Gromit was the name of a cat. When I started modeling the cat I just didn't feel it was quite right, so I made it into a dog because he could have a bigger nose and bigger, longer legs.

We can do things that we never could before. Stop-motion lets you build tiny little worlds, and computers make that world even more believable.

Get out and make films. There are so many cameras now to suit any budget, so there are no excuses.

The nice thing about animation is that you can realise your inventions without understanding all the hard theory.

But I think people see 'Wallace and Gromit' as something akin to an elderly couple. These two know each other so well. Nothing can split them apart.

After studying in Sheffield, I went down to London to do my post-graduate degree at the National Film and Television School, embarking on the movie that would eventually become 'A Grand Day Out.

Americans like the British kind of quirkiness and the strange accent. They find it kind of cute or something, with a certain charm.