Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

​"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" stars Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, and Reece Shearsmith.  Released on BBC One on December 25, 2024, followed by a Netflix release on January 3, 2025, the film has Wallace and Gromit confronting the return of Feathers McGraw.

The film was directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham.  Park is known for directing the previous "Wallace & Gromit" films, "Chicken Run", and "Early Man".  It is the sixth film in the Wallace & Gromit franchise.  Well, everyone, another new year is upon us, which means it's time for something completely different.  Usually, I would start the year with a new horror movie during the first weekend of January, but I think we all know how that turned out almost every year.  So, instead, I would like to start 2025 with a good old helping of cheese and crackers.  That's right, folks.  Your favorite inventor/dog duo from the United Kingdom has returned for another delightful yet crazy misadventure that'll make fans go crackers for Wallace's favorite snack.  Considering the popularity of Wallace and Gromit on their home turf and in the United States, it was only a matter of time before they grace our screens again.  Fortunately, despite the closure of the factory that made Aardman's modeling clay last year, the creators managed to have just enough clay to make this new film a reality.  Unsurprisingly, the result is what you'd expect from a Wallace & Gromit project regarding critical reception.  After delivering Christmas cheer on public television in the United Kingdom, Wallace and Gromit has now invaded our Netflix servers in America just in time for awards season.  Was the duo's long-awaited return as charming and lighthearted as their previous endeavors?  Let's find out.

The story once again centers on Wallace (Whitehead), an eccentric inventor, and his reliable canine companion, Gromit, as they face financial troubles.  In order to pay their bills, Wallace invented a robotic garden gnome named Norbot (Shearsmith) and created a business involving it working in people's gardens.  This resulted in Gromit feeling concerned about Wallace's reliance on technology to accomplish easy tasks.  However, Wallace's new business tactic takes a drastic turn when the criminal penguin, Feathers McGraw, reprograms Norbot to frame Wallace for the garden robberies.  This sends Gromit on a wild goose chase to clear Wallace's name and bring Feathers McGraw to justice once more.

"Wallace & Gromit" has played a small part in my childhood, thanks to my early experiences with one of its short films and even "Chicken Run".  The latter was also one of the reasons I started getting into stop-motion animation, especially ones involving clay.  This led to me watching "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" in theaters, which happens to be the first and so far only "Wallace & Gromit" movie to receive the theatrical treatment.  By the way, that film is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.  Long story short, I enjoyed every minute of that film, and I still love it now as an adult.  Regarding its effortful animation and everlasting endearment in its humor and characters, "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was one of the family movies that favored heartfelt charm and comforting innocence over cheap kid-friendly jokes we have nowadays to great effect.  So, I had no doubt that I was highly intrigued by the duo's latest outing.  Unfortunately, it didn't get the theatrical treatment like "Curse of the Were-Rabbit", as it only received a Netflix release outside the United Kingdom.  But, on the bright side, it garnered plenty of awards recognition as "Best Animated Feature", especially from the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice.

Upon watching the film, I immediately understood why.  Regarding its innocent tone, charming aesthetics, and animation craft, it's undoubtedly "Wallace & Gromit" at its finest.  But more importantly, it's a straightforward yet incredibly fun and hilarious reunion that retains the heart and charismatic appeal of the duo's previous adventures.  It may not have anything special in its plot to be as groundbreaking as the other animated features we got, but it hardly needs to when you have the creative minds of Nick Park and screenwriter Mark Burton on board.  Park has worked on the "Wallace & Gromit" series since "A Grand Day Out" in 1989, along with a couple of strong original entries, so it's unsurprising that he had a massive appreciation toward these characters, and it shows in "Vengeance Most Fowl".  What's also impressive is that Park doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel to appeal to American audiences, leaving it unrecognizable.  Instead, he stuck with the usual basics that worked in the short films and "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" while finding ways to maintain the franchise's relevancy for both sides of its audience.  

A clear example is Wallace's reliance on his inventions.  We usually see Wallace make inventions that tend to help people, but they always come to bite him and Gromit in their clay butts.  "Vengeance Most Fowl" further emphasizes this element with Wallace becoming too reliant on modern tech to get the simplistic tasks done, including petting his own dog, while also serving as a sequel to "The Wrong Trousers".  This message hits closer to home because we, too, have become so used to technology assisting us that we tend to lose sight of the human connection.  Despite its familiar plot points relating to vengeance, "Vengeance Most Fowl" is another fantastic example of the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" that delivers a handful of British wit, charm, and heart in its relatable themes and simple storytelling.  Admittedly, most of the film's humor may not connect well with American audiences, including the one joke relating to the popular British television duo.  Regardless, they gave me plenty of laughs, so, at the very least, the film succeeded in making the humor delightful for both types of audiences, even if they don't understand some of them.

"Vengeance Most Fowl" is also Ben Whitehead's first film performance as Wallace following Peter Sallis' retirement and subsequent death in 2017.  Whitehead has previously voiced the character in several video games and commercials, so this task was far from challenging for him to carry Sallis' legacy forward in a feature film.  Unsurprisingly, the replacement was worth it.  Whitehead did an incredible job matching Wallace's eccentric and jolly personality, which Peter Sallis provided in the short films.  I can barely tell the two apart because of how he and Sallis sounded alike in their distinctive voices, showcasing that Whitehead has a bright future ahead of him regarding his role in the franchise.  Peter Kay reprised his role as Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh from "Curse of the Were-Rabbit", and he once again showed that the supporting characters were just as fun and humorous as the protagonists.  Another example of this theory was PC Mukherjee, Mackintosh's plucky young protege who learns to trust her instincts in solving the robberies.  Mukherjee's generous and perky persona helped carry the film outside the "Wallace and Gromit" scenes, largely due to Lauren Patel's charismatic vocal performance.

Finally, we have the movie's animation.  As mentioned earlier, this film would've never existed without the proper amount of clay needed because the factory that made it closed down.  Whether it'll affect Aardman's future in clay-based animation hasn't been determined based on my research, but I'm hoping it doesn't force the studio to shut its doors for good.  I learned to appreciate stop-motion animation because I acknowledge the time-consuming effort in providing one frame per second without making the slightest mistake compared to traditional or CGI animation.  Fortunately, thanks to "Vengeance Most Fowl", my thoughts still haven't changed.  One of the things I respect about Aardman is its ability to retain the old-school feel of making a stop-motion project with clay.  While some stop-motion films rely on intricate details in the designs, especially ones from Laika, Aardman's style has a more traditional and simplistic approach regarding its clay supply.  However, it retains the creative and appealing spark of the characters and environments that come from clay.  Like its plot, the film's animation proves that, in most cases, simplicity can be just as effective as complexity.

Overall, "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" is a straightforward yet exceptionally delightful return of Aardman's iconic duo that's more charming than fowl.  It's hard to compare this with the previous installments since I haven't watched the short films as much as "Curse of the Were-Rabbit".  However, I will say that I have a softer spot toward Wallace and Gromit's big-screen adventure 20 years ago due to its humor and parody of classic monster movies and Hammer Horror films.  Thankfully, I can also say that "Vengeance Most Fowl" came pretty close regarding the duo's cinematic outings.  Regarding its voice cast, witty British humor, well-paced storyline, and superb animation, the film shows that some things never change for the inventor/dog pair, and it's all the better for it.  If you're a fan of "Wallace & Gromit", you'll easily love this latest installment as much as I did.

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