NEW YORK, Oct. 21 -- Britain's beloved Claymation figures Wallace and Gromit were returned to their creator safe and sound Monday, two days after being left in the trunk of a New York City taxi. Arthur Sheriff, a spokesman for the Oscar-winning pair, said he got a call early Monday morning from the cab driver, who had just seen a newspaper article about the missing movie stars. 'We were his last drop with baggage Saturday night, and he had taken Sunday off, so he didn't check his trunk until now,' Sheriff said in an interview from the Rihga Royal Hotel in Manhattan. 'He just delivered them about an hour ago,' he added. 'We're absolutely thrilled.' Wallace, an inventor, and Gromit, his trusty pooch, have helped their creator, Nick Park, win two Oscars for their animated shorts, 'A Close Shave' in 1995 and 'The Wrong Trousers' in 1993. Park also won an Oscar for another animated short film, 'Creature Comforts,' in 1990. The twosome were stowed away in a special case for the flight from London to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. After a long wait for a cab in pouring rain, Park, in town for a publicity junket, left his 9-inch and 5-inch charges in the trunk. When he realized his mistake, Park chased after the cab but ran out of steam and watched as Wallace and Gromit took off on a new adventure. 'I feel as though I've lost my best pals,' Park told reporters Sunday night.
But Sheriff said the Big Apple came through in a big way. 'What I'm most impressed with is the cab driver,' he said. 'I had laid aside $500 to give to him. I started to reward him with $100 dollars, figuring he would turn his nose up at that and I'd go higher, but he wouldn't accept any money at all. And he won't let us give out his name. He doesn't want to be hero.' Five copies of Wallace and Gromit exist, but the runaway originals are worth at least $15,000. Their one-of-a-kind motorcycle -- which is capable of turning into a fighter plane and firing lethal ammunition of very thick porridge with a machine gun -- is worth about $10,000.
