Wallace and... Smokey?! - The Forgotten Aardman Film | Some Boi Online

This fire safety public information film (coined “Wallace and Smokey” online) was developed by Aardman Animations in 1994; clearly commissioned in the style of Wallace & Gromit...
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[@Na-mi3dx]

I wish I could be as cool as the Gromit in the back.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

😆👌

[@quagsirestudios4606]

Gromit just be chilling.

[@caseysmith544]

@@SomeBoiOnline Fun fact the Fox station in the USA up to 2020 still shuts down at 4 am to 6.30 am on all days except Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday. Then some used to do repeat of the station's late night broadcast from about 12 am or 1 am until sometime between 4--5 am done on repeat. Also, this looks like a prototype characters for possibly an early Chicken Run but that got rejected.

[@kevinfinnerty5678]

It's kind of ironic that the puppets in this advert were likely destroyed in the 2008 Aardman warehouse fire.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

It is indeed, that's quite possible.

[@TheDerpyBoi]

It was actually 2005 but yeah, it’s likely that it was destroyed

[@parker-boy98]

That's horrible!

[@idoblenderstuffs]

wait. i SWEAR i remember being shown this in school once. some like fire safety team came in and told us about stuff, and showed this animation. i specifically remember the robot mouse and the shot of him turning on the fire alarm. this was probably shown to me in around 2014 ish considering i was born in 2007 and it was definitely in primary school. weird that it was still being used then.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

That's really cool! Heard a couple others say that too if I recall.

[@Person-wz6iy]

I’m glad Aardman know how to make PSAS without giving people nightmares!

[@georgespencer8429]

I think it was originally called "Turn Off Before you turn in" when it was released in 1994. Mind you, given how nasty Fire Kills adverts tend to be, I'm amazed they kept it.

[@Matt-rq3bu]

While that cursed "man" is bound to give me nightmares, another good video from you. Nice one.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

😄 Thanks!

[@thatebsguy4253]

I am now wandering how many shows were made that we don’t know about

[@SomeBoiOnline]

There's plenty of obscure media out there, some won't have been discovered yet!

[@LDtheBrachio]

"how many other lies have the Jedi not told me?!"

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

I first came across the short in high school many years ago, when there was an assembly about fire safety or something, and I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was just a cheap Wallace and Gromit clone made by a marketing team (and I didn't notice Not Wallace's creepy face, now I can't unsee it). I came across it on KZbin multiple times over the following years but again I didn't think much of it. I had no idea it was an Aardman production, largely due to the somewhat crude animation, the fact they are Wallace and Gromit clones and the puppets don't really feel like ones Aardman would have crafted (even in the pre Nick Park era). I would love to see Not Wallace's creepy face in it's full quality (not on 240p VHS rips). If Aardman still has the original negatives it would be great to see an HD transfer of them (obviously we can't see the actual models anymore due to the Aardman vault fire, how ironic).

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Wow, well you're the first person to comment who's actually familiar with it! I completely agree regarding the HD transfers, although there is a possibility that these were stored in the warehouse also, as I heard some films were; but who knows, Aardman haven't publicly acknowledged the film since its release. And yes, the irony that my last video was on the Aardman fire only struck me as I was editing! 😅🤦‍♂️ That may be why they've never brought it up since...

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

​@@SomeBoiOnline Who knows, maybe the BBC or the Government own good quality copies in there archives, either transferred to broadcast videotape in SD or film but we don't know. Also (I forgot to mention this in the main comment) but I never knew Aardman made PIFs, I know they produce adverts (in fact a large chunk of there revenue comes from advertising), you learn something new everyday.

[@LabRat8899]

I find British public information films (and PSAs from all countries) to be fascinating. The campaign this ad comes from is known to produce absolutely terrifying ads, and to see something that isn’t scary coming from them is quite shocking in itself. And I don’t understand why Aardmam wouldn’t want to put their most famous characters in a PIF for fire safety; you’d think kids would pay attention more to Wallace and Gromit than some bland characters.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

That's great to hear, I do find it interesting in many respects.

[@THEADVENTURESOFKEVINTHECARROT]

​@SomeBoiOnline I'd also very much enjoy it if it was Wallace and gromit instead of these odd characters

[@dutchplanderlinde3180]

The voice of the Wallace character sounds incredibly similar to the narrator of a stop motion animation show I watched when I was little called ‘Titch’. It might not be the same person but that’s where I’ve heard that voice before

[@thebamboozlerette1824]

The Gromit in back is soo cuuuute!!

[@parker-boy98]

Yeah

[@sunk5666]

Plot twist: the man is wallace's brother

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

With the PSA being about unplugging all electrical equipment in the household, I’m not sure how the knockoff Wallace is expecting to turn them all back on when he’s so reliant on them doing all the work.

[@concave12YT]

I’ve watched this video so much and I always wondered why it was so familiar and then I remembered we were shown this in primary school

[@quandale8707]

that was the worst jump scare in my life omfg still shaking (literally)

[@greeney454]

The question is now.. Which is creepier? Fire safety Wallace, or live action Wallace???

