It’s been twenty years. Think about that for a second. Two decades since Aardman Animations decided to take their plasticine duo, Wallace and Gromit, and throw them into a high-stakes Hammer Horror parody. Honestly, if you grew up with it, the cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit isn't just a list of names in the credits. It’s a texture. It’s the sound of Peter Sallis’s whistling "s" sounds and the sheer, unadulterated arrogance dripping from Ralph Fiennes’s voice.
Nick Park and Steve Box didn't just make a movie about a giant bunny. They made a masterpiece of British eccentricity. The casting was a huge part of why this worked where other stop-motion films sometimes feel a bit wooden. They didn't just go for "big names" for the sake of the poster—though they got them—they went for voices that felt like they were molded from the same clay as the puppets.
The Heart of West Wallaby Street: Peter Sallis
You can’t talk about the cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit without starting with the late, great Peter Sallis. By the time this film rolled around in 2005, Sallis was already synonymous with Wallace. There’s something deeply comforting about his delivery. It’s that Northern English warmth, that unshakeable optimism even when a giant rabbit is eating your prize-winning marrow.
Sallis didn't just record lines. He defined the character’s mouth shapes. If you look at Wallace’s iconic "cheese" grin, it’s basically an exaggeration of how Sallis articulated his words. It’s a rare case where the actor’s physical presence is felt in a puppet they never actually touched. He was 84 when the movie came out. Think about that energy level. He had to play Wallace, but he also had to play "Anti-Pesto" Wallace—the man trying to be a hero while staying a total bumbling mess.
Then there’s Gromit.
Yeah, I know. He doesn't have a voice actor. But in the context of the "cast," Gromit’s performance is arguably the strongest. It’s all in the brows. The animators at Aardman are basically the "actors" here. The timing of a Gromit eye-roll is more effective than a five-minute monologue from a Shakespearean veteran. It’s silent film acting at its peak.
Ralph Fiennes and the Villainy of Lord Victor Quartermaine
Now, let’s talk about Ralph Fiennes. Before he was Voldemort, he was Lord Victor Quartermaine. This was a stroke of genius. Fiennes is known for these heavy, dramatic, often terrifying roles. To see him play a pompous, toupee-wearing hunter who is secretly a coward? Brilliant.
His chemistry with Helena Bonham Carter (Lady Campanula Tottington) is what gives the movie its satirical edge. Fiennes plays Victor with this aggressive, guttural bravado. He's the foil to Wallace's soft-spoken, gadget-obsessed nature. When he shouts about his "toupée" or his blunderbuss, you can hear him having the time of his life. It’s a masterclass in voice acting because he never "winks" at the camera. He plays Victor completely straight, which makes the absurdity ten times funnier.
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Lady Tottington: The Heart of the High Society
Helena Bonham Carter as Lady Tottington is perfection. She brings this airy, slightly dim-but-well-meaning Victorian energy to the role.
- She’s obsessed with her garden.
- She’s clearly too good for Victor.
- She has a genuine, if bizarre, romantic spark with Wallace.
The way she says "Wallace!" is burned into the brain of every person who saw this in theaters. She represents the "Old World" of the village, but she’s the one who embraces Wallace’s "modern" (and usually failing) technology.
The Supporting Players: Why the Village Feels Real
The cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit thrives in the fringes. The "minor" characters are where the real British flavor lives. Take Nicholas Smith as Reverend Clement Hedges. If you don't know the name, Smith was a legend from Are You Being Served?. His performance as the paranoid, doom-mongering vicar is iconic.
"The beast! The beast!"
He sells the horror elements of the parody. Without his genuine fear, the Were-Rabbit wouldn't feel like a "threat," even if it is just a giant fluffy bunny. Then you have Liz Smith as Mrs. Mulch and Peter Kay as PC Mackintosh.
Peter Kay was at the height of his fame when this was made. Giving him the role of the local bobby was a nod to his stand-up roots. He plays it with that classic "not my job" civil servant energy. It grounds the fantasy. You have a monster on the loose, but the local cop is more worried about the rules of the Giant Vegetable Competition.
The "Others" in the Booth
It’s easy to forget that the cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit also includes a lot of Aardman regulars. People like Geraldine McEwan (Miss Marple herself!) played Miss Thripp. These are tiny roles, maybe five or six lines, but they fill out the world. The village of 62 West Wallaby Street and its surroundings feels like a place where everyone has lived for sixty years. They all know each other’s business. They all care about their vegetables more than their children.
