch during a dialogue-free musical interlude, accompanied by the Oscar-winning song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." The second robbery goes wrong. Not only does Butch use too much dynamite to blow the safe, but a second train arrives, which is carrying a posse that has been specially outfitted by E. H. Harriman to hunt Butch and Sundance. The gang flees in multiple directions, with the posse following Butch and Sundance. They try hiding in a brothel but are betrayed. They try riding double on a single horse in the hope that the posse will split up, but that fails. They then try to arrange an amnesty with the help of the friendly Sheriff Bledsoe (Jeff Corey). But he tells them they have no chance of getting one, and that they will be hunted down until they are killed by the posse. Still on the run the next day, they muse about the identities of their pursuers. They fixate on Lord Baltimore, a famous Indian tracker, and Joe Lefors, a tough, renowned lawman, recognized at a distance by his white skimmer, or straw hat. After reaching the summit of a mountain, they find themselves trapped on the edge of a canyon. They decide to jump into the river far below, even though Sundance cannot swim and would prefer to fight. Later they arrive at Etta's house and learn that the posse has been paid to stay together until they kill the two of them. They decide it is time to leave the country and head to Bolivia, a destination Cassidy had spoken about earlier. They head to New York, then board a passenger ship, eventually arriving by train in a small Bolivian village. Sundance already resents the choice. Their first attempted bank robbery stops before it gets off the ground, as they are unable to speak Spanish. Etta teaches them the words they need. Their next robbery is clumsily executed, as Butch still needs his cribsheet. After more robberies, the duo, now known as the Bandidos Yanquis, are sought by the authorities all over Bolivia. In spite of their success, their confidence drops one evening when they see a man wearing a white straw hat on the other side of the street, and fear that Lefors is once again after them. Butch suggests going straight, so as to not attract Lefors's attention. They get their first honest job as payroll guards in a mine, directed by an American named Garris (Strother Martin). However, on their first working day, they are attacked. Garris is killed, and Butch and Sundance are forced to kill the Bolivian robbers, the first time Butch kills anyone. They decide to return to robbery. That evening, Etta decides to leave them, sensing that their days may be numbered. A few days later, Butch and Sundance attack a payroll mule train in the jungle, taking the money and the mule. When they arrive in the nearest town San Vicente, a stable boy recognizes the brand on the mule's backside and alerts the local police. While Butch and Sundance are eating at a local eatery, the police arrive and a climactic gun battle begins scaring away the nearby people. The two of them find shelter in a nearby empty house, but they're soon low on ammunition. Butch makes a run to the mule to fetch the rest of the ammunition while Sundance provides cover fire, but during his return they are both wounded. While tending to their wounds in the house, about 100 soldiers of the Bolivian cavalry arrive and surround the place. The pair, unaware of the cavalry's arrival, discuss their next destination, with Butch pushing the English-speaking and wide-open continent of Australia. Butch tells Sundance that when they get outside and get to their horses to remember one thing. Before he can say it, Butch asks Sundance if he saw Lefors "out there". Sundance says that he did not and Butch replies "For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble." The film ends with a freeze frame sepia tone shot of the pair exiting the house firing their guns, while a voice is heard ordering: "¡Fuego!" (Spanish for "Fire!") accompanied by the sound of dozens of rifles being fired in three consecutive volleys.


3. The Sting (1973): (See Below)

The Players (0 min)

At the opening, after a 1930s-era Universal logo complete with bejeweled circling globe adorned with the text, "A Universal Picture," the movie credits the actors with extracts from the movie, in a style reminiscent of films from the 1930s.Johnny Hooker (Redford) is a small-time con man (a "grifter") from Depression-era Joliet, Illinois. Hooker and his accomplices Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) and Joe Erie (Jack Kehoe) manage to swipe $11,000 in cash from an unsuspecting victim (a "mark"). In the wake of this apparent success, Luther tells Johnny that he's retiring from his life of crime and moving to Kansas City, Missouri to work in a "mostly legal" business with his brother-in-law. He advises Hooker to seek out an old friend, Henry Gondorff, in Chicago, who can teach him the art of the 'big con'.Unfortunately for the three con artists, the mark they robbed was a numbers racket courier named Mottola (James Sloyan), transporting the money to Chicago for crime boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Corrupt Joliet police Lieutenant William Snyder (Charles Durning) confronts Hooker, demanding a $2,000 cut of the $11,000 and revealing Lonnegan's involvement. Realizing that he and his partners are in danger, Hooker pays Snyder in counterfeit bills, having already spent and gambled away all of his share of the money. Hooker goes to warn Coleman, but he arrives too late to save him from Lonnegan's hit men. With nowhere else to turn, Hooker flees to Chicago to ask Gondorff for help in avenging Coleman's murder. Note: The film is divided into seven sections, each introduced with a title card accompanied by music. The titles are used to structure this synopsis.

The Set-Up (24th min)

Gondorff (Paul Newman) is a seemingly broken-down con artist on the run from the FBI, living in the back of an amusement park that doubles as a tavern and brothel. He's initially reluctant to take on Lonnegan because "revenge is for suckers," and also because the New York gangster/banker has a reputation for ruthlessly killing his enemies. Gondorff nevertheless agrees to help Hooker run a sting on Lonnegan, since he's touched when Hooker says that he'll take Lonnegan on anyway "because I don't know enough about killin' to kill him." Since Lonnegan is a shrewd man of few vices ("Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke and doesn't chase dames") and won't be taken in by a simple confidence scheme (he is a banker and knows the market), Henry resurrects an elaborate ruse that involves casting Hooker as the inside man in an off-track betting scam known as "the wire." The con men believe that this is ideal, since "the wire" is considered an out-of-date scam, and therefore unlikely to be recognized. A large number of con artists are required to create the atmosphere of the betting parlor; they are recruited from the drinking den of Duke Boudreau (played by Jack Collins), where they congregate.

