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| “ | I've spent a long time reeling in that fluffy-headed bunny lover, and I'm not about to let some puddle-headed peasant poach her from me! | „ |
| ~ Lord Victor Quartermaine confronting Wallace as he reveals his plan to marry Lady Tottington. |
| “ | HA! You can hop, but you can't hide, Pesto! | „ |
| ~ Lord Victor Quartermaine threatening the Were-Rabbit. |
| “ | If I can't have your money, I can still bag your bunny! | „ |
| ~ Lord Victor Quartermaine to Lady Tottington. |
Lord Victor Quartermaine, simply known as Victor Quartermaine, is the main antagonist of DreamWorks' 11th full-length animated feature film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which is Aardman's 2nd feature film. He is Wallace's arch-nemesis and Philip's owner.
He was voiced by Ralph Fiennes, who also played Amon Goeth in Schindler's List, Rameses in DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt, Raiden the Moon King in Kubo and the Two Strings, Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon, Hades in Clash of the Titans, and Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise (which also starred Helena Bonham Carter). In the film's videogame adaptation, he was voiced by Kayvan Novak.
Appearance
Victor Quartermaine is a slender man with balding black hair and sideburns. He is always seen wearing a tan trench coat and black boots. He also wears a black toupee to cover up his baldness, which is often an occurring gag in the movie, although this only happened about four times.
Throughout the film, the color of Victor's cravat (British scarf) changes several times, but no other clothing item that he wears does this.
Personality
Victor Quartermaine is a sarcastic, argumentative, arrogant, greedy and pompous hunter who does not care about hunting laws or animals. He loves hunting, guns, money, and shooting rabbits or mammals. Victor is also very provocative and orgiastic towards Lady Tottington (even when she resists his advancments), as he tries to marry her for her money.
One of his most opprobrious plans is when he theoretically tries to kill the Were-Rabbit/Wallace. He also has a fondness for his destructive weapons (such as a rifle or gold bullets).
Official Bio from the Wallace and Gromit Website
| “ | Something of a smooth operator, Victor Quatermaine is of aristocratic stock – he just doesn’t have a penny to his name. Setting his sights on the rich Lady Tottington, he’ll do anything to get in her good books. Perhaps tracking down the 'beast' who is ravaging the town's vegetable plots is a good way to start, even if he'll have to use devious means to do so... | „ |
Biography
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
At Tottington Hall
Victor originally rings the bell and gives shows her flowers. Then Totty tries to convince Victor not to shoot them but Victor tells that he wants to. As he tries to shoot a rabbit, Wallace's machine sucks it up. Then Victor then wonders how the rabbit disappeared. Then his toupee gets sucked up and later he gets sucked. Then he gets out and asks him what he does with them and then skeptically says humane when Totty says that then he asks Wallace to pay for his toupee. Then he takes a black rabbit, thinking that it was his wig.
In the Church
During a town meeting taking place after a night where a creature, called the Were-Rabbit, ate most of the town's vegetables, Victor later enters in the midst of it offering to shoot the animal. However, Lady Tottington persuades the townsfolk to let Anti-Pesto capture the Were-Rabbit humanely and also continue their services, much to his irritation.
Confronting Wallace and Witnessing His Transformation
He travelled with his dog Phillip to Tottington Hall with intentions to visit Totty, only to see her in the vegetable garden with Wallace. Enraged, Victor later corners Wallace during the night in the forest, where he threatens him due to the former being jealous of Lady Tottington's growing fondness for him. He then forces Wallace to fight him. However, Wallace was caught in the moonlight and started transforming unwillingly after he threw Victor onto the van with Gromit inside; both Gromit and Victor watched in fear, although the latter grinned afterwards. When Gromit eventually drives away to go after the now transformed Were-Rabbit, Victor makes another evil grin as he plots a plan.
Acquiring the Bullets
Now knowing who the Were-Rabbit actually is and seeing the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Victor goes to Reverend Clement Hedges to seek a way to shoot it down. He gains access to "24-carrot" gold bullets, said by the vicar to be the only thing to kill the creature.
Convincing the Town
Then Victor comes to the church when the people argue with Totty that the were-rabbit is still eating the vegetables. Then Victor told the town that he will kill him. This left Totty no choice but to allow him.
Attempting to Take Down the Were-Rabbit
Victor comes to Wallace's house in West Wallaby Lane in the night where he tries to kill him. He managed to track down and shoot Wallace under the form of the Were-Rabbit, only to find out the "creature" Victor shot was actually Gromit in a rabbit decoy suit. He then locks him in an Anti-Pesto trap cage and leaves to exterminate the real Were-Rabbit.
Vegetable Contest
Victor later comes to the contest and tells Officer Albert Mackintosh that the beast is not killed, and the Officer mistakenly repeats it over the bullhorn. Then he calms the folks down and says that he has one bullet. When Victor runs out of bullets, he asks the vicar who doesn't have one. Then he sees the golden carrot trophy and argues with Totty. Despite being kicked by Wallace, Victor managed to take the carrot, loading it up in a blunderbuss he found at an antiques table at the contest, and climbs on a pipe which Wallace later smashed, sending Victor to land, head first into a cotton candy machine.
