The Wrong Trousers - Plot

Plot

The film begins at 62 West Wallaby Street on Gromit's birthday. After being tipped out of bed and dressed using several mechanical contraptions, Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) is greeted with a large pile of bills. Wallace remembers Gromit's birthday and presents Gromit with a somewhat unwelcome gift of a spiked dog collar, and a second present of a pair of ex-NASA robotic "Techno Trousers", acquired by Wallace to alleviate the burden of taking Gromit for walks. While Gromit is out on a "walk", Wallace realises they are in financial difficulty and decides to let the spare bedroom out. He is answered by an inscrutable-looking penguin named Feathers McGraw, who comes to stay at the house, pushing Gromit out of his comfortable bedroom, winning Wallace's favour and taking interest in the Techno Trousers. Upset that Feathers has intruded on his relationship with his master, Gromit leaves home. After viewing his departure, Feathers gets to work on altering the Techno Trousers for his own means, removing the controls on the trousers and adapting them into a remote control.

After sleeping rough, Gromit hunts for suitable lodgings, noticing a police notice for a criminal penguin who disguises himself as a chicken by wearing a rubber glove on his head (the poster saying "Have You Seen This Chicken?"). Meanwhile, Wallace's normal morning routine is interrupted by the replacement of his expected trousers with the modified Techno Trousers. Trapped inside the "wrong trousers", Wallace is marched out of the house and sent around town on an extended test run, unaware that Feathers is controlling them. Gromit witnesses this spectacle and later spies on Feathers as he suspiciously measures up the exterior of the city museum. He returns home and in his old bedroom, uncovers plans to steal a giant diamond from the museum, using the trousers and Wallace as tools. However, Gromit is too late to foil the plan and hides inside Wallace's bed, where he sees Feathers arrive dressed in his "chicken disguise", Gromit realising from the wanted poster that the penguin is a wanted thief. Wallace, in a deep sleep after the day's misadventures, is unwittingly brought into the robbery by Feathers and marched out of the house to the museum. Feathers uses the suction feet on the trousers to climb the wall, enter the building through an air vent and walk along the ceiling, avoiding the laser alarm system. The helmet Wallace is dressed in contains a remote-controlled claw which hooks the diamond. The diamond has barely been hooked (including a close call when the diamond slips and almost hits the floor) when a loose ceiling tile sets the trousers off balance, causing the claw to trigger the alarm, which wakes Wallace up. After marching Wallace out and back to West Wallaby Street, Feathers reveals his identity and traps Wallace in a wardrobe.

As Feathers makes for the door with the diamond, Gromit confronts Feathers with a rolling pin. Feathers pulls out a revolver and forces Gromit into the wardrobe with Wallace, locking them both inside. Being an expert with electronics, Gromit manages to break into the trousers' circuits to make them march and eventually break the wardrobe apart. There follows a fast chase aboard a train set, as Gromit attempts to stop Feathers escaping with the diamond. Wallace's attempts to aid are mostly unsuccessful, though he removes Feathers' revolver and frees himself from the trousers. After Feathers' train is abruptly stopped by the trousers, he is captured and handed in to the police station and imprisoned in a zoo. For catching Feathers, Wallace and Gromit are given their substantial reward, which pays off their debts. Meanwhile, the trousers, unceremoniously consigned to the dustbin, walk off by themselves into the sunset.