The Hook (40th min)

First, Gondorff's lover and partner in crime, Billie (Eileen Brennan), picks Lonnegan's wallet aboard the famous 20th Century Limited train en route from New York to Chicago. Gondorff poses as boorish Chicago bookie "Shaw" and buys his way into Lonnegan's private high-stakes poker game on the train with the latter's own money. He bursts into the game late, feigning drunkenness and insulting and taunting the other players. Gondorff, a cardsharp, and brilliant cheater, wins the first few hands and, through "Shaw"'s obnoxious behavior, goads Lonnegan into cheating with a cold deck to "bust that bastard bookie in one play." Anticipating this, Gondorf out-cheats a shocked Lonnegan, who loses $15,000 in a single hand and, without his wallet, cannot immediately pay the debt. Surrounded by a table full of upper-crust (and purportedly legitimate) business magnates, Lonnegan cannot call Gondorff on his cheating, since he only knew Gondorff cheated because he cheated as well.Gondorff tells Lonnegan that he will "send a boy" to his room to collect the money, who turns out to be Hooker, posing as a disgruntled employee of Shaw's, and calling himself "Kelly."

The Tale (67th min)

"Kelly" plays on Lonnegan's desire for revenge by asking for his help to break Shaw and take over his business. Johnny convinces Lonnegan that he has a partner in the Chicago Western Union office (portrayed at a meeting by "Kid Twist," played by Harold Gould), and that he can use this connection to win large sums of money in Shaw's off-track betting (OTB) establishment by past-posting. All of this, including the OTB parlor itself, is really an immense hoax crafted solely for hoodwinking Lonnegan: the supposed play-by-play comes from a surplus tickertape wire, which an accomplice in the back ("J.J.," played by Ray Walston) reads into a microphone to make it sound as if it were live on the radio; meanwhile, Erie manages to prove his own worth as a con man, posing as a regular gambler to help convince Lonnegan of the reality of the place. Lonnegan's "tip" horse wins, of course, and Hooker and Gondorff hope that it convinces Lonnegan to bet a large amount on his next attempt, but Lonnegan is cautious, and "wants to see it again", resulting in "The Shut Out", below, on his second attempt.

The Wire (83rd min)

In addition to luring Lonnegan into this con (as Kelly), and eluding the assassins Lonnegan has sent to kill him (as Hooker), Johnny must continually avoid Snyder, who has followed him to Chicago, looking for either his cut of the original $11,000 or revenge on Hooker for cheating him. Snyder's efforts are derailed when FBI agents make their presence known to him and Hooker. Snyder is brought into a warehouse serving as a front for FBI operations. Special agent Polk is discussing strategy with another agent in the foreground, heard plainly by the film audience though not necessarily by Snyder at first. Snyder observes while special agent Polk coerces Hooker into helping them capture Gondorff (by threatening to arrest and prosecute Luther's widow), but agrees to let the con be completed first. Snyder is to be part of that operation also.

The Shut-Out (93rd min)

Meanwhile, Hooker begins a romance with a local waitress named Loretta. Unbeknownst to Hooker, Lonnegan has grown frustrated with his men's inability to find and kill Hooker, so he arranges for a professional killer, "Salino," to finish the job. (Not having previously met Hooker, Lonnegan is unaware that Hooker and "Kelly" are the same person). A mysterious figure with black leather gloves is soon seen following and observing Hooker. The title of this act comes from "shutting out" Lonnegan from the betting window when he intends to place a bet much bigger than the phony wire set-up can cover, so the window is closed as the race begins, just as Lonnegan is stepping up to bet. His intended horse does "win", however, further convincing him of the effectiveness of the method.

The Sting (112th min)

All the pieces of the elaborate puzzle come together on the morning of the sting that is planned to swindle Lonnegan. Various players are seen making preparations for the day. Then the action begins:‎
• After Hooker spends the night with Loretta, he wakes up alone and begins walking to work. He sees Loretta coming toward him, but not the black-gloved man behind him, aiming a gun in his direction. The bullet hits Loretta in the forehead and kills her instantly. It turns out that the hired killer was "Loretta Salino", who was carrying a concealed gun and preparing to kill Hooker at that moment. The gloved man, hired by Gondorff to protect Hooker, drives him to work. The reason Loretta had not killed him in her room is that the nosy old lady next door had seen Hooker go into her room.
• After getting word from Kid Twist to "place it" on a particular horse, Lonnegan brings a briefcase containing a half-million dollars to bet on the horse to win. Lonnegan/Gondorff argues that the bet is too large, for which Lonnegan calls him a "gutless cheat." Shaw/Gondorff, feigning stung pride, accepts the bet.
• Kid Twist (in his Western Union persona) arrives and quietly asks Lonnegan how it's going. Lonnegan smugly informs him that he has a half-million on the horse to win. Kid Twist feigns shock and tells him he was supposed to bet on the horse to "place", as it's going to finish second. The panicked Lonnegan rushes to the window and demands his money back from mild-mannered con man "Fast Eddie" Niles (played by John Heffernan), who argues that, as the race has (supposedly) begun, it is against the rules.
• Just then the FBI and Snyder burst in and order everyone to freeze. In the noise and the chaos, Polk steps up to Shaw/Gondorff and quietly (compared with the ambient noise in the room) says, "Hello, Henry — it's been a long time."
• Polk then gestures to Hooker and says, "You can go," revealing to all that Hooker had betrayed Gondorff to the FBI. Hooker starts walking toward the door, but Gondorff pulls a gun and shoots him in the back; Polk then shoots Gondorff in the gut and orders Snyder to get Lonnegan out of there. Lonnegan realizes that, for the sake of his reputation, he can't be involved in this incident, but he's conflicted, because he's left a half-million dollars inside, as he tries to explain to Snyder while the detective whisks him away.
• With Lonnegan and Snyder safely away, Polk leans over Hooker's body and says, "He's gone!" Hooker opens his eyes and gets up, as does Gondorff, to the cheers and laughter of the rest of the group. Not only have Lonnegan and Snyder been "stung", so has the film audience. Gondorff expresses as much as "Polk" helps him up: "Nice con, Hickey. I thought you were Feds myself, when you first came in." Hooker and Gondorff then proceed to nonchalantly walk out of the alley way, as the rest of the players and members of the Sting strip the room of its contents before Snyder and/or Lonnegan and his men can come back to retrieve the money.
• As Hooker leaves, Gondorff offers him his share of the take. Hooker refuses, saying "Na, I'd only blow it".

