YMMV / A Close Shave

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Wallace's Parrot Expo-WHAT? to Wendolene when she says Preston is malfunctioning. Does he not know what the word malfunctioning means or is he just confused as to why Wendoline was using it to refer to her dog? Considering Wallace is a technical inventor and should know that term, the latter is hinted at. How would you react to being told that a dog that looks like, well, a dog, is actually a robot?
  • Wendolene's claim that she's allergic to cheese. Is she just stating an arbitrary fact or is she lying to let Wallace down gently? That's assuming she even knows he's interested in her romantically.
  • Preston's actual malfunctioning. Is it a case of Ambition Is Evil and gaining the sentience of a ruthless, spiteful money maker, or simply taking the directive of paying his late master's debts to it's most unfettered tee?
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Shaun the Sheep. So much so, that he got his own spinoff series, a spinoff of the spinoff and, eventually, two movies! At this point, he's actually replaced Wallace and Gromit as Aardman's most iconic character.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The morning after Shaun first enters the house, Wallace and Gromit discover the various things he's chewed and/or eaten. Mistaking the cause for mice, Wallace wonders if he should get the pest control people in.
• It Was His Sled: Preston is a robot.
• Nausea Fuel: Wallace getting covered form head-to-toe in machine-gun porridge. For some, it looks less like porridge and more like vomit.
• Nightmare Fuel: Preston. For kids who were born in the 90s, Preston's reveal as a robot was pretty frightening, even if it is intended to be a parody reference to The Terminator.
  • In fact, Preston is probably considered the most intimidating villain in the Wallace and Gromit franchise. If not, he is certainly a close runner-up.
• No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Would you believe that the series' popularity in America started entirely from a (minor) scandal over this film? During a publicity tour, Nick Park accidentally left two puppets in the back of a New York taxi, sending the British press into a panic. The American press, confused as to what the big deal was, looked into it and, as a result, brought the duo to the attention of the United States, with people buying a total of two million copies of the first three films on video cassette by year's end.
• Tear Dryer: Gromit is wrongly imprisoned for sheep rustling and is sent a jigsaw puzzle with sheep on it. Gromit breaks down crying, thinking it's a cruel prank. Thankfully, it turns out to be a secret message from Wallace. Then Shaun appears at the window with a buzzsaw.
• Tear Jerker
  • Wendoline telling Wallace that she's "no good" for him. It's Played for Laughs, with the melodramatic soap opera music and the absurdity of Wallace having a flock of sheep behind him the whole time, but it wouldn't be nearly as funny if it weren't also genuinely sad. Her last line is sincere all around.
    "I'm so sorry about Gromit." (Cries.)
  • The montage of Wallace and Shaun reading the papers documenting Gromit's trial and eventual incarceration. The sheep once again flocked around eating the household as a Funny Background Event the whole time....until the final headline "Gromit Gets Life", where they are all huddled behind Wallace reading with tearful, empathetic looks.
    "Oh Gromit."
  • Gromit crying when he receives the jigsaw puzzle, thinking someone is playing a mean prank on him (later revealed to be a secret message from Wallace). The weight of the situation finally comes crashing down on him and he bursts into tears, pounding his fist on the table in anguish.
• The Woobie: Wendolene, having been forced take part in Preston's sheep rustling and is wracked with guilt when he frames Gromit for the crime. Then her canine companion turns on her too, nearly feeding her to the same machine as the rest of the sheep. It's only after the efforts of Shaun and Gromit that she's free from her terror.

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