[@SomeBoiOnline]

There's only one way to find out... *FIGHT!*

[@HydraSpectre1138]

As Godzilla 2014 frequently said (the film, not Goji-san himself): Let them fight.

[@lettuce984]

@@SomeBoiOnline that is an excellent reference 😂

[@kgs9243]

Live action Wallace. I will jump at his face

[@LoogiBalloogi]

On the topic of old Fire Safety PIFs, there is another Fire Kills PIF from 2002 called "Nightvision", which became notorious for it's incredibly disturbing & realistic content, showing people trapped in their homes, unable to escape during a fire. It was so disturbing, that the British Advertising Standards Agency recieved 7 formal complaints because the PIF had a negative effect on young children, traumatising them (for what would turn out to be decades). So, Nightvision was banned from airing on TV before 7:30pm, and was also shown less frequently before the 9pm watershed. However, that's the least interesting part... In 2004, three shorter versions of Nightvision aired, which were extended versions of the scenes shown in the original PIF. Those short versions are incredibly rare, and only two of them have been found & archived (through old VHS tapes). The third one is still missing to this day, and some people even doubted that it existed in the first place. That's just another little thing I wanted to add to this video, because I thought it was interesting.

[@supermakermatic2111]

The entire video I was anticipating you'd say there was a super dark ending typical of PSAs - I think I'm still traumatised from Turtle Journey.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first came across it myself 😅 it does give off a strange vibe without being particularly scary.

[@MPbmfm]

Smokey and Wallace' brother went up in flames in the fire

[@superdupercomputer6392]

5:47 Five Nights at Wallace's

[@parker-boy98]

Before you explained everything, I just assumed this was an unreleased pilot episode, which would've explained why it looks so rough. And the presence of a cat instead of a dog. I just figured that was an early concept before the characters were finalized.

[@parker-boy98]

Though I learned that Gromit was going to be a cat at one point, so I guess this is somewhat based on that concept.

[@Oddsfeline]

As a big Wallace and Gromit fan this obscure Aardman animation is nice to come across as a spiritual counterpart to Wallace and Gromit

[@gangsnapp_yt5945]

plot twist: this animation took place after the aardman fire

[@DrBagPhD]

The ceefax music when BBC stopped for the night were always absolute grooves.

[@mrsmcl6117]

This isn't an Aardman PIF. I have no idea how that rumour started, this pif was actually first uploaded to KZbin in 2008 by a user named smokinghippo who claims in the description it was done by animation studio Picasso Pictures.

[@DylTheRetroDemon]

I think this was made when nick park was gonna make gromit a cat and was only shown in 1994 though that's just my opinion.

[@kevinfinnerty5678]

Nick Park wasn't actually working for Aardman when he was developing Wallace and Gromit, though - he was still in film school and he only joined up with them when a Grand Day Out was already halfway through production (Aardman helped him to complete it).

[@redwaldcuthberting7195]

Makes sense as Nick said the original idea was a man who 'potentially' had a cat.

[@HydraSpectre1138]

The Esper Machine from Blade Runner should enhance the image so that we can see cursed Fire Safety Not-Wallace in all his 8K glory. That or run the image through AI upscaling.

[@turbomario]

A lot of PIFs tend to be absolutely bloody horrifying but i don’t find Wallace & Smokey to be scary at all, which is a nice twist to be honest.

[@kingkaza]

Mammy two shoes actually shows her face in once scene

[@kingkaza]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp_PgGqvedOifLM

[@brisgeek]

I'm trying to find a tea commercial on KZbin that was aired on Australian TV, it had two characters who were very obvious homages to Wallace and Gromit - an inventor and his dog named "Widget". The inventor character shows his dog a tea-making machine which goes wrong. Anyone familiar with it?

[@datadoggieein]

Despite coming after the first two films, it really does feel like a prototype. Gromit may have never been a cat in this universe, but in a different one, he may have been.

[@nialldonnelly7217]

using the comma and full stop keys while paused on youtube you can skim frame by frame

[@realchristian77010]

The animation of it was pretty well-made, but I've never heard of this in my life..

[@danielpalmersofficial]

Some adverts are just damn creepy, the Jimmy one really gets me. ✌️😅

[@KyleRDent]

I think the dude in the freeze frame looks like Lee Evans (no offence to Lee Evans)

[@SomeBoiOnline]

I think it's the ears 😂

[@hyperballadbradx6486]

I may be mixing up/making up memories, but I can't help but feel I remember a fire safety poster in primary school with that cat in it!! Hmm 🤔🤔

[@MonikaTrains]

Absolutely brilliant to see this, your Wallace and Gromit Vids are always fantastic and help us learn more about the fantastic duo! Also I was wrong about one sheep from a close shave being at Bradford, since I didn't get a good look at it due to the camera angles I found the image from I thought it was from a close shave, it's actually from the Shaun the sheep TV series so the only a close shave Prop there is Wallace and Gromit in the side car. Still neat to see tho!

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Glad to hear you enjoyed! Yes, mixups can often happen when researching things as specific as missing props - I'm glad to hear some things survived, nonetheless!