4. The Color of Money (1986): In the book version of the sequel, Felson is no longer a professional pool player, but now owns a pool hall. He takes up a cue again to go on tour versus Minnesota Fats -- the fictional character from The Hustler, not the real-life Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone -- for a cable TV sports show. Eddie finds he must cope with becoming skilled at the now-prevalent game of nine-ball, as opposed to straight pool, which he had mastered decades earlier. While losing to Fats, he regains some of his lost competitiveness and pride. In the film version, Felson is a liquor salesman. He misses the action and goes back on the road as a stakehorse for a skilled but unfocused protégé, Vincent, travelling with the latter's manipulative girlfriend, Carmen. Eddie teaches them how to hustle significant amounts of money. But he also becomes increasingly frustrated with them and with himself, until an explosive falling-out results in a parting of the ways. Eddie resumes competitive play himself, first hustling on "the road" and later in the professional tournament circuit, eventually coming head-to-head across the table with the now-successful (and far more treacherous) Vincent. Eddie wins their match, only to find out that Vincent lost deliberately, having had money riding against himself. Vincent gives Eddie $8,000 as a cut from the bet. Eddie procedes to forfeit his next match and give the money back to Vincent. He requests a private rematch, but states that if he doesn't beat Vincent now, he will in the future because, after all, "I'm back." Subplots involve antagonism with a cocaine-abusing pool hustler named Julian; an up-and-down romance Eddie is having with a bar owner, Janelle, and sexual tension between Carmen and Eddie. Only minor references are made to the original movie (a returned character, Eddie's nickname, his formerly being shut out of the pool-hustling sphere, his preferred brand of whiskey, J.T.S. Brown, etc.), and Fats is not mentioned in the story.

By Richard Moody, James Conlon & Ben Lindley

Richard Moody's Mixture Of Favorite Movies

1. The Emperor’s New Groove (2000): Kuzco (David Spade) is the self-centered teenaged emperor of a mountainous jungle nation. One day, he summons Pacha (John Goodman), the headman of a nearby village, to inform him that he is building his summer home, Kuzcotopia, on the site of Pacha's home. Pacha attempts to protest, and is dismissed. Kuzco's ancient, power-hungry advisor Yzma (Eartha Kitt) and her easily-distracted lackey Kronk (Patrick Warburton) then attempt to poison Kuzco so that she can take control of the empire. However, the attempt is flawed, as the supposed poison turns out to be a potion which turns Kuzco into a llama. After knocking Kuzco unconscious, Yzma orders Kronk to dispose of him, but conscience-stricken Kronk loses the sack holding Kuzco. Kuzco ends up in Pacha's village, and after discovering that he has been changed, demands that Pacha help him return to the palace. Rebuffed, Kuzco attempts to return on his own and ends up surrounded by a pack of jaguars, only to be saved when Pacha has a change of heart. Pacha offers a deal to Kuzco—that he will help Kuzco if Kuzco will build his summer home elsewhere; Kuzco pretends to agree but only truly begins to change after the pair of them must work together to survive the collapse of a rope bridge. Yzma assumes command of the nation, but when Kronk reveals he never killed Kuzco, the two search the jungle for him. Kuzco, Pacha, Yzma, and Kronk finally arrive at the same roadside diner, where Kuzco is glad to see Yzma until he overhears that she is out to kill him. He and Pacha realize the only way to prevent this is to return to Yzma's laboratory and find a potion to return Kuzco to normal. A race between Kuzco, Pacha, Yzma and Kronk begins, with the latter pairing finally getting hit by lightning and falling into a chasm. Kuzco and Pacha arrive at the laboratory but find, inexplicably, that their pursuers somehow got there first. Kronk changes sides after a vicious tongue-lashing from Yzma, and gets dropped down a trapdoor. Yzma summons the palace guards, forcing Kuzco and Pacha to grab all of the transformation potions they can and flee. After trying several formulas that convert Kuzco to other animals, and then back to a llama, they escape the guards (but not Yzma) and find they are down to only two vials. Yzma accidentally steps on one of the two, turning herself into a tiny kitten. She still almost manages to obtain the antidote, but is thwarted by the sudden reappearance of Kronk. Kuzco becomes human again and sets out to redeem himself, building Kuzcotopia on the hill next to Pacha's home. Meanwhile, outdoorsman Kronk becomes a scout leader, with kitten-Yzma forced to be a member of the troop

