Fire destroys 'Wallace and Gromit' warehouse

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

This is a tragedy.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/10/aardman.fire/index.html

"BRISTOL, England -- The company behind the new "Wallace and Gromit" film said Monday its "entire history" has been destroyed in a fire at a warehouse containing props and sets.

The roof and three interior walls of the Aardman Animations building in Bristol, west England collapsed after the blaze tore through the Victorian building, fire officials said

The fire broke out at about 5:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), with flames reaching 100 feet into the air. The cause of the blaze was being investigated.

A spokesman for Aardman said the building housed props and sets from the company's history, including its first three "Wallace and Gromit" films."

[Coventina]

1. Oh, what a bummer!

I love "Wallace & Gromit".

That's really sad.

Fortunately, the films live on.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

4. True but Nick Park must be heartbroken

[myrna minx]

8. Nick Park is such a gentle soul. This must be heart breaking.

:cry:

[Taxloss]

11. He was surprisingly philosophical about it.

He said the earthquake in Kashmir put the loss into perspective.

A strong man.

[dolo amber]

14. That's awesome

What a guy. :toast:

Still a sick suck of a drag, though. :(

[Taxloss]

16. Yeah, no kidding.

They had stuff going back to kid's shows I used to watch more than 20 years ago. An awful loss for them and for animation history.

[benburch]

2. Damn.

What a shame!

But with the films themselves to go by, it ought not to be so very difficult to make new sets for the next piece and continue.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

5. And with Were-Rabbit debuting at #1 in the US I bet they can rebuild.

[mattclearing]

3. Ugh...that's too bad.

I can't imagine how I'd feel if everything I'd done had been destroyed. At least their films are in the public domain.

[myrna minx]

6. This is so sad.

I just went to see the Curse of the Were Rabbit yesterday. :cry:

[Spinzonner]

7. These movie promotional stunts are getting out of hand

:sarcasm:

[Beware the Beast Man]

28. You're a regular riot.

:eyes:

[Spinzonner]

33. Actually, I'm a bit irregular

and don't encourage me.

[tinrobot]

9. Oh my god..

That's devastating.

[LynzM]

10. I can't imagine how much lost work that represents

That's really sad, and terrible for those involved :(

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. At least it was warehousing material from completed projects

and not destroying works in progress.

[SnowGoose]

12. With all the recent real disasters, I feel guilty being sad

about this, but I can't help it.

The red rocketship.
The penguin.
The knit-o-matic.
Also the stuff from creature comforts, presumably.

So sad.

On edit - Park's a class-act.
From CNN:

Wallace and Gromit's creator, Nick Park, said the earthquake in South Asia helped put the loss into perspective.

"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal," he said.

[YOY]

13. "Cheese Grommit!"

Cheese it clearly to blame in this sad story.

[Duer 157099]

15. Arrgh! Where was Anti-Tardant?!?

His work is so fantastic, and the props so detail-oriented and nuanced... so sad indeed!

But can't you just imagine Wallace getting caught in his own fire-drill device, and Gromit rolling his eyes helplessly?

::sigh:::

[xultar]

17. Something STINKS!

[Dudley_DUright]

18. Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

:cry:

[Gregorian]

19. They couldn't put it out in time.

The emergency crew could only move a frame at a time.

[AndreaCG]

I just saw Curse of the Were-Rabbit

It was terrific. Do yourselves a favor and see it. They will need the money!

[AndreaCG]

21. I just saw Curse of the Were-Rabbit

It was terrific. Do yourselves a favor and see it. They will need the money!

[NYC Liberal]

32. I just saw it last night as well!

It was a great movie, very light. I've always loved W-n-G. Maybe I'll go again just to give them a few exta bucks.

[Akoto]

22. What a shame.

Their new movie seems to be finding a good level of success, so they'll probably be able to rebuild. No amount of money can replace the history lost in that warehouse, though. :(

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

23. ouch....

man, that really is sad. It's nice of Park to put it into perspective for us...and for himself.

[Up2Late]

24. Well, at least the film was finished, it's much worst when this happens

before a project is finished.

When will all this sad news end.:evilfrown:

[JanMichael]

25. Arson? Revenge? For the Smurfs ad?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5012868&mesg_id=5012868

[Book Lover]

26. What a loss for the history of cinema

Trust a gentleman like Mr. Park to put it in perspective, though.

[4_Legs_Good]

27. OMG!

That's heartbreaking. Soooo much work went into all these films.

Ugh!

I guess at least they got the images on film, and that should survive forever.

Great new movie, btw!

david

[RandomKoolzip]

29. I smell conspiracy.

Actually, no...this is terribly fucking sad. Those movies take YEARS to produce and boatloads of patience.

Ugh.....My wife's a huge fan; she's gonna be sooo bummed out when I tell her.

[Beware the Beast Man]

30. That is a major bummer.

Nick Park makes animated films the old fashioned way, and it's sad to see his life's work vanish just like that, after all the people he has entertained though the years. :cry:

[Beaverhausen]

31. Oh no...that sucks

I love those films. This is terrible news! :cry:

[EFerrari]

34. This is horrible news!

At least with the tech we have, perhaps the images can be recreated.

We fell in love with W&G from the very first footage.

:(

[Zhade]

35. Damn, that sucks.

What a loss to the history of cinema!

[libbygurl]

36. Ugh. Very gracious response from Nick Park. Still a terrible loss.

Go see "Curse of the Were-Rabbit", fellas! You'll have a grand time, and help Aardman studios, too!

[really annoyed]

37. My nephew was just asking me about Wallace and Gromit

This will probably break his heart. :-(

The creator of "Wallace and Gromit" is taking it all into perspective though.

"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal."