LOVEABLE animated duo Wallace and Gromit experience a close shave with a gigantic rabbit in their first ever feature-length film.

And the genius of Nick Park's delightful creations is certainly not lost on the big screen, with all the usual comedy capers and attention to detail we have come to know and love.

Cheese-loving Wallace and his silent pet pooch Gromit have become the toast of the town as successful and humane pest controllers. Thanks to their good work, townsfolk can sleep soundly in their beds knowing their entries for the forthcoming Giant Vegetable Competition are safe and secure from mischievous rabbits.

Life really could not be better for the twosome, particularly when beautiful and wealthy spinster Lady Tottington makes amorous advances to Wallace.

But disaster strikes just days before the competition when an enormous rabbit with an even bigger appetite for all things green makes an appearance in the town. Could this cotton-tailed troublemaker be a challenge too far for the pest control specialists?

This film is great family fun, with just enough good humour to keep both adults and little ones amused. As usual, the animation is ingenious and there are some fantastic vocal performances from Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter and Peter Kay.

However, as with many films which start out in life as a television short, I felt there wasn't quite enough material to keep up the momentum for a full 96 minutes.

EB