2. Dinosaur (2000): The film revolves around the life of an Iguanodon named Aladar who is taken from his nest as an egg and after a long and precarious flight via a Pteranodon, his egg lands on Lemur Island where he is adopted by the family of lemurs; consisting of Plio, her father Yar, and her son, Zini. Years on, Plio has had a daughter named Suri and the family takes part in mating season which Zini fails to accomplish and goes without a mate. Moments after the mating season ends, a huge meteorite destroys the island and leaves only Aladar and his closest family members alive. The family move on and come across a herd of various dinosaurs, led by igunandon Kron and his lieutenant Bruton. Other herd members include elderly Brachiosaurus Baylene, Styracosaurus Eema, dog-like Ankylosaurus Url, and Kron's younger sister Neera.
Aladar and the lemurs accompany the herd across a desert to reach a nearby breeding ground the herd has visited before. However, they are stalked by Velociraptors and later Carnotaurus, referred to as "Carnotaurs" in the film. The herd stops at a lake that appears to be dried up, but the water is revealed to be underground, by Aladar hearing it underneath because he had been trying to get Baylene and Eema across. Carnotaurs attack, sending the herd into a panicked flurry. Aladar, the lemurs, Eema, Baylene, Url and Bruton are all left behind and regroup in a series of caves. The Carnotaurs attack them, but Bruton sacrifices himself to allow the others to flee, one of the Carnotaurs killed in the process. The group flee to the back of the caverns, then smash down a wall to reveal a path straight into the breeding ground. Eema spots that the usual entrance has been blocked off, prompting Aladar to find Kron and the rest of the herd. Kron, Neera and the herd are on the other side of the blocked off entrance, Kron ordering that the herd climb impossibly over the wall. Aladar arrives and suggests the route through the caves due to a sheer drop on the other side that would kill the herd, which Kron objects to and accuses Aladar of stealing his role as leader. The two fight until Neera steps in and defends Aladar, deciding to go with him and the herd through his route. The surviving Carnotaur appears, causing the herd to go into a panic. Aladar convinces the herd that the only way they can survive is by standing together. They fend off the Carnotaur and get past it, but the Carnotaur then notices Kron, who had refused to follow Aladar, and decided he would climb the wall to get to the nesting grounds. The Carnotaur begins to chase Kron down. Neera notices this, and rushes to try to aid her brother, soon followed by Aladar. In the fight that ensues, Kron is fatally wounded by the Carnotaur. Aladar forces the Carnotaur onto a cliff edge that collapses, sending it plummeting to its death. Neera comes to Kron but it is too late. The herd reaches the breeding ground, led by Aladar. Aladar and Neera have children as well as the rest of the herd, and the lemurs find more of their kind.

3. Bedazzled (2000): Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser) is a geeky and overeager young man working a dead-end job in a San Francisco call-center. He has no real friends, other than his co-workers who manipulate him for their own amusement, knowing he'll do anything for acceptance. He has a crush on his colleague, Alison Gardner (Frances O'Connor), but lacks the courage to ask her out. After Elliot is ditched at a bar while trying to talk to Alison, he says that he would give anything for Alison to be with him. Satan (Elizabeth Hurley), in the form of a beautiful woman, hears this wish and offers Elliot a contract. She will give Elliot seven wishes, and in return Elliot will give her his soul. As might be expected of a bargain with Satan, there is a catch to the deal. No matter what Elliot asks for himself, Satan grants each of his wishes, but each time also giving him something he didn't ask for.

• As a test wish, he wishes for a McDonalds Big Mac and a Coke. Satan takes him to McDonalds and places the order on his behalf. Elliot has to pay for it, because as the saying goes, "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch." After taking Elliott to her nightclub in Oakland in her black Lamborghini Diablo, Satan gets Elliott to sign her substantial contract, and delivers his further wishes:
• As his first wish, he wishes to be rich and powerful, with Alison as his wife. Satan makes him a Colombian Drug Lord whose wife despises him and is having an affair with her language tutor Raoul who was secretly working with Elliot's business partners to take Elliot's place in business. Satan points out that he never wished for Alison to be in love with him.
• Secondly, he wishes to be emotionally sensitive, but Satan deliberately makes him so sensitive he spends much of his time crying at how beautiful the world is. Alison then contradicts herself and says she wants to be with a man who is strong and shallow and soon leaves Elliot for another man which is strong, rude and completely different from romantic and emotionally sensitive Elliot.
• For the third wish, wishes to be a superstar athlete who would be a magnet for girls. Satan makes him an unstoppable seven-foot-plus tall basketball star, but also gives him an extremely small penis and equally low IQ (as evidenced by a limited vocabulary), which causes Alison to lose interest in him.
• As his fourth wish, he wishes to be intelligent, witty and well-endowed. Satan grants this by making him a famous writer with whom Alison immediately falls in love. When they arrive to Elliot's place to make love it is revealed that Elliot is actually gay, living with a male partner.
• Lastly, he wishes to be President of the United States to try to do the world some good. Satan, however, makes him Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of his assassination.

In each wish, his co-workers are his nemeses, thwarting each one.

