Looking for a fast way to earn dough, Wallace decides to make it. Armed with a batch of ovens, an army of robotic kneading arms and an old-fashioned windmill, Wallace & Gromit? start "Top Bun,? their new bread-baking business. Sales rise quickly and Wallace falls head over buns in love with a seductive bread-industry icon, Piella Bakewell. But when bakers suddenly start disappearing, Gromit realizes that his master is in danger as he follows a twisting, turning trail of crumbs to solve a murder mystery that becomes?A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH!

In A Matter of Loaf and Death, addled inventor Wallace and his brilliant canine companion Gromit have started a bread bakery with unpredictable but predictably hilarious results. The arrival of Piella Bakewell, the former star of the Bake-O-Lite Bread commercials, upsets their complicated world of mixers, flour mills, ovens, and forklifts. Wallace falls hard for her self-conscious charms, but Gromit uncovers a link to a string of murdered bakers. ("Cereal killer strikes again!") Director Nick Park redefined the possibilities of clay-figure stop-motion animation in the Oscar-winning shorts Creature Comforts and The Wrong Trousers, and he continues to find new subtleties of expression and gesture. When an injured Wallace asks, "I'm not a fruitcake, am I," Gromit squeezes the corners of his eyes to force a smile and gently pats his friend's arm. A Matter of Loaf and Death may not be as perfect a gem as The Wrong Trousers (what is?), but it's a worthy successor to A Close Shave and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The extras include an unusually interesting commentary track with Park and editor David McCormick, and the lively making-of film "How They Donut." A Matter of Loaf and Death is also available on Wallace and Gromit: The Complete Collection on DVD and Blu-ray; the DVD versions have been cropped, but the Blu-ray retains the original widescreen format. (Unrated: suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

• Peter Sallis

• NR (Not Rated)

• Label - Lyons / Hit Ent.
• Binding - DVD