| "Shopper 13" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Release date | 2002 |
| Running time | 3 minutes, 10 seconds |
| Next episode | "The Autochef" |
Shopper 13 is a short film in the Cracking Contraptions series. The film features the invention of a remote-controlled shopping trolley sent to do Wallace's cheese shopping.
The film is called Shopper 13 because it is the 'Shopper's' 13th trip or mission to the shops.
The film concludes with a cameo appearance by Shaun the Sheep as a probe.
Plot[]
To speed up the task of bringing cheese home from the shops, Wallace develops "Shopper 13", a trolley equipped with arms and accessories to retrieve/carry items. Though it successfully picks up the largest wheel of Edam cheese in the shop, Wallace frequently patronises, the weight causing one wheel to come off. Gromit guides it to grab a loaf of French bread, which it uses as a cane to limp home. The other wheel comes off at the front door, stopping the trolley and in the process, dumping the Edam in the garden. Wallace sends Shaun the Sheep to bring it in, but Shaun begins eating the cheese instead, agitating Wallace. He keeps calling Gromit, who is still in the basement, to stop Shaun, but Gromit stubbornly ignores him, as he doesn't want to get involved, while Shaun happily munches away on the cheese.
Trivia[]
- The shopping trolley bears a striking resemblance to the Cooker from A Grand Day Out, only the Cooker has AI and can carry a lot more.
- The ending of this episode is the same as in A Close Shave.
- It is unknown how, or if the Shopper 13 actually paid for the wheel of Edam cheese and the French bread.
- It seems that Shaun lives with Wallace and Gromit.
- The entire short is themed around the Apollo Project.
- Gromit acts as Mission Control while Wallace assumes the role of the flight director.
- The part where the Shopper breaks a wheel and struggles its way back with Gromit controlling it resembles the rescue of the three astronauts the time there was an accident on Apollo 13.
- It was called Apollo 13 because it is Apollo's 13th trip or mission to the Moon.
- The Apollo 13 and Shopper 13 have the same incident because 13 is an unlucky number. Many people think that 13 is an unlucky number.
- Wallace says "One small step..." as the Shopper struggles up their doorstep, quoting Neil Armstrong.
- Also, when Wallace says, "The E-Dam is stranded!" is a pun based on another quote from Neil Armstrong, who after landing the Lunar Module on the Moon announced, "The Eagle has landed."
- Shaun was wearing a space suit when he got sent out as a probe.
- It is completely unnecessary, as Wallace or Gromit can just go out and grab the cheese, or Shaun can just go out without his suit. This can hint that Wallace is half lazy.
Goofs / Errors[]
- Before the Shopper 13 loses it's first leg Gromit has his headphones on. When Wallace says, "Gromit, we have a problem", Gromit's headphones disappear. In the next shot of Gromit, his headphones are back on him.
- During the closeup of the trolley in the store after grabbing the cheese, Shopper's driving motor exhaust pipe is positioned to the right and downwards but in the rest of the shots showing the driving motor, the pipe is positioned to the left and upwards.
- There's no way the motor could've died when Shopper lost its second wheel. It may be because of overheating.
Video[]