After each wish is renounced (by dialing 666 on a pager), Elliot returns for a meeting with Satan in which she blames him for not being specific enough in his desires and prompts him to try again. These meetings take place in a variety of locations, with Satan each time in a different role, in which she carries out a variety of everyday evil acts - dismissing a class full of students from their lesson without any homework other than to remember not to take any interest in being educated, swapping the medication on a hospital trolley for candy (although she explains that those were placebos), forcing parking meters to expire, and writing tickets for parked cars. The roles she plays (teacher, nurse, police officer, cheerleader) can be viewed as objects of typical male sexual fantasies. In one of the deleted scenes she also wears a French maid outfit. Eventually he goes back to work, taking time to think on what would be best to do with the two last wishes. Appearing to him once more, Satan points out that on their first meeting he asked for a Big Mac and Coke, although she explicitly stated earlier on that it was a mere test wish and did not count. This counts against his total, leaving just one wish remaining. Elliot finally loses patience with Satan and storms out of his office. He visits a church looking for God's help, where he briefly confesses to a priest who seems sympathetic. However the priest, upon being asked whether he thinks asking Satan for a Big Mac and Coke counts as a wish, has Elliot arrested. The sergeant decides to book him, and Satan, now dressed as a police officer, throws him in a cell, telling him that she really does like him, and it wouldn't hurt to have her as a friend. In prison, Elliot's cellmate (Gabriel Casseus, as an angel) tells him that he cannot possibly sell his soul as it belongs to God, "that universal spirit that animates and binds all things in existence" and although Satan may try to confuse him, in the end he will realise who he truly is, and what his purpose is. Mistakes are to be expected, but with an open heart and mind, eventually he'll get it right. Elliot questions the man as to his identity, but the response is simply "a really good friend". Elliot returns to Satan and asks her to cancel their contract. When Satan refuses, Elliot states that he will not use up his final wish. Satan angrily teleports both Elliot and herself to her domain, Hell, where she transforms first into a black horned monster, then into an enormous giantess, who is much bigger than the terrified Elliot in comparison. When Satan pushes him to make a final wish, Elliot blurts out that he wishes that Alison could have a happy life. Satan heavily sighs and Elliot falls into the depths of Hell. Elliot wakes up on a marble staircase, wondering if it is Heaven. Satan tells him that it is merely a courthouse and that, by the terms of his contract, a selfless wish voids the entire deal, so he gets to keep his soul. Before they part ways Elliott admits that despite her manipulation of him he has come to like Satan and regards her as a best friend, something she does not object to. She simply says that Heaven and Hell can be found on Earth; it is up to humans to choose. Elliot finally approaches Alison directly and asks her out, only to find that she is already dating somebody. He accepts this with good grace and continues with his life, but with a better understanding of who he is and renewed confidence. Later he is confronted by Bob, one of his "friends" at the office, who makes fun of his former attempts to be cool. Elliot finally loses his temper and grabs Bob by the shirt, but lets him go, simply saying "Nice talking to you." A threatening look sends his other coworkers scurrying. At home, he soon meets a new neighbor, Nicole Delarusso, with a striking resemblance to Alison personality traits and dressing styles similar to his. He offers to help her unpack and they presumably begin a relationship (though it is hinted that this is Satan's doing). While the two are walking along the boulevard, Satan and the cellmate, both dressed in white, are seen playing a friendly game of chess (Satan, true to form, tries to change the pieces while the man watches Elliot and Nicole), confirming some kind of bond between the two. The movie closes to the lyrics of "Change Your Mind" by Sister Hazel, and reveals that Elliot 'drinks from the carton', and Nicole 'hogs the covers'.

