Wallace and Gromit - Gromit

Gromit

Gromit is Wallace's pet dog and also is generally more intelligent than Wallace. His birthday is 12 February. Gromit graduated from "Dogwarts University" ('Dogwarts' being a pun on 'Hogwarts', the wizard school from the Harry Potter books) with a double first in Engineering for Dogs. He likes knitting, playing chess, reading the newspaper and cooking. His prized possessions include his alarm clock, bone, brush, and a framed photo of himself with Wallace. He is also very handy with electronic equipment and an excellent aeroplane pilot. Though not mentioned a lot but according to Wallace or any other person he is a beagle. More often than not, he is seen as a threat to the plans of the various villains he and Wallace have encountered in their adventures.

Gromit has no visible mouth and he does not express himself with spoken words, but his facial expressions and body language speak volumes. Original plans were that Peter Hawkins was going to voice him, but Nick dropped the idea of it when he realized how clear Gromit's expressions could be made just through small movements. Many critics believe that Gromit's silence makes him the perfect straight man with a pantomime expressiveness that drew favourable comparisons to Buster Keaton. He does at times make dog-like noises, such as yelps and growling. Nick Park says: "We are a nation of dog-lovers and so many people have said: 'My dog looks at me just like Gromit does!'" Gromit enjoys eating "KornFlakes" and reading many books, including The Republic, by Pluto (a nod to the Disney character of the same name and a pun on Plato); Crime and Punishment, by Fido Dogstoyevsky (a pun on Fyodor Dostoyevsky); and a "how-to" guide entitled, Electronics for Dogs. In A Matter of Loaf and Death, a copy of "Pup Fiction" is seen in the bin, a pun on Pulp Fiction. He also listens to Bach, knits, and solves puzzles with ease.

Sometimes, Gromit refuses to take (or simply ignores) Wallace's orders, such as in A Close Shave and Shopper 13, wherein Wallace orders him to get rid of Shaun, but Gromit doesn't.

On April 1, 2007, HMV announced that Gromit would stand in for Nipper for a three month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.

NASA has named one of its new prototype Mars explorer robots after Gromit.

Gromit has had one love interest: Fluffles, a poodle and pet to Piella. Fluffles does not share her mistress's hatred of bakers and joined Wallace and Gromit delivering bread at the end of A Matter of Loaf and Death, where she is seen with Gromit making a delivery, while listening to "Puppy Love".

In 2010, Empire Magazine placed Gromit first in their list of "The 50 best animated movie characters". Empire wrote that; "Gromit doesn't ever say a word, but there has never been a more expressive character (animated or otherwise) to grace our screens."