Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review – Britain's premier stop-motion heroes are better than ever in new rematch with Feathers McGraw

Fans were alarmed last year when the factory who supplies modelling clay to Aardman Animations suddenly shut down in March 2023.

Thankfully, reports that this could halt production on their latest film were clearly exaggerated, because here we are, 18 years on from A Matter of Loaf and Death with a new Wallace & Gromit adventure at last. But is it any gouda?

Vengeance Most Fowl — the sixth in the series, and the second feature following 2005's The Curse of the Were-Rabbit — is set to be released this Christmas in the UK (and on 3rd January elsewhere via Netflix), but this is nacho typical festive fare.

Directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, Wallace & Gromit's comeback also marks the return of Feathers McGraw, the villainous penguin who could easily give Thanos or even Darth Vader a run for their money.

It's been 30 years since this feathered foe last appeared in 1993's The Wrong Trousers — or just one if we count his cameo in last year's Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget — and that's a long time for anyone to rot away in prison, let alone a beady-eyed jailbird full of resentment and a thirst for vengeance most fowl.

Through some fishy shenanigans we won't spoil here, Feathers McGraw finds a way to take advantage of Wallace's latest invention, a 'Nifty Odd-jobbing Robot' gnome named Norbot, to seek revenge on the pair who foiled his plans all those many years ago.

Things aren't as black-and-white as that sounds, though. In fact, longtime fans might be surprised to learn that Vengeance Most Fowl ties into The Wrong Trousers much more than expected, making this new outing a direct sequel of sorts.

But don't worry. Adults with a short memory or impatient kids who haven't got around to watching those early Aardman classics will still love Vengeance Most Fowl regardless.

Technology has progressed a grate deal since The Wrong Trousers won a BAFTA and an Academy Award three decades prior, and all of that visual innovation is on full display here in the franchise's best-looking entry yet.

Every drop of tea and crumb of cheese is perfectly rendered, as is Gromit's always-expressive face, yet none of the signature heart and soul Aardman's known for is missing.

Because even with these advances in visual effects, the team behind it all are still moving Wallace and Gromit (and everything else) frame by frame, just like always, bringing a warmth to the screen that's so often absent now, in modern-day CGI films especially.

The time and energy spent on crafting each individual moment is proof of the care that goes into every frame (often chock-full of jokes and Easter eggs and endless puns you won't necessarily spot on a first watch), which translates to the film as a whole too.

With a script as sharp as cheddar and a voice cast to match (including Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel and Sir Lenny Henry), the movie's lean 79-minute runtime flies by faster than you'd like, but only because it's so good.

Wallace and Gromit are just as loveable as ever, despite all the time that's passed since we saw them last, and on the flip side of that, Feathers McGraw has lost none of his unpleasantness either, reminding us exactly why he was so scary to kids back in the day.

Who knew that a clay penguin disguised as a chicken could have so much presence on screen?

Yet even with his villainous demeanour, Feathers is still a hoot throughout, with many of the film's best jokes by far. One new disguise of his in particular almost made me spit out my tea, a crime that not even Wallace would stand for.

Norbot the gnome also treads this line carefully, a mix of silly and absurd with some genuine scares as well, although Vengeance Most Fowl is still suitable for children, so don't worry about your kids waking up crying at 4am on Boxing Day. The only crying they'll be doing is tears of laughter, so gno worries there.

Aside from laughs, the one thing always guaranteed in a Wallace & Gromit adventure is the kind of action that puts most Hollywood blockbusters to shame, and Vengeance Most Fowl is no exception in this regard.

Huge explosions, adrenaline-fuelled chases and hilarious slapstick fights are all present and accounted for, just as impeckable as you'd expect from a long-standing franchise that's still soaring at the top of its game. Tom Cruise could never.

Despite all this blockbuster spectacle, Wallace & Gromit hasn't lost those small, special details that help set it apart. Even the big finale takes place at the Yorkshire border, and throughout the film, Vengeance Most Fowl regularly reminds us of the story's northern roots, holding on tight to its cultural specificity that's so rare in this London-obsessed industry.

There are no concessions to American audiences, either. Instead, Aardman Animations continues to effortlessly channel the Ealing comedy/Dandy and Beano influences that have helped make Wallace & Gromit such a well-loved, enduring staple of British culture.

Yet Vengeance Most Fowl doesn't just rely on nostalgia. It's a part of the appeal, of course, but with the introduction of Norbot, Wallace & Gromit also grapples with very current concerns around AI.

Remarkably, the film does so without sounding preachy. In fact, tapping into this conversation feels like a natural fit for a series that stars an inventor who often relies too much on tech (just as the filmmakers lean more into new animation techniques as well).

Given how long Vengeance Most Fowl has been in production for, it just goes to show how prescient the team behind Wallace & Gromit are in this regard.

In the wake of all this, what's next for Wallace & Gromit (and stop-motion as a whole) is yet to be determined. But if the next film is even half as good as Vengeance Most Fowl, then the future is in cracking good hands, and well worth the wait.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.

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