4. The Flintsones: Viva Rock Vegas (2000): Fred Flintstone (Mark Addy) and Barney Rubble (Baldwin) share a trailer while trying (unsuccessfully) to find girlfriends. They meet a little green alien called the Great Gazoo, who was exiled to Earth by his species in order to study the human mating and reproduction cycle (his own people reproduce asexually). Gazoo, whom only Fred and Barney can see, decides to follow Fred and Barney to gather information, even though his superior knowledge and personality annoys them. Wilma, meanwhile, is living in a mansion with her wealthy parents. Her control-freak mother, Pearl, thinks that her daughter's wish to do common things such as bowling are silly and wants her to marry rich smooth casino-owner Chip Rockfeller. After a fight with her mother, Wilma angrily storms out of the house and goes to a Bronto Burger King in Bedrock, where she is waited on by Betty. Betty mistakenly thinks that Wilma is a "caveless" person and offers to share her apartment with her. Wilma is also given a job at the restaurant. When Fred and Barney go to the restaurant for dinner, they are smitten with the girls and manage to talk them into going to a carnival with them. Fred goes with Betty and Barney goes with Wilma, but they later exchange girls. Wilma later takes Fred, Barney, and Betty to her father's birthday party, where Fred intends on proposing to Wilma. Once they get there, they are all shocked to find out that Wilma comes from a very wealthy family, when they all thought that she was poor, and Fred changes his mind about proposing to her after he meets Chip and realizes what he is up against. Fred and Barney humiliate themselves and Wilma at the dinner, but Wilma tells everyone that she is proud to be friends with them and they walk out of the mansion. Chip, however, devises a plan to get Wilma back by inviting the foursome to stay at his resort in Rock Vegas, believing that Fred will become caught up in gambling and Wilma will leave him. The four of them enjoy the start of their trip. Chip gives them a huge comfortable suite at his resort, and access to the pool, and spa treatment for Wilma and Betty. Fred decides to start gambling, but never bets any high amount. Chip and his girlfriend Roxie are visited by two men who reveal that Chip owes their boss a lot of money. Chip tells them that he will soon be married to Wilma and will use her family's money to pay off his debt, and Gazoo witnesses the entire conversation. Chip then invites Fred to play poker with the high rollers, and make more money, but Barney tries to prevent Fred from agreeing. Chip then tells Barney about the All-You-Can Eat buffet, and gets Roxie to seduce him into escorting her there. Fred gets caught up in gambling that he forgets that he and Barney were supposed to meet Wilma and Betty for dinner. While looking for Barney, Betty sees him wiping cream off of Roxie's chest and mistakenly believes he is touching her breast. She begins crying by a fountain and is approached by Mick Jagged, who is attracted to her. She tells him that her boyfriend was cheating on her and he comforts her, then invites her to go out on a date with him, which she accepts. Fred and Wilma get into an argument over Fred's obsession with gambling and Wilma breaks up with him. Chip then arranges to have Fred lose all of the money he won so he will be left with nothing. Wilma is walking around the resort and runs into Chip and she tells him about her breakup with Fred. He then tells her that there have been burglaries around the hotel and keeps her pearls in a safe. Fred, who has lost all his money, goes to Chip for help, and Chip puts Wilma's pearls in Fred's pocket. He then announces to the entire resort that someone has stolen the pearls, and tells Fred to empty his pockets, and shows all of the guests that Fred has the pearls. Security comes to arrest Fred and Barney as well when he tries to help Fred. Wilma and Chip get back together. While in prison, Fred and Barney are visited by Gazoo, who tells them about Chip's plan to use Wilma's wealth to pay his debt. Then once they think that they can not stop him, they realize that Barney can slip through the bars and he steals the guard's keys and unlocks the cell. The two disguise themselves as dancers and accidentally run into Jagged's dressing room and see Betty. Barney tells Betty he loves her, and they get back together. Chip proposes to Wilma just as Jagged comes on stage to sing, but once he turns around, it is revealed to be Fred. He sings to Wilma, and she realizes that she still loves him. He comes off stage and confesses his love for her and proposes to her. She rejects Chip and agrees to marry Fred. Fred and Wilma get married in the Rock Vegas Chapel of Love. Mick Jagged sings "Viva Rock Vegas" at a party. Wilma throws back her bouquet of flowers and Betty catches it and looks at Barney with a smile on her face and they kiss.

5. The Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000): In 1964 saw the cancellation of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and life became rather miserable and melancholy for Rocky (voiced by June Foray) and Bullwinkle (voiced by Keith Scott). Rocky lost his ability to fly, their home Frostbite Falls was thrown into a deforestation of environmental issues and the two received rather cheap paychecks for re-runs of their old show. Even the show's old narrator (voiced by Keith Scott) has been forced to move in with his mother (voiced by June Foray) where he narrates the events of his own life. However, for the old villains of the show, Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov (both voiced by Keith Scott) and Natasha Fatale (voiced by June Foray), things seem to be looking up for them. After the Iron Curtain literally falls on them, and their country of Pottsylvania is freed from their dictatorship, the villains dig underground, popping up in a television set in Phoney Picture Studios in Los Angeles where they goad an executive Minnie Mogel (Janeane Garofalo) into producing the new Rocky and Bullwinkle Movie. She signs a contract and pulls it out of the television, bringing the villains with it who become live action characters. Six months on, FBI Director Cappy Von Trapment (Randy Quaid) and bungling but beautiful agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) visit President Signoff (James Rebhorn) at the White House, showing him that every single block of American cable programming has been bought by Fearless Leader (portrayed by Robert De Niro) and formed into a single network called RBTV - or Really Bad Television. Cappy explains that the television programmes will be so terrible, that they can "zombify" the entire country and make them vote Fearless Leader as the new President of the United States. Cappy sends Karen to summon Rocky and Bullwinkle from the cartoon world to save the country. She succeeds using a special green lighthouse, which she uses to literally greenlight them, summoning Rocky, Bullwinkle and the unseen Narrator to the lighthouse, Rocky and Bullwinkle becoming CGI characters, and the Narrator somehow turns invisible (seeing as how he is not even seen when they spin inside the bulb of the lighthouse). The trio head out across the country to save the day, but Fearless Leader hears of their return from a literal mole in the White House and he sends Boris and Natasha (portrayed by Jason Alexander and Rene Russo) to stop them. Armed with a truck of typical cartoon weaponry and a laptop called the CDI (Computer Degenerating Imagery) that can destroy cartoon characters, Boris and Natasha try to defeat the heroes with a safe, sticks of dynamite and a cannon, but the heroes steal their truck. Luckily, the villains locate a helicopter and secretly follow the heroes. Natasha, impersonating Karen, warns the state troopers of Oklahoma of their stolen truck. A trooper (John Goodman) arrests Karen and takes her to a woman's prison. Rocky and Bullwinkle continue on their own. Both are picked up by Martin (Kel Mitchell) and Lewis (Kenan Thompson), two students at Wossamotta U., Bullwinkle's old university where he was a football player. Bullwinkle heads to his old university to receive an "Honorary Mooster's Degree" after Boris and Natasha sent the university's chairman a money paycheque in Bullwinkle's name. Rocky spots Boris on a recently built water tower trying to kill Bullwinkle using the CDI, but the squirrel's old flying ability kicks in and he saves Bullwinkle's life. The crowd gathered to protest against Bullwinkle's degree are distracted by Rocky's heroics and applauds, although Bullwinkle (who has been gasbagging this whole time) mistakes them for liking his speech. The two leave Wossamotta U. using Martin and Lewis' convertible. Karen escapes from jail by tricking a lovestruck Swedish prison guard named Ole (Rod Biermann), leaving him waiting for her at a cinema while she drives off in his pickup truck. Boris and Natasha pursue Rocky and Bullwinkle through the city streets of Chicago. Boris and Natasha accidentally degenerating their helicopter with the CDI causing Boris and Natasha to land on a travelling mattress salesman (Billy Crystal). However, they rent a car from the Cheap-O Rent A Car Company. Rocky, Bullwinkle and Karen coincidentally are reunited only to be arrested by a bunch of policemen and put on trial with Judge Cameo (Whoopi Goldberg) presiding. Bullwinkle acts the lawyer which doesn't go well for Karen. Upon recognizing Rocky and Bullwinkle when she puts on her glasses, Judge Cameo freaks out and dismisses the case claiming to the prosecutor that "celebrities are above the law." Later, the trio of heroes buy an old bi-plane from Old Jeb (Jonathan Winters) and head back to New York, Boris and Natasha's attempts to stop them are thwarted by the car company employees. The two consider giving up their job and think about getting married and having children. Fearless Leader calls them and they lie that they killed Rocky and Bullwinkle. The bi-plane the heroes are in begins to lose altitude due to too much weight. Rocky airlifts Karen to New York while Bullwinkle flies the bi-plane to Washington DC to address Signoff about the deforestation of Frostbite Falls. Rocky and Karen break into the RBTV headquarters but are captured when they try to stop Fearless Leader. They are soon turned into vegetables, something of which was done to three other FBI agents (portrayed by Mark Holton, Doug Jones, and Jane Edith Wilson) previously. Meanwhile at the White House Bullwinkle, whom is revealed that his stupidity is immune to RBTV's zombificaton, is e-mailed to the RBTV building by Cappy at the White House. As Fearless Leader broadcasts to the American public to try and make himself President, pandemonium breaks around him as Bullwinkle pops out of a computer and disrupts the signal of the Quality Control, the device that is zombifying the American public. Rocky and Karen are restored to normal and fight the villains, defeating Boris and Natasha easily while Bullwinkle charges upon Fearless Leader, defeating him too. Bullwinkle broadcasts to the country, asking them to vote for whoever they want and for the winning candidate to replant the trees in Frostbite Falls. Karen destroys the Quality Control, freeing the country. Bullwinkle messes with the CDI to send thanks to Cappy, zapping the villains, sending them to the Internet forever. In the end, President Signoff wins the election, RBTV becomes Rocky and Bullwinke Television, Karen goes out with Ole to the cinema where they watch the Rocky and Bullwinkle Movie produced by Minnie Mogul. The Narrator is reunited with his mother, and Rocky and Bullwinkle's home has been restored. Bullwinkle concludes the film, remembering how they went to "New York to meet President Washington".

