This movie is the perfect antidote for those overloaded with news about Iraq, spiraling energy costs, and the weather woes the US has suffered in the last few months. To see Wallace and Gromit in action is to be dosed with endless optimism as one enters a world in which the good and the worthy always win the fight.

If you haven’t seen any of the original short subjects in which these characters first appeared, Wallace and Gromit are plasticine creations of Nick Park at Aardman Studios, the organization that delighted us in 2000 with Chicken Run. Wallace is a toothy man who invents Rube Goldberg machines involving gears and much cause and effect. He speaks, thanks to the voice talent of Peter Sallis, with an affable Yorkshire accent. Gromit is his dog, but not just any dog. Gromit takes care of the house, knits, reads, and gets Wallace out of trouble. On the surface, Wallace runs the show; in reality, Gromit -- who never speaks -- is the master.

In The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the pair face their biggest challenge. The area in which they live is having a huge vegetable show and contest hosted by Lady Tottington, who has a problem. Rabbits are overrunning her garden, but she is an environmentalist and doesn’t want to kill them. Her suitor, the Terry Thomas-like Lord Victor Quartermaine, just wants to shoot them all, but Lady Tottington prefers to use Wallace and Gromit’s friendly pest-disposal company, Anti-Pesto. Their method is to sweep the bunnies up with a huge vacuum and relocate them. At the beginning of the movie, the rabbits are being kept at Wallace and Gromit’s lodging place, where they are fed lavish meals of carrots and lettuce. That is how kind Wallace and Gromit are.

But things run amok. One of the bunnies gets into a Wallace invention and a monster rabbit is created -- a were-rabbit that becomes a greedy, carrot-munching terror when the moon is full. And, as luck would have it, the moon is full at the time of the veggie show. I won’t disclose any more of the plot and spoil your voyage of discovery, except to echo the ads seen on TV a year ago: "Never underestimate the power of cheese."

The action is fast, and the movie bubbles over with good will, mirth, and energy -- it’s a real family film. And while entirely suitable for kids, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is loaded with subtle and not so subtle adult humor that will go right by them. There are tributes to so many things that I can list only a few -- the movie’s climax includes affectionate nods to Universal horror movies, chase films, and King Kong.

Julian Nott’s music score is just right, and the use of surround sound is more imaginative than in most live-action films. (Hint: Be sure to stay through the closing credits to enjoy the final joke.)

In times like ours, Wallace and Gromit are just the heroes we need.

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