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Why This Specific Cast Worked
Many animated films from the mid-2000s tried to pack their cast with "cool" celebrities. Think Shark Tale or Madagascar. They wanted the biggest names in Hollywood. Aardman didn't do that. They chose actors who fit the vibe of a rainy Tuesday in Lancashire.
Ralph Fiennes might be a global superstar, but he’s also a classically trained British actor who knows how to play a "pantomime villain." Helena Bonham Carter is the queen of quirky British cinema. By sticking to actors who understood the specific cultural tropes of the UK, the movie achieved a sense of "timelessness." It doesn't feel dated because it wasn't trying to be "hip" in 2005.
The Complexity of Producing a Claymation Voice
People think you just go into a booth, read the lines, and leave. For the cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit, it was a years-long process.
Because stop-motion is so slow—we’re talking seconds of footage per week—the voice performances had to be locked in early. The animators then used those recordings to guide every single lip sync and eyebrow twitch. If Peter Sallis improvised a little chuckle, an animator had to spend three days making sure Wallace’s mouth moved perfectly to match that specific sound.
The actors often had to return to record "pickups" or ADR years after their initial sessions. Imagine trying to find that same character voice two years later. It requires a level of consistency that most live-action actors never have to deal with. Fiennes, in particular, had to maintain that high-energy, shouty persona across multiple sessions spread far apart.
The Legacy of the Performances
Sadly, we’ve lost some of the core cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit since its release. Peter Sallis passed away in 2017. Nicholas Smith passed in 2015. Liz Smith in 2016.
This gives the film a bittersweet quality now. It was the last time we saw the "original" Wallace in a feature-length film. While Ben Whitehead has done a fantastic job taking over the mantle of Wallace in recent projects, Sallis’s performance in Curse of the Were-Rabbit remains the definitive version of the character. He brought a soul to a hunk of clay that changed the face of animation.
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Lessons from the Cast for Modern Creators
If you’re looking at why this movie still holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not just the animation. It’s the commitment to character.
- Voice over "Name": Choose the voice that fits the character's soul, not the one that looks best on a billboard.
- Embrace the Flaws: Wallace isn't a perfect hero. Victor isn't a "cool" villain. The cast leaned into the pathetic, funny, and human elements of their roles.
- Timing is Everything: In comedy, the "gap" between lines is as important as the lines themselves. The editing of this cast’s performances is tight, punchy, and never lingers too long.
Moving Forward with the Aardman World
If you want to truly appreciate the work that went into this film, your next step is to watch the "Making Of" documentaries. Specifically, look for the footage of the voice recording sessions. Seeing Ralph Fiennes physically acting out Victor's movements in a sound booth—gesturing wildly and making faces—shows you that voice acting is just "acting" with the lights turned off.
You should also check out the newer Wallace & Gromit shorts to see how the "new" cast handles the legacy. It’s a fascinating study in how to maintain a brand’s voice while the original actors move on.
Finally, go back and watch the film one more time, but ignore the rabbit. Focus entirely on the background characters. Listen to the murmurs in the town hall meeting. Listen to the way the villagers react to the news of the Were-Rabbit. That is where the world-building lives. That is the true magic of the cast of Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Don't just take it as a "kids' movie." It’s a masterclass in ensemble performance. The actors treated it with the same respect they would a West End play, and it shows in every single frame.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Watch the DVD Commentary: Nick Park and Steve Box break down exactly why they chose each actor for their specific roles.
- Explore Peter Sallis’s Early Work: To understand Wallace, you have to see where Sallis came from, particularly his long-running role in Last of the Summer Wine.
- Study the Character Designs: Notice how the physical features of Lady Tottington and Lord Victor mirror the vocal ranges of Bonham Carter and Fiennes.
The movie is a testament to the idea that when you get the casting right, the rest of the magic follows naturally.
Actionable Insights:
- When casting for any project, prioritize vocal "texture" and the ability to convey emotion without physical presence.
- Incorporate character-driven humor rather than topical jokes to ensure your content remains relevant for decades.
- Respect the legacy of original performers while allowing new talent the space to interpret iconic roles for a modern audience.