By Richard Moody & Tanya Ross

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Charlie Bucket is a poor boy who lives near the Wonka Candy Company. The company's owner, Willy Wonka, has for long closed access to his factory due to problems concerning industrial espionage that led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka informs of a contest, in which Golden Tickets have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate, while one ticket holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour. Wonka's sales subsequently skyrocket, and the first four tickets are found fairly quickly. The recipients are Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous German boy; Veruca Salt, a very spoiled English girl; Violet Beauregarde, a competitive gum chewer, and Mike Teavee, an arrogant television and video game addict. Charlie tries twice to find a ticket, but both bars come empty. After overhearing that the final ticket was found in Russia, Charlie finds a ten-dollar note, and purchases a Wonka Bar at a newsstand. At the exact moment it was revealed that the Russian ticket was forged, Charlie discovers the real fifth ticket inside the wrapper. Charlie first considers an offer of $500 for the ticket, but decides to keep it, and bring Grandpa Joe to accompany him on the factory tour. Charlie and the other ticket holders are greeted by Wonka outside the factory, who then leads them into the facility. During the tour, each of the bad children disobey Wonka's orders after being tempted by something related to their individual character flaws, and suffer various consequences: Augustus is sucked up a chocolate extraction pipe after falling into a chocolate river from which he was drinking, Violet is turned into an oversized blueberry after chewing unstable three-course-meal gum, Veruca is pushed into a garbage chute by worker squirrels after she tries to take one as a pet, and Mike is shrunk with a teleporter that he uses on himself. Wonka's employees, the Oompa-Loompas sing a song of morality after each elimination. The children later leave the factory with an exaggerated characteristic or deformity related to their demise – Augustus covered in chocolate, Violet blue-colored, Veruca covered in garbage and Mike overstretched. Wonka then invites Charlie to come live and work in the factory with him, and reveals that the purpose of the Golden Tickets and the tour was to make the "least rotten" child the heir of the factory itself. The only catch is that Charlie must leave his family behind, because Wonka believes family is a hindrance while a chocolatier needed creative freedom – a philosophy Wonka developed due to his dentist father, Dr. Wilbur Wonka, denying his son candy because of the potential risk to his teeth. After sneaking over a piece of candy, Wonka was instantly hooked, and ran away to follow his dreams. As his family is the most important thing in his life, Charlie refuses Wonka's offer. Charlie and his family are living contently a while later, however Wonka is too depressed to make candy the way he used to, and turns to Charlie for advice. Charlie decides to help Wonka confront and reconcile with his estranged father; Wonka finally realizes the value of family, while his father learns to accept his son for who he is, and not what he does. In the end, Charlie has the chocolate factory, and Wonka has patched up with his family.