Final Confrontation
Then Victor sees Tottington and Wallace holding hands right after she knew the Were-Rabbit was Wallace. Then Victor accidentally revealed his plans. Then as he makes an attempt to shoot him, he gets sprayed by Totty in the eyes, blinding him. Seeing that Wallace escaped after Tottington told him to run, Victor then pinned her by ramming a pitchfork into her hair, not long before saying he actually like her hair pinned back and follows Wallace. During that time, Philip was chasing Gromit and Victor got bumped by Philip by accident. When he comes back on his feet, he saw Wallace on the flag pole and Victor shoots. Unfortunately, Gromit's plane intercepts the gold carrot-bullet meant for Wallace, shielding him in the process. By losing his last chance, Victor smashes his blunderbuss by jumping on it. However, the bullet caused Gromit's plane and himself to plummet down into a cheese tent, whilst Wallace/the Were-Rabbit managed to catch it.
Defeat
After believing Wallace is officially dead, Victor started gloating about his triumphant victory that no one can beat him, although Tottington, who managed to be free, eventually smacked his head from behind with a giant carrot, causing Victor to fall into the same tent. While partially unconscious, he is then dressed in the rabbit suit by Gromit as punishment for his crimes and was sent to divert the mob from entering the tent where the real Were-Rabbit is. Philip, believing Victor to be the beast, bites his master, and the angry mob chases Victor away.
At this point afterwards, his true fate with the mob on the chase remains a mystery; however, in a deleted scene, it is rumored that he was run out of town instead. It's also rumored he was killed by the angry mob.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (videogame)
Victor Quartermaine and his dog Philip, also appeared as villains. In the game, they stole the Mind Manipulation-O-Matic valves, so that Hutch and the Were-Rabbit cannot return to normal. Also, Victor plans to use the valves, so that normal creatures will transform into were-creatures.
Quotes
| “ | (Lady Tottington: But Victor, didn't we agree, no more thoughtless killing?) Quite right, my dear, so I thought this one out very carefully. It's off to bunny heaven for you, big ears! | „ |
| ~ Victor tells Lady Tottington about how he thought about killing rabbits as he aims at a stray rabbit to shoot it. |
| “ | I'm sorry, Campanula, but I am what I am. There's no nonsense with Victor Quartermaine. What you see is what you get. | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine justifies his attempt to kill the rabbit that was sucked in. |
| “ | Marvelous? MARVELOUS? This confounded contraption virtually suffocated me! Besides, the job's only half done. How do you intend to finish these vermin off? Crush them? Liquidize them? | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine |
| “ | How on earth would those tiny minded buffoons ever catch such a big rabbit? | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine questioning Wallace and Gromit's methods to capture the Were-Rabbit. |
| “ | I know your little secret Pesto. I know exactly what's going on. (Wallace: Your Lordship!) Oh yes. You think you can pilfer my filly don't you? You think you can con an innocent woman out of her fortune? (Wallace: Who, me?) Well, I got here first! I've spent a long time reeling in that fluffy-headed bunny-lover! And I'm not about to let some puddle-headed peasant poach her from me! Comprenez?! | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine |
| “ | You're not going anywhere, Pesto. Not until I’ve taught you a jolly good lesson. | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine |
| “ | Come on! Queensberry rules! Put them up, you little pipsqueak! | „ |
| ~ Victor attempting to fight Wallace. |
| “ | Ha, ha, ha, you're shaking! Don't tell me you're a scaredy cat as well as a scoundrel. And don't think acting like a big girl's blouse will get you out of it. There's no mercy with Victor Quartermaine! | „ |
| ~ Victor taunts Wallace before the latter transforms into his Were-Rabbit form. |
| “ | What the...dickens?! | „ |
| ~ Victor when he witnessed Wallace first transforming into the Were-Rabbit. |
| “ | Listen, I don't want to cause panic, but the beast isn't actually dead yet. (Constable: [speaking through the megaphone] The beast isn't actually dead yet???) | „ |
| ~ Victor alerting the Constable about his failure to shoot the Were-Rabbit. |
| “ | Oh no, you commissioned me to rid you of Pesto and that's just what I intended to do! | „ |
| ~ Victor Quartermaine revealing his true plan (by accident) to Lady Tottington. |
| “ | Aah! My eyes! *sobbing* | „ |
| ~ Victor after when Lady Tottington sprays him with Pansy Spray. |
| “ | NO ONE BEATS VICTOR QUARTERMAINE!! | „ |
| ~ Victor's last words before he is knocked unconscious. |
| “ | Philip, do something! | „ |
| ~ Victor's last and final words before being chased away by a mob led by Reverend Clement Hedges and his own dog bites his rear end. |
Trivia
- Instead of being Lady Tottington's suitor as in the final movie, Victor was originally written in the initial script as her son and was named Tristrum.
- Victor is the first Wallace & Gromit villain in the films to speak.
- He is also the first Wallace & Gromit villain to be a human, as the others were either animals (Feathers McGraw for example) or, in Preston's case, robots. He will be followed by Piella Bakewell.
- Victor is also the second Wallace & Gromit villain who uses a firearm, next to Feathers McGraw.
- Victor Quartermaine is the fourth human male Aardman antagonist, who came after Mr. Hugh from Stage Fright, Angry Kid from Angry Kid, and Mr. Tweedy from Chicken Run, but he came before Anthony Trumper from Shaun the Sheep: The Movie and Lord Nooth from Early Man.
- It is unknown how Victor Quartermaine acquired his rifle in the first place, since England has many gun control laws even though being a hunter is considered as a profession.
- He is Ralph Fiennes' second animated villainous role after Rameses (another DreamWorks villain) and before the Moon King (another stop-motion villain).
- He, Piella Bakewell, and Monty Muzzle are the only Wallace & Gromit villains to be human.
- His surname could be derived from Allan Quatermain, the protagonist of the 1885 British novel King Solomon's Mines by the late H. Rider Haggard.
 Villains
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Wallace and Gromit Shaun the Sheep | ||
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