AFI Fest Review: ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ is a Welcome and Witty Animated Return

Nineteen years after their feature debut, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Wallace and Gromit are back on the big screen, or at least coming soon to small screens courtesy of Netflix. The slow-moving and occasionally unobservant human and his generally more alert and suspicious dog have appeared in numerous short films since 1989’s A Grand Day Out and spawned multiple spinoffs included the Oscar-nominated Shaun the Sheep Movie and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. Their latest misadventure should delight returning fans and appeal to new audiences alike with its eye-popping animation and clever storytelling.

In Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Wallace and Gromit are living large following their apprehension of Feathers McGraw, a criminal penguin who had tried to steal a precious diamond. Gromit wakes up each morning to Wallace’s many inventions at play, with hours and hours of work put into ensuring that each new day he no longer has to lift a finger. Yet Wallace’s appetite for innovation remains high, and his latest creation, a smart gnome named Norbot, starts out by making Gromit feel undervalued and soon becomes a pawn in the imprisoned Feathers McGraw’s scheme to free himself and take revenge on those he blames for his current predicament.

This franchise has been around long enough for most people to have come into even passing contact with it, but for those who might stumble upon it with no frame of reference, this film doesn’t offer much in the way of explanation or setup. But that’s because it doesn’t need it: the premise is simple. Gromit doesn’t speak but he and Wallace seem to be able to communicate, provided Wallace is listening and paying attention to him, which isn’t always the case, especially as he proclaims his excitement about Norbot, whose garden-trimming efficiency robs Gromit of one of his most valued pleasures. Similarly, Feathers McGraw is a classic villain from this world but needs no introduction.

Where this film truly shines in its deployment of anthropomorphic humor. Much of what Feathers McGraw does as a penguin is meant to mimic human ability, and the fact that, like Gromit, he doesn’t speak only makes much of what he does funnier. Gromit also possesses many human qualities that make him more efficient and responsive than an actual human like Wallace. While past entries like both Shaun the Sheep feature films have no dialogue whatsoever, this film also smartly knows how to employ visual gags to best drive home its plot points, and much can be enjoyed without listening to any word uttered by the few characters that can speak.

The tendency towards the unspoken doesn’t apply to Norbot, who is immediately a chatterbox who drives Gromit crazy, talking and then singing about its efficiency. Fortunately, it’s a fun addition that does serve to uproot the calm that Gromit so enjoys and show just how quickly things can spiral out of control with a well-intentioned plan that hasn’t been fully thought through or considered. Utilizing animation makes so much more possible, and there’s no shortage of visual creativity to the way in which Norbot’s abilities are shown and the extraordinary antics that ensue as a result of Wallace’s failure to consider that not everyone is nearly as good-natured as he is.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl benefits from the involvement of the man responsible for conceiving of the title characters more than three decades ago, Nick Park, as a co-director and co-writer along with Merlin Crossingham and Mark Burton, respectively, who have both been involved with the franchise for multiple installments. Due to its animated format, and the voice work of Ben Whitehead, who took over from former Wallace voicer Peter Sallis over a decade ago, this film and all that will surely come after it have a timeless quality that make them quite enjoyable and entertaining, ignoring all boundaries when it comes to visual expression and creativity in storytelling.

Movie Rating: 8/10

Awards Buzz: Expect this film to contend for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars given the franchise’s consistent presence for all its previous installments. The first feature film won in 2005 following short film victories for The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. A fourth prize for the franchise may be achievable but it will depend on this film’s competition, namely one wild robot.