2. Alice In Wonderland (2010): A retelling of Lewis Carroll's original story, the movie has Alice Kingsley, now 19, attending a party at a Victorian estate, only to find she is about to be proposed to marriage by a rich suitor in front of hundreds of snooty society types. She runs off, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited many years before, though she doesn't remember it. The White Rabbit claims to have come back for Alice because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwock, the beast who guards the Red Queen's empire. Alice remains completely unaware of why she is in Wonderland, and is confused about the fact that she had once visited Wonderland years before. She then embarks — assuming both large and small sizes — on an adventure of self discovery and to save Wonderland from the Red Queen's reign of terror with the help of her Wonderland friends.


By Richard Moody & Bill Ross


1. Wallace & Gromit in the Curse Of The Were-rabbit (2005): Tottington Hall's annual Giant Vegetable Competition is approaching. The winner of the competition will win the Golden Carrot Award. All are eager to protect their vegetables from damage and thievery by rabbits until the contest, and Wallace and Gromit are cashing in by running a vegetable security and humane pest control business, "Anti-Pesto". However, they are faced with two problems: the first is Wallace's growing weight and the second is inadequate space for the captured rabbits. Wallace comes up with an idea — use his Mind Manipulation-O-Matic machine to brainwash the rabbits, allowing them to run freely without harming everyone's gardens. While performing the operation, he kicks the switch and something goes terribly wrong, leaving them with a semi-intelligent rabbit who (in a slow metamorphosis) starts to behave like Wallace (down to his fondness for cheese) and whom Wallace names "Hutch". Soon the town is threatened by the "Were-Rabbit", a giant rabbit-like monster which eats vegetables of any size. During a chaotic yet hilarious town meeting, Anti-Pesto enters into a rivalry with Lord Victor Quartermaine to capture the Were-Rabbit and to win Lady Tottington's heart. After the first night of the Were-Rabbit, the townsfolk start to argue about what to do. After a hectic night-time chase, Gromit discovers that the Were-Rabbit (whom he assumed was Hutch at first) is, in fact, Wallace, suffering from the effects of the accident with the Mind Manipulation-O-Matic having caused him and Hutch to each take on aspects of the other; Hutch even displays Wallace's knack for inventions and regularly repeats some of Wallace's old phrases. Victor corners Wallace during the night, jealous of Lady Tottington's growing fondness for him because of his humane practice of pest control (whereas Victor thinks it's more effective to shoot and kill them). But then Wallace falls into the path of moonlight and transforms. Victor, having identified the Were-Rabbit, goes to Reverend Clement Hedges and gains access to "24-carrot" gold bullets - supposedly, the only things capable of killing a Were-Rabbit. During the final showdown, Victor and his dog Philip capture Gromit, who subsequently escapes and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice by using the marrow he had been growing for the competition as bait for Wallace who, in his rabbit form, has burst in upon the vegetable contest, causing panic. Victor tries to shoot what is apparently the monster, but Gromit is one step ahead of him, using a rabbit costume he and Wallace had created prior to the discovery of the Were-Rabbit's true nature as a trap. Unfortunately, the marrow cannot keep Wallace's attention as Victor tries to take the golden carrot award from a distressed Lady Tottington (The only vaguely bullet-like object left to him after he exhausted the gold bullets provided by the vicar). Wallace ascends to the rooftops, holding a screaming Lady Tottington in his hand. Discovering his identity, she promises to protect him, only to be interrupted by Victor. Meanwhile, in a mid-air dogfight in toy aeroplanes, Philip chases after Gromit. Gromit forces his foe out of the air in a fiery crash and explosion - but Philip manages to hold on to Gromit's plane and the two grapple with each other. The fight rages on and in the end, Gromit releases Philip, ironically, through the bomb doors and into a bouncy castle. On the roof of Tottington Hall, Gromit's toy biplane circles Wallace, who clings onto the flagpole at the top of the building for dear life. Victor, wielding the Golden Carrot trophy inside a blunderbuss he finds at an antiques table at the fair, tries one last time to shoot Wallace, but Wallace is saved by Gromit, who grabs onto a rope from a flagpole and swings his plane into the path of the improvised bullet. The enraged Victor throws down the blunderbuss and stamps on it screaming out "Potty poo!" Unfortunately, since it is a toy plane not intended for flying, when Gromit accidentally lets go of the rope, the plane begins to descend rapidly. Wallace jumps from the flagpole and catches the plane, thereby breaking Gromit's fall into the cheese tent below. Victor gloats, but is knocked unconscious by Lady Tottington, using a giant carrot. He falls into the tent too, where Wallace lies unconscious and seemingly dying of his injuries. To protect Wallace from the angry mob outside, Gromit dresses Victor up as the monster (using a marionette he used earlier as a lure for the Were-Rabbit), and throws him out of the tent. Philip, believing Victor to be the beast, bites his master, and the angry mob chases Victor away. Gromit and Tottington tend to Wallace who, seconds later, breathes his last and morphs back into his human form. Gromit, the rabbits, and Lady Tottington are saddened by their loss, but Gromit is able to revive Wallace with a slice of Stinking Bishop cheese. Gromit, for his bravery and his "brave and splendid marrow", was awarded the (now somewhat battered) competition trophy, and Lady Tottington turns Tottington Hall into a wildlife refuge where all the rabbits, including Hutch, can live in peace.


By Richard Moody, Greg Ross & Tanya Ross