Claymation is a dying art. Fully realized in 1926 with Joseph Sunn’s “Long Live the Bull,” with offspring that include such classic films such as 2009’s Coraline, 1996’s James and the Giant Peach, and 1993’s Nightmare Before Christmas, it’s an art form that requires an immense level of skill and technique. Enter Nick Park’s hit series Wallace and Gromit. Originally created in the early 1980s, it debuted in 1989 to critical acclaim.
That lands us in 2024, with claymation/stop-motion powerhouse studio Aardman Animation’s latest entry in the highly esteemed series: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. The film starts right off the back of the inaugural feature film entry, “The Wrong Trousers,” focusing on the aftermath of Feather McGraw’s arrest for attempting to steal the Blue Diamond. Our beloved inventor Wallace has found himself under a mountain of debt in pursuit of grander and greater household automation and many other hair-brained devices. Optimistic as ever, he invents another robot to help out Gromit with his household chores, much to Gromit’s chagrin. This do-it-all garden gnome, Norbot, becomes a hit with the neighborhood, who see its versatility as something worth paying for.
News of Wallace’s creation eventually reaches Feathers McGraw in prison and, due to his overnight celebrity status, creates even more ill-will from Feathers towards Wallace and Gromit, but also sparks the idea of his brand new master plan. Eventually Wallace begins mass producing his Norbots, creating a rift between himself and Gromit, and casting suspicion on himself in the eyes of Chief Inspector Mackintosh, who believes Wallace is behind the latest slew of city-wide robberies. Unbeknownst to him is how Feathers McGraw ties into things, as he plots his escape and another attempt at stealing the Blue Diamond.
Simplicity is Vengeance Most Fowl’s greatest strength and weakness. The film has a less-is-more approach with the storyline which keeps it clear and concise (though this does take the mystery out of the mystery) and it introduces and reintroduces us to some interesting or familiar faces, including McGraw and Mackintosh, while bringing in Police Constable Mukherjee and Wallace’s newest invention, Norbot. The personalities are vibrant and comical as ever, with Mukherjee’s energetic naivete contrasting Mackintosh’s self-absorption.
I grew up watching English shows like As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances and the like, so I like to think I have a good grasp of British humor in most of its flavors. And while screenplay writer Mark Burton’s script is packed with it, there are some easy comedic lay-ups that I’m confident most will get (like news anchor Anton Deck, a play on famous English TV hosts Anthony McPartlin and Decklan Donnelly’s names). Vengeance Most Fowl is rife with wordplay, inside jokes and absurdist comedic that drops you into the world of Wallace and Gromit so easily you’ll forget it’s been 19 years since the last time we’ve seen the duo on screen.
That said, and probably best attributed to the brief 73 minute runtime, there’s a cut-and-dry aspect to the film that could’ve been solved by adding at least one or two more plotlines for our lean cast of characters. Feathers McGraw returns for revenge, uses Wallace’s own invention against him, leaving it up to Gromit to save the day; and save the day he does. The Aardman team have definitely perfected the practice of crafting emotion into our favorite clay canine’s performance with understated sincerity and equal parts hilarity.
Ben Whitehead never misses a mark as the cheery and brilliant Wallace, while Peter Kay leans into the exaggeratedly oblivious nature of his character Chief Inspector Mackintosh. Young starlet Lauren Patel introduces us to Police Constable Mukherjee with a turn that makes one hope for her appearance in future sequels, capturing the brightness and fervor of a young officer on the job. Cast credits for the film are customarily short, as Nick Park and Mark Burton run a very tight ship of characters, but Diane Morgan (Onya Doorstep) and Muzz Khan (Anton Deck) play into the ridiculousness of the situation with ease. Reece Shearsmith has what could feel like an easy job as Norbot, but it’s a nuanced role he plays with, balancing between endearing and comically sinister.
With a crew of over 200 members, Vengeance Most Fowl is easily Aardman’s most ambitious production yet, and the technological efforts come through with clarity. The combination of modern VFX and puppetry, plus high definition quality of even the average display these days makes Vengeance Most Fowl a gorgeous undertaking from the studio, and it’s fun to compare and contrast the visuals of today to their previous outing 19 years ago.
Industry veteran Lorne Balfe does a beautiful job of embracing the whimsical aesthetic of the universe and capturing it in vibrant piece after piece, with cues ranging from twinkling chimes and xylophones to accent subtle movements, rising up to horn stabs and sweeping strings reminiscent of the vintage scores of Fleischer Studios.
It’s refreshing to hear a soundtrack that is not only chock full of movement but has a unique sound palette to it as well. Individuality among musical scores feels like a dying art in a world when the landscape is dominated by cues that recall temp tracks of previously successful scores, things start to sound a bit too homogenized. Animation is one of the last areas where it feels like composers are allowed to be free to roam wherever their imagination, and the script, takes them. And Lorne Balfe seizes the opportunity; alongside Julian Nott’s continuously outstanding themes, the soundtrack is one that could live on its own, film or not.
Ultimately, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a tale about loyalty and humanity in the age of automation at its heart. When Wallace becomes too obsessed with his own creations that he begins to neglect the world around him, including his own best friend, Gromit, his focus on technology spirals out of control literally and metaphorically. But at the end of the day, it’s that same friendship and connection that was lost that rekindles to save the day. And in a world of AI and tech advancing faster than we can imagine, relationships and connections are our best creations after all.
Pros
- Funny as ever, with double entendres and British humor galore
- Great animation and a merging of new and older techniques
- Classic, bombastic and vibrant soundtrack, exaggerated and dramatic
- The new characters are a welcome addition, enthusiastically voiced by their actors
Cons
- The plot is a touch too simple and doesn’t add anything new to the mythology of Wallace and Gromit
- The runtime was a bit long for the simplicity of the plot
- It would’ve been nice to have an even more expanded cast with this outing, especially after so many years after their previous outing
Rating – 3.5/5 Pocky
Elijah Isaiah Johnson is a writer/illustrator/animator. His most recently published works include the Amazon best-seller Nightmare Detective, Noir is the New Black, the Comixology Indie best-selling series Leaders of the Free World, The Formula and much more.
