[Released] Wallace & Gromit in "The Wrong Trousers" - Original Audio Preservation

[Dek Rollins]

The Blu-ray of A Grand Day Out actually does not have the original mono. It's a stereo track that has some weird directional panning, with added, replaced, and altered sound effects throughout. It's a fairly subtle difference overall and none of the music was replaced like in The Wrong Trousers, so it isn't terribly offensive.

Regarding the intended speed, I've yet to see actual documentation one way or the other, but the 24fps/23.976fps releases have the incorrect pitch. All three 1995 CBS/FOX VHS tapes, and the 1999 CBS/FOX DVD of A Close Shave run at PAL speed with the correct pitch, while the first two shorts on said 1999 DVD are 23.976fps at the wrong pitch for some reason. Since nobody to my knowledge has captured any LaserDiscs of these, I don't know what speed or pitch those would have.

And of course, that Promo CD audio matches the PAL speed and pitch, and the main theme heard in Curse of the Were-Rabbit is in the same key/pitch as the PAL speed shorts. If the shorts had been shot for 24fps, these would be some pretty strange circumstances.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

It's extremely rare and not the norm to have 25fps on 16/35mm film. Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave shot on film at 24fps but edited on tape. The likely scenario were the both having 16/35mm footage sped up to 25fps so it could be edited together to match the audio/production stuff in post and easier to confirm to 50i broadcast standards. That could also be why the CD soundtracks sound the same as the 25fps versions as audio work is typically done first, then the footage and editing later.

[Dek Rollins]

It's extremely rare and not the norm to have 25fps on 16/35mm film. Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave shot on film at 24fps but edited on tape. The likely scenario were the both having 16/35mm footage sped up to 25fps so it could be edited together to match the audio/production stuff in post and easier to confirm to 50i broadcast standards. That could also be why the CD soundtracks sound the same as the 25fps versions as audio work is typically done first, then the footage and editing later.

These are stop motion animated films. They weren't shot *at* any framerate. They were photographed one frame at a time, with the animation timed to whatever the intended framerate would be. Considering the existing evidence (NTSC VHS copies running at PAL speed and PAL audio being the correct pitch and speed, etc.), the most likely case is that the films were animated and timed for an intended speed of 25fps.

I'm not even sure what you're trying to say about being shot at 24 and then being edited on video at 25. That doesn't make sense. If these were indeed shown theatrically, which I believe they were, there are a couple scenarios to consider. Either they ran the film slow at 24fps for these showings, or they simply projected them at 25fps even though that isn't the cinema standard. I can't imagine why either of these would be so unbelievable.

[Hydra Spectre]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Wallace-a...ray/14717/
The German Blu-ray apparently have a 5.1 remix of The Wrong Trousers while having the original music.
My source was a YouTube comment that mentioned it.

[Lio]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Wallace-a...ray/14717/
The German Blu-ray apparently have a 5.1 remix of The Wrong Trousers while having the original music.
My source was a YouTube comment that mentioned it.

He's probably incorrect. The original music disappeared when the remixes were done. They wouldn't have spent time and money mixing a version which they could not distribute.

[Hydra Spectre]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Wallace-a...ray/14717/
The German Blu-ray apparently have a 5.1 remix of The Wrong Trousers while having the original music.
My source was a YouTube comment that mentioned it.

He's probably incorrect.  The 5.1 mixes afaik are exclusive to the Blu-rays (not the earlier DVDs) and they wouldn't have spent time and money mixing a version which they could not distribute.

Still worth looking into.
It would be weird if the UK release didn't have the original music but the German release did.
I'm guessing maybe the English audio has the edited music but the German dub has the original music, but it's worth checking both audio tracks.