Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024, dirs. Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park)

by Jack Martin | Dec 25, 2024 | 2024 Review, Film Review

Certificate: U

Running Time: 79 mins

Distributor: BBC iPlayer (UK) / Netflix (international)

Release Date: 25 December 2024 (UK) / 3 January 2025 (international)

WHO’S IN WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL?

Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Reese Shearsmith, Lauren Patel, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park (directors), Mark Burton (writer), Richard Beek and Claire Jennings (producers), Lorne Balfe (composer), Dave Alex Riddett (cinematographer), Dan Hembrey (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Wallace (Whitehead) and Gromit become the target of a revenge plot by an old enemy…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL?

In the thirty-five years since their debut in the Oscar-nominated short A Grand Day Out, the Plasticine duo of Wallace and Gromit have earned their place alongside fellow cartoon icons like Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, The Simpsons, SpongeBob, Pikachu and many others. Like those examples, you immediately know who they are from just a simple glance, for not only are their designs instantly recognisable, but their mannerisms and personalities have also become so embedded in the public consciousness that you can practically hear them speak (well, one of them anyway) before they’ve even said anything.

The best part is that, after all this time, almost nothing about them has changed. Sure, their overall designs have evolved slightly over the years, but in terms of who they are, Wallace is still the same hapless cheese-obsessed inventor we’ve always known him as, while the ever-silent Gromit remains the smart, loyal and very, very good dog he’s been since the beginning. The essence of who they are is on full display in every single film or show they’ve appeared in, and that includes their latest adventure Vengeance Most Fowl, their first proper feature since 2005’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which in addition to being a delightful and hilarious romp is a firm reminder of just why we fell in love with these two characters in the first place.

The film opens with Wallace (now voiced by Ben Whitehead, following the passing of original voice actor Peter Sallis) still going at it with his wacky inventions – perhaps a bit too much at it, or so Gromit seems to think. Gromit’s fears of his master’s overreliance on technology come to a head with the introduction of Wallace’s latest invention: a robotic “smart-gnome” named Norbot (Reese Shearsmith) that can perform just about any household task, from sorting out the garden to sweeping up the basement. Suddenly, though, Norbot begins committing a series of sinister crimes, which Wallace inevitably gets blamed for, but Gromit begins to suspect that someone else is behind it all. That someone happens to be none other than Feathers McGraw, the sinister penguin thief from The Wrong Trousers, who’s now serving time in the local zoo and has set into motion his devious plan for revenge against our favourite cheese-loving man-and-dog combo.

In a surprising first for the Wallace & Gromit franchise, Vengeance Most Fowl is a direct sequel – specifically to that Oscar-winning short – which in addition to also featuring recurring characters from other shorts and features, including Peter Kay’s former PC (now Chief Inspector) Mackintosh from Curse of the Were-Rabbit, makes the feature feel like a culmination of sorts for everything we’ve seen thus far of the duo. Even in the highly unlikely event that this is the last screen adventure we’ll have with them, it’s a rousing celebration of what makes both Wallace and Gromit such endearing and timeless characters, from the creative inventions that the former has placed around their house (many of which carry pun-tastic names) to the high number of gags placed firmly in the foreground and background, all the way to their near-unbreakable bond that sets a high benchmark for all man-and-dog partnerships. All of it, naturally, set to that ever-wondrous Aardman animation style that always displays the animators’ literal fingerprints in every frame, and which never ceases to amaze with the amount of time and precision that has gone into each hand-crafted shot.

It’s safe to say that the ever-lasting appeal of Wallace & Gromit is safe and secure, but beyond that Vengeance Most Fowl still offers some of the most inventive and indeed some of the funniest moments in the entire franchise. There are gags in this movie which are made all the more hilarious by the sheer timing of it all, courtesy of co-directors Nick Park (the duo’s creator) and Merlin Crossingham who pour so much of their blatant love for both physical comedy and tongue-in-cheek references to pop culture (wait till you see how they incorporate Ant and Dec into the mix) that you can’t help but laugh, even when the occasional joke falls a little flat.

Then, there’s the anticipated return of that evil chicken penguin Feathers McGraw, who isn’t just as evil and conniving as ever, but also proves himself to be a genuinely hilarious villain who, like Gromit, says so much without saying anything at all. There is something so funny about this tiny creature, with beady black eyes and an expressionless face, masterminding nefarious schemes straight out of a Bond villain’s playbook, and somehow even more than in The Wrong Trousers he comes across as a legitimately unnerving threat while also providing some of the film’s biggest laughs.

On occasion, though, you do feel as though the film is lightly retreading some of its former highs, namely the classic train chase during the climax of The Wrong Trousers, while some callbacks to other moments and even certain vehicles from past shorts and features come and go as nothing more than a bit of fan service. But by and large, this is classic Wallace & Gromit, the kind that you can’t stop smiling during since its gift for such timeless and universal comedy is so infectious that you almost wish it had come out sooner, so that we could all bask in its genius for even longer.

Most of all, it solidifies the characters’ legacy as some of our finest cartoon icons, whose appeal will undoubtedly last far longer than any slice of Wensleydale.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a delightful new adventure for the Plasticine duo that serves as a fun collective for some of the series’ most creative and funniest moments, as well as a firm reminder of exactly why we all fell in love with these characters in the first place.