YMMV / A Matter of Loaf and Death

• Angst? What Angst?: While he sadly laments Piella's death in the moment, Wallace is quickly back to his chipper old self seconds later.
  Wallace: Farewell, my angel cake. You'll always be my Bake-O-Lite girl. (Beat) I think I'll need a cup of tea after all that!
• Contested Sequel: Though both were well-received, Wallace & Gromit fans frequently discuss whether this film or its predecessor, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, is the franchise's weakest instalment. Some criticise A Matter of Loaf and Death for its uncharacteristically morbid tone and its repeats of prior story beats, seeing it as a disappointing effort after the long wait from the previous shorts. Others see it as a return to form for the series with its smaller, more intimate story and its attempts to recapture the simpler setting and charm of the first three shorts, after The Curse Of The Were Rabbit was subject to significant Executive Meddling from Dreamworks.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: A common criticism levelled against the short is that it relies heavily on tropes and plot points that were already done in the previous Wallace & Gromit films. Most notably, it follows the exact formula of A Close Shave, with Wallace gaining a love interest with her own dog that turn out to be criminals — though in this case, Piella is the main villain while Fluffles commits a Heel–Face Turn, a direct flip of Wendolene's relationship with Preston — and Wallace ultimately Doesnt Get The Girl.
• Nightmare Fuel: This is by far the darkest work Wallace & Gromit has ever been in, period. It opens with someone being murdered, and though it does have the same cheery upbeat attitude we have come to expect from this franchise, there is still an ever present sense of dread as the truth is fully revealed.
  • The scene where Gromit finds out the truth about Piella is extremely chilling. He discovers that her room contains mannequins with the hats of all the bakers she's murdered, and her scrapbook is filled with the photos of said bakers, each with a number next to them. And Wallace is the last number on the list. Gromit then knocks over all of the mannequins in his panic, forcing him to replace them as quickly as possible, then hide in the chandelier above to avoid detection. Gromit avoids being seen, but as the night goes on, his limbs lose strength... and then they give out. He plummets towards Piella in her bed down below, who suddenly opens her eyes... and then it's morning. It's an overall terrifying scene, and the temporary ambiguity at the end before Gromit attempts to bring the book to Wallace leaves a rather ominous feeling as to how much of what we saw happened, and as to whether Piella knew she had been found out. Fridge Horror sets in when you realize that she could have easily killed Gromit to hide the truth...but she didn't. Brrrrrrrrr...
  • Piella's Karmic Death is probably the darkest moment in Wallace & Gromit history, considering it's the first time a villain is explicitly killed (the moon robot was Not Evil, Just Misunderstood, Feathers McGraw was locked up, Preston was rebuilt thanks to being a Terminator expy, and Victor Quartermaine was run out of town by an angry mob). And her Sanity Slippage moment just before it occurs makes the whole thing seem almost disturbing. There is, of course, a Gory Discretion Shot as it cuts to the remaining characters' reactions, but the morbidly realistic sounds clearly show that she was ripped to pieces by the crocodiles.
• Tough Act to Follow: Being the follow up to both the hugely popular feature-length outing, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the by-then-classic original trilogy of shorts, this one had some very big shoes to fill. It was also the first installment made specifically for television rather than film festivals, resulting in some dissonance between the broad TV-friendly tone and the extremely dark story. As such, most fans consider it the weakest installment of the franchise and a contributing factor in its declining popularity in America, not helped by Peter Sallis retiring from acting two years later. Tellingly, the only installments for a long time since have been commercials, though Peter Lord insists that Nick Park might want to do one final short with the duo; indeed, a new Wallace & Gromit film is set for a 2024 release.

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