[@MonikaTrains]

Here's a breakdown of all known props that survived from the fire from the first 3 Wallace and Gromit short films and where they are! The Wrong trousers: The Museum set complete with original feathers prop (the version with his red glove hat and controller) and original Wallace prop (the version in his heist outfit) Location: National Science and media museum Bradford A close shave: Mother cycle and side car prop complete with Wallace and Gromit props in there window cleaning outfits Location: National Science and media museum Bradford One of the Shaun in his jumper props (presumably in a bigger scale to the others and used for close ups because of the specific shots this specific model was used in?) Location: in possession of your props use Hollywood history Preston's tin food prop Location: unknown Wallace's hand from one of his a close shave props Location: currently on auction One of the Wendoline props Location: unknown

[@jeffmorse5046]

Ho is the voice of smokey

[@jeffmorse5046]

Ho is the voice of of the man

[@SomeBoiOnline]

The man seems to be voiced by an actor named "Peter Jones", as pointed out in the comments section. Whilst it's unclear whether Smokey was voiced, or just uses cat sounds.

[@mkcomicsstudios]

i swear i saw this at home at around 830 pm

[@joeberryman3563]

Now that we know what you look like, perhaps Aardman should make a puppet of you. It would make a nice display picture.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

One day perhaps! Not sure I'm quite there yet 😄

[@Bam4006]

Pulling all plugs in the house would be hell of a job for me. And I wouldnt have internet for my phone!

[@dimitriwarchief301]

Your one huge fan

[@thenonfictionalexplainer952]

You could have added any other sound like a ding or du du duuuuu and it wouldn't be scary yet you chose to add the noise. Also no I would admit the puppet has rosy red cheeks and this guy has a mustache

[@gmanley1]

It's probably a prototype of Wallace & Gromit.

[@Lighting_Desk]

Could be worth contacting aardman.

[@dylanstark3149]

am i the only one who noticed that the wallace had a mostacsh

[@TheFlashStickman]

If you were able to find one of the animators who did that, they might have information on the film itself.

[@eddgood83838]

I have been laughing for 6 hours 5:10

[@you_broke_up_with_knives]

This is interesting 😁

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Glad to hear it!

[@katrinaoconnor3479]

I saw the video and it's kinda like a PSA

[@JaredGriffiths2000]

I had heard that Gromit was originally going to be a cat.

[@jakeb4794]

Where does the music in this video come from? I quite like it

[@SomeBoiOnline]

It's titled "Failure" from Wii Fit! Glad you enjoyed!

[@sonicthehedgehoggaming4808]

Plz do a video call how a wallace and gromit and shaun the sheep crossover would work

[@SomeBoiOnline]

I've got something very similar planned...

[@HydraSpectre1138]

There was a crossover with Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Creature Comforts, and Chicken Run in a Google Hangouts Christmas ad.

[@FredFtang]

I'm not sure it was Aardman that made this. Would they really make something that ripped-off their own characters? Chances are, with a low budget, the BBC would have gone to a cheaper animation company and asked 'Do us something in the style of...'.

[@tenmahakusho6390]

That version of Wallace looks disturbing. 0.o

[@teachingthingsihavelearnt9437]

It’s cool

[@lRlMlGl]

Ok, Is It Just Me Or Does "Not Wallace" Look Kinda Like Stingy From Lazytown? Also, The Rouge Animation Reminds Me A Bit Of Old Fireman Sam

[@lRlMlGl]

Finally, I Think I'm Now Going To Hell Because I've Just Upscaled "Not Wallace" To 1440p

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Oh no 😆 I'd love to see that if you could share it by any chance?

[@lRlMlGl]

Alright, I'll Give You These 2 Options, Either 1, Wait 2 Weeks And A Bit For Me To Post It Onto My Upcoming Socials Medias, Or 2, Wait Until Tomorrow Sometime In The Afternoon Or Evening To Where I Will Put It At The End Of An Upcoming Video.

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Sure, let me know when the video is up and I'll take a look!

[@lRlMlGl]

Ooke Doke! 👌

[@dydeesoule9013]

I'm creating a cartoon. It's called, Forgotten Tales! It's about these forgotten and obscure characters that go on wacky and crazy adventures.

[@camranbant]

what is the background music called?

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Glad to hear someone ask about that. It's titled "Failure" and it's from Wii Fit of all things! 😆

[@gorillax4046]

why did the supposed wallace look like Ned Flanders when you saw his face?

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Varying quality of VHS recordings used in the video make the man appear slightly different between them, depending on exposure etc.

[@gorillax4046]

@@SomeBoiOnline yeah but he looked like Ned Flanders XD

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Now that you mention it, I can see the similarity in one shot 😅

[@gorillax4046]

@@SomeBoiOnline alternative title: Ned and Smokey?! The forgotten Aardman film

[@eugeneoregonstate67]

Do you have a gromit mug

[@SomeBoiOnline]

Indeed!

[@thefishbowlstudios]

woah thats kinda creppy

[@movieman223]

Did Smokey steal his name from Smokey bear or Smokey the chief from Stuart Little?

[@half-dusted]

hmm, that has a really off feeling to it which I really dislike

[@SomeBoiOnline]

I know what you mean, perhaps it's the lack of music? Advertisement usually always have something playing.