Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Ever since the release of A Matter of Loaf and Death in 2008, the Wallace & Gromit franchise has been all but dormant outside the UK, not helped by Peter Sallis’ retirement in 2010 and passing in 2017, with the Shaun the Sheep spin-off series helping to keep it alive in the interim. To this end, I was surprised and excited when not only was a new feature film, Vengeance Most Fowl, announced to be in the works, but that it was also a follow-up to the 1993 short film The Wrong Trousers, which happens to be my favorite entry. The announcement of Netflix being the distributor was a bit of a spirit breaker, as I do not have a Netflix account, however as the film got closer to release, a series of limited US theatrical screenings came up, with the only local option I had being a one-day showing at an IPIC theater (the same one where I first watched Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions under similar circumstances). After leaping at the chance, I found the wait and effort to have been well worth it, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the original.

Years after Feathers McGraw’s incarceration at the end of The Wrong Trousers, Wallace (Ben Whitehead) has gotten carried away with inventing and filled his house to the brim with technology, oblivious to Gromit’s feelings on the situation. Things come to a head when Wallace invents a smart gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) in an attempt to help Gromit with his garden, only to end up ruining it. Norbot becomes a hit with the locals regardless, with Wallace’s new business of renting out the gnome becoming highly successful. This then makes it onto the local news, bringing the gnome to the attention of the imprisoned Feathers McGraw, who quickly hatches a plan for revenge.

I was initially worried about how this film’s story would turn out, mainly due to A Matter of Loaf and Death not being one of the duo’s stronger outings, but thankfully it proves otherwise. The return of Feathers McGraw not only feels justified, it also displays the great lengths he is willing to go to settle some unfinished business. The dynamic between Wallace and Gromit is also stronger here, leading to a surprisingly emotional moment between them towards the climax. The humor is also stronger here than the aforementioned short, feeling more in line with The Wrong Trousers in terms of visual comedy and even managing to find even more ways to mine jokes out of a silent evil penguin. On that note, whereas the feature-length Curse of the Were-Rabbit felt a bit more “American” with its presentation, Vengeance Most Fowl feels more unapologetically “British,” making it a more enjoyable watch.

 

Wallace (Ben Whitehead, left) goes overboard with the invention of Norbot
(Reece Shearsmith, center).

The film also features some callbacks to The Wrong Trousers with certain lines and plot points, but does it in a way that doesn’t make it feel like a carbon copy of said short. Although the cast is a bit more expanded, including familiar faces from the Wallace & Gromit universe, the core set of characters is small enough to help keep the plot more focused and with enough concurrent arcs to keep things interesting while still moving at a decent pace. That said, the plot gets a little muddy in places, including a retcon at the beginning with how Feathers got thrown in jail in the first place, but these quibbles manage to not get too much in the way of the experience.

This film has a much bigger budget compared with previous Wallace & Gromit stories, and it shows in the immaculate attention to detail that still stays within the familiar art style of the series, especially in the beautifully rendered scenery in the third act. Even with some understandable sparse CG effects in places, the fact that most everything is done in stop-motion makes it even more impressive, with the signature visible fingerprints on some of the models, especially Feathers, serving as a reminder of the artists’ handiwork. The voice acting is good as usual, but special mention goes to Ben Whitehead as Wallace, who has not only come a long way since Grand Adventures, but also sounds nearly indistinguishable from Peter Sallis, down to the tone and cadence, to where you nearly forget it isn’t him.

While not quite as strong as The Wrong Trousers, Vengeance Most Fowl is still a worthy piece of Wallace & Gromit media that fans eager for new content should see when they get the chance. Newcomers to Wallace & Gromit outside of expanded universe media should still watch The Wrong Trousers beforehand at the very least, but can still otherwise find something to enjoy here.