DreamWorks Animation SKG, releasing the first Wallace & Gromit animated feature length film in theaters this October, is partnering with The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, one of America’s oldest and most prestigious sporting events, to inaugurate an historic innovation showcasing the 2005 show. This marks the first time in Westminster’s illustrious history that the dog show has accepted a sponsorship partner outside of a dog food company.
For the first time ever, highlights of the competition in the 165 breeds and varieties during the two days of the show will be shot using handheld cameras and posted on streaming video on the Westminster website (www.westminsterkennelclub.org). These highlights will be posted within two hours of the actual competition for any particular breed or variety.
This will allow viewers to see the progression of the different breed contenders as they vie to be Best of Breed. While amplifying the already significant impact of America’s greatest dog show, the streaming video will also serve to educate millions of people about the many attributes of each breed and what it really takes to earn the coveted title Best In Show. Viewers can watch hundreds of breed champions, ranging from Golden Retrievers to Komondors, from Mastiffs to Pekingese, and from Rhodesian Ridgebacks to Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, strut their stuff as they try to win the favor of the judges.
The streaming video will be hosted by Gromit, the canine half of the beloved clay-animated duo Wallace & Gromit.
Wallace & Gromit creator, director and writer Nick Park said, “Although he is not a purebred, I am certain that Gromit will have no problem going nose to nose with the other dogs at the competition. After all, how many of them have been to the moon and back?”
The 129th Annual Dog Show, sponsored again by Pedigree, is broadcast live on USA Networks, 8:00pm to 11:00pm (EST) Feb. 14-15.
