Wallace & Gromit creator on bringing characters back for iconic Christmas Day return

Fans across the nation rejoiced when it was announced Feathers would be coming back, and he's on a mission, with a vengeance - you guessed it - most foul.

RadioTimes.com sits down with creator Nick Park and director Merlin Crossingham to discuss all things about the wacky inventor and his best pal.

"They've never gone away for us," says Nick Park, who first introduced the world to Wallace & Gromit back in 1989 in A Grand Day Out.

"We've just been away from the bigger screen for quite a while. The key thing is we're always waiting for a bigger format, we're always waiting for that idea that really lands and really grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands to be made."

And that was certainly the case when it came to Vengeance Most Fowl. Fans last saw Wallace and Gromit back in 2008 in A Matter of Loaf and Death, but as for Feathers, he hasn't been sniffing around since 1993 in The Wrong Trousers.

So why, after 30 years, is now the right time to bring back Feathers?

Initially, the new Wallace & Gromit adventure was pitched as a 30-minute story in which Wallace "just invented a smart gnome and all the antics that would follow", but Park felt something was "lacking".

He told RadioTimes.com: "It was lacking in terms of it needed some sense of menace, it needed real motivation, and there was Feathers on the shelf with his beady eyes - the perfect gift. That's what the story needed."

Vengeance Most Fowl sees Gromit's concerns grow as Wallace becomes overdependent on his inventions, and while it seems that Gromit may be slightly overthinking, his worries are soon justified when Wallace invents a smart gnome that develops an evil mind of its own.

But who or what could be the cause? Well, Park and Crossingham are sure to keep their lips sealed, but there is certainly excitement abuzz with the feature-length film having a spot on BBC One's Christmas Day schedule.

"We've always felt [that] the BBC is the home of Wallace & Gromit," said Park, with Crossingham adding, "We're just delighted this can fill that spot."

Park elaborated further: "We don't aim at a particular demographic. It's something that children and adults can watch at the same time and laugh together. So it's got that sense of everyone coming together on Christmas Day and watching, which is great.

"It's an iconic place to be with our characters."

Of course, it isn't just Feathers who will be making a comeback to the screen after a number of years, either, with Peter Kay returning as Chief Inspector (formerly PC) Mackintosh.

With additions to the cast in Reece Shearsmith as Norbot and Lauren Patel as PC Mukherjee, Park and Crossingham wouldn't have it any other way.

"We did audition a small number, [but] we sort of knew pretty much from just the auditions," said Park.

Crossingham added: "And now we have them, I can't imagine it being any of the others."

With this new story with Wallace & Gromit, Crossingham and all those at Aardman wanted to ensure "the stories and the ideas appeal to everybody".

He told RadioTimes.com: "Specifically talking about Wallace & Gromit, we want everyone to be able to watch it."

While acknowledging Crossingham's point, Park added that deep down, Wallace and Gromit's adventures are being made for themselves.

He explained: "We're not making them out there, we're making them for ourselves and it's the child within ourselves, which I think is still alive, that's an important part of this."

And while over the years Wallace's inventions have become more outlandish the more he makes, and in turn he and Gromit find themselves in bigger trouble each time, it's important that they remain true to how they were originally created.

Park told RadioTimes.com: "It's very important to Wallace & Gromit that it still has the original charm and the handmade quality, the thumbprints, as part of the humour and the DNA of it, really. But we do embrace the technology as well."

While this new instalment features the introduction of out of control technology, Park describes it as a "theme within a theme", as there is so much more to Norbot that just being a piece of tech that Wallace has made.

Crossingham added: "He [Norbot] is the wedge between Wallace and Gromit in this story about their relationship, and technology being a wedge between them."

With there "absolutely" being more facets to the story than what meets the eye, viewers will have to stay tuned on Christmas Day to see how the adventures of Wallace and Gromit unfold.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas Day at 6:10pm.

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