Vans rarely appear in famous roles on screen, but there are a few exceptions, such as Del Boy’s Reliant Regal (it’s not a Reliant Robin!) and Wallace and Gromit’s Anti-Pesto van, an Austin A35 that the pair used to transport Wallace’s Bunvac 2000 invention!
Both of these vans, along with a number of notable cars, are currently on display at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, as part of Beaulieu’s On Screen Cars display.
Metal, not plasticine
A plasticine version of this Austin A35 van was created for the film Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Nick Park, creator of the Wallace and Gromit animations, used to own an A35 and thought it was the ideal model to use in the film because “the van needed to be big enough to transport Wallace’s invention, the Bunvac 2000, while slick enough to go on high-speed chases.”
In the film, Tottington Hall’s Giant Vegetable Competition is fast approaching and Wallace and Gromit are running a vegetable security and humane pest control business, Anti-Pesto. In order to cope with the increasing amount of captured rabbits Wallace invents a brainwashing machine, but a mistake during the operation creates a ‘Were-Rabbit’, a giant rabbit which eats vegetables of any size. It’s down to Wallace and Gromit to capture the rampaging beast before the competition!
The Anti-Pesto Van, which has been loaned to Beaulieu following a call-out for new vehicles for the exhibition, joins a host of other star vehicles, including the ‘flying’ Ford Anglia used during the making of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Mr Bean’s lime green mini, a television favourite I remember well. This particular car was used in the character’s third series and made its first television appearance on 1st January 1991.