History WesternAnimation / AGrandDayOut

One evening during a bank holiday, Wallace and his dog Gromit settle down for a nice hot cup of tea and some cheese with crackers only to realize they've no more cheese. With all of the shops closed for the holiday, what's their solution? Build a rocket in the basement and take a trip to the moon... which, as everyone knows, is made of cheese. While there, they have an encounter with a coin-operated robot who's desperate to go skiing.

* ArtEvolution and AnimationBump: A rare example in that it occurs during the short itself. The very first scene animated was the sequence in which Wallace plans the rocket then builds it. Wallace only opens his mouth once (where he whistles for Gromit) and it completely lacks any detail, the characters gain tons of thumbprints and Wallace walks down the steps in a very weird way (he keeps his arms in front of him and they don't move at all) - presumably just to keep him balanced. In later scenes (in which Aardman had begun assisting Park) the animation became somewhat smoother and shades of the characters' later designs start to appear. Towards the end of the short and in the credits, a hint of Wallace's famous smile is starting to develop, although nowhere near what it would become.

* CheesyMoon: The basis of the plot.

* ArtEvolution and AnimationBump: A rare example in that it occurs during the short itself. The very first scene animated was the sequence in which Wallace plans the rocket then builds it. Wallace only opens his mouth once (where he whistles for Gromit) and it completely lacks any detail, the characters gain tons of thumbprints and Wallace walks down the steps in a very weird way (he keeps his arms in front of him and they don't move at all) - presumably just to keep him balanced. In later scenes (in which Aardman had began assisting Park) the animation became somewhat smoother and shades of the characters' later designs start to appear. Towards the end of the short and in the credits, a hint of Wallace's famous smile is starting to develop, although nowhere near what it would become.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is composed mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series, with the comedy being far more focused on whimsy than on clever wordplay. This is also the only one not to involve a crime in some way (the cooker pursuing Wallace's oblivious vandalism of the moon aside).

** Wallace does some lengthy sketching on a pad downstairs, but when the camera finally shows his page, we see he's played a game of tic-tac-toe with himself before he proceeds to draw the rocket.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is composed mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series. This is also the only one not to involve a crime in some way (the cooker pursuing Wallace's oblivious vandalism of the moon aside).

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_grand_day_out.jpg]]

* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: While Gromit hasn't changed much since this first installment, Wallace is near-unrecognizable, with an odd-shaped head and no wide mouth. Much of this was in the name of practicality, as Nick Park was doing everything himself, meaning the characters had to be as easy to animate as possible.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is composed mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series. This is also the only one not to involve a crime in some way.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series. This is also the only one not to involve a crime in some way.

** Wallace does some lengthy sketching on a pad downstairs, but when the camera finally shows his page, we sse he's played a game of tic-tac-toe with himself before he proceeds to draw the rocket.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series. This is also the only one not to involve a crime in some way. Gromit even made a few minor vocal effects before he became completely mute.

* TheFaceless: The robot has no face, only a drawer, oven controls and a money meter. All of his emotions are conveyed through his hand gestures and thought bubbles. That said, [[EyesDontBelongThere that black ring on the left side of his body actually serves as an eye. Of a sort]].

* TheFaceless: The robot has no face, only a drawer, oven controls and a money meter. All of his emotions are conveyed through his hand gestures and thought bubbles.

** SchizoTech: Which won't lift off unless someone remembers to light the fuse.

* TheUnreveal: We never find out who built the robot or why it's coin-operated. It's just there on the moon and that's that.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and his dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and he and he dog go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. Also, it's a lot more surreal than the rest of the series.

* TheVoiceless: Gromit and the robot.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Star Wars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To date, the only major installment of the series which isn't a genre parody (it ''was'' originally a ''Star Wars'' parody that had to be downgraded due to time and budget), rather it's just a quirky story about a a guy who randomly decides to build a rocket in his basement and go to the moon to get cheese, with no indication that he's a regular inventor. Julian Nott's score is comprised mostly of Dixieland jazz rather than the orchestral brass band music of the later films. It's also the only time Gromit makes any kind of vocalizations, albeit just wimpers and grunts.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: While looking through the holiday catalogs for anyplace with cheese, they both take their eyes off them to look at the moon.
-->'''Wallace:''' Everybody knows that the moon is made of cheese.