‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’: Aardman’s Stop-Motion Duo Return With Delightful Adventure

Alci Rengifo

A movie like “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” defines the idea of a feel-good experience. You could watch it as an upper on a rainy day. Younger viewers will get some witty entertainment for a change. Its titular characters, the stars of Britain’s Aardman Animations, have been around since 1989. This new adventure, made in collaboration with Netflix, is such joyous fun that it’s a near shock to realize this is barely the second feature film in the franchise. Wallace, the cheese-loving inventor and Gromit, his sidekick Beagle, have been famous via short films and TV shows, but they are perfect for movies. The proof was there in 2005’s “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” a spoof on midnight monster movies that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, a first for stop-motion animation. 

“Vengeance Most Fowl” is just as much fun and winks at revenge melodramas. Creator-director Nick Park makes sure everything feels at home nearly 20 years since the last movie. This is also a sequel of sorts to another Oscar winner, the 1993 “Wallace & Gromit” short film “The Wrong Trousers.” In that short, our heroes first encountered diabolically silent penguin jewel thief Feathers McGraw, who was eventually sent to do time at the zoo. As we catch up with Wallace (now voiced by Ben Whitehead taking over from the late Peter Sallis), he is still crafting new inventions, to Gromit’s constant worry. His latest is a “smart gnome,” meaning a robot garden gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith). The cheerful robot can help Gromit with his garden, keep the house clean, knit and do basically anything asked of it. Gromit isn’t exactly thrilled. Meanwhile, at the zoo, Feathers McGraw has been coldly waiting for revenge. When he sees Wallace appear on a local news report about Norbot, the penguin begins to plot both vengeance and a way to recapture a coveted blue diamond.

It’s so refreshing to see a movie that is warm but also full of sly satire, cinematic references and enough antics to keep the kids entertained, while engaging an adult viewer. Stop-motion has advanced a lot since the original “Wallace & Gromit” shorts as the premise stays timeless. Aardman Animations’ films never falter in the stunning detail of their stop-motion sets, characters and even skyscapes. What is key is how there is a welcome rhythm of lively creativity and slapstick. Single moments will inspire big laughs because of the welcome simplicity of the humor. In his prison zoo Feathers McGraw does pull ups on the wall pipes, looking like a penguin cousin of Robert De Niro in “Cape Fear.” Wallace may be the most likable English character on film, but his Norbot creation is also a charming little riot as it sings while trimming the garden, cleaning the house and announcing the end of each task with a squeaky “ta-da!” 

The subtext of the story is our fear of AI and the machines taking over. Gromit suddenly feels as if he’s being brushed aside considering Norbot can do everything. Before long, Wallace realizes there’s also a business to be created out of his invention. The neighbors wouldn’t mind paying for a Norbot to fix their lawns. Oh, but machines can still be faulty. Norbot needs to be recharged during the night and just by chance, while moving him to a new charging location, Gromit unintentionally opens a door for Feathers McGraw to carry out a diabolical hacking scheme. As in “The Wrong Trousers,” the story gets into exciting thriller territory, this time with added bits from hacker thrillers and machines turning evil. A chase scene involving trains and explosions is not only a fun homage to classic action movies but nearly shames any action movie from the last year.

All the while, “Vengeance Most Fowl” does not treat its audience as if they were dumb. Family entertainment gets too often dumbed down. Something that was so wonderful in classic cartoons was the cultural and historical references you might not get at age 5, but will recognize when you’re older because you were already introduced to them. “Wallace & Gromit” was always a refined British cousin to American afternoon cartoons like “Eek! The Cat.” There’s an affinity between this franchise and Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and the very early days of Disney. “Vengeance Most Fowl” is a great way to kick off a new year in tumultuous times. It is instantly welcoming, like returning to a place we always wanted to find time to revisit. Younger viewers will benefit the most, while adults will genuinely smile.

“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” begins streaming Jan. 3 on Netflix.