Gromit Unleashed

People in Wallace (right) and Gromit (left) costumes, raising money for the charity

Gromit is a dog belonging to an eccentric inventor, Wallace, in a series of claymation films produced by Aardman Animations, based in Spike Island, Bristol. Three of the films in the Wallace and Gromit film series have won Academy Awards: The Wrong Trousers,[6] A Close Shave[7] and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.[8]

The aim of Gromit Unleashed was to fundraise for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal. Founded in 1995, the charity raises funds for paediatric medical equipment at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and St. Michael's Hospital. In collaboration with Aardman, it uses the characters Wallace and Gromit as mascots for the charity.[9]

Funds were raised through the sale of trail maps, merchandise, and Detect-o-Gromit, a smartphone app, aimed at helping users find the Gromit sculptures, costing 69p per download.[10] On the first week, Detect-o-Gromit reached #1 on the Entertainment chart and #2 on the Paid chart on Apple's App Store.[10]

A Gromit statue prior to decoration. These undecorated statues were distributed to celebrities and artists to freely design.

In the months prior to the trail, 79 blank fibreglass statues measuring 5 feet (1.5 m)[11] in height were distributed to designers and celebrities selected by Nick Park. Each recipient was free to design their statue as they wished, producing a vast array of designs.[11] Some of the statues were publicly painted by their designers in the Galleries shopping centre.[12] Each statue was then transported to an undisclosed warehouse in Bristol to be treated with a lacquer[12] and erected onto a concrete plinth. Nick Park's own sculpture, Newshound, is the only sculpture which feature Wallace, alongside his trusty canine sidekick Gromit.

On 1 July 2013, the statues were distributed around Bristol and tourist attractions in the Greater Bristol area. One was also placed at London Paddington station,[13][14] but was moved to the Gromit Unleashed HQ for the final week of the exhibition.[15] Sculptures were decorated by a range of artists and celebrities, including Joanna Lumley, Sir Peter Blake, Trevor Baylis and Jools Holland.[16] The Royal Mint and mosaic artist Stephanie Roberts created a special Royal Mint Gromit, decorated with coins.[17] US Animation studio Pixar contributed Gromit Lightyear, based on their character Buzz Lightyear.[18] The sculptures were auctioned in October to raise funds for Bristol Children's Hospital.[19]

In addition a number of smaller Gromit sculptures were distributed to schools and community groups to decorate.[20] Bristol tourism staff have estimated that Gromit Unleashed could bring as much as £58 million to the city during the two-month display, with many visitors expected from the United States and Japan, where Wallace and Gromit are popular. The local media reported on the use of a new word "Gromiting", being used on social media sites to describe the search for the sculptures.[2]

An empty plinth while Poetry in Motion was being repaired.

Due to the openness of the outdoor sculptures in the trail, they were vulnerable to vandalism. In total, five sculptures were vandalised during the exhibition:

• Poetry in Motion by Joanna Lumley was removed before the first day of the trail on 28 June, after vandals ripped off its tail.[21][22] It was restored and replaced back on 17 July.[23]
• Carosello by Giuliano Carapia was ripped from its plinth two days into the trail (3 July).[16] It was restored and replaced back on 11 July, to applause from bystanders.[24]
• Groscar by Chris Taylor had its ear ripped off on the night of 17 August.[25] It was restored and replaced back on 28 August.[26]
• Bark at Ee by Leigh Flurry and Patch by Emily Golden were also damaged during the trail.[26]