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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Official Netflix release poster
Directed by
Screenplay byMark Burton
Story by
  • Nick Park
  • Mark Burton
Based onWallace & Gromit
by Nick Park
Produced byRichard Beek
Starring
CinematographyDave Alex Riddett
Edited byDan Hembery
Music byLorne Balfe
Julian Nott
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 27 October 2024 (2024-10-27) (AFI)
  • 25 December 2024 (2024-12-25) (BBC)
  • 3 January 2025 (2025-01-03) (Netflix)
Running time
79 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a 2024 British animated comedy film produced by Aardman Animations and the BBC in association with Netflix, and directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. It is the sixth Wallace & Gromit film, the first since A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008), and the second feature-length film after The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). It features the return of Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers (1993), who is out for revenge on Wallace and Gromit and turns the former's latest invention on the duo to do so.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl premiered at the American Film Institute on 27 October 2024. It was broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 25 December in the UK, becoming the second-most-watched UK broadcast since 2022; it released on Netflix internationally on 3 January 2025.[2][3][4] The film holds a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated in the Animated Feature categories at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and the Annie Awards, winning the category at the BAFTAs. It also won the inaugural BAFTA Award for Best Children's & Family Film, in addition to being nominated for Outstanding British Film at the same ceremony.

Plot

[edit]

Wallace has invented a robotic garden gnome called Norbot and opens a business hiring it out to work in gardens around the vicinity, making Gromit feel left out and concerned about his owner's reliance on technology. Annoyed at Norbot's loud recharging at night, Gromit uses a computer in their house's basement where it can be done instead.

When criminal penguin Feathers McGraw hears about Norbot on television, he hacks into the computer and reprograms Norbot to serve him and mass-produce an army of gnomes as part of a plot for revenge against Wallace and Gromit for his previous defeat.[a] While working at homes around the city, the gnomes steal several objects. Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh and his new recruit, PC Mukherjee, conclude that Wallace is responsible and confiscate most of his inventions, but do not find the gnomes.

Gromit reclaims Wallace's tracking device from the police station and tracks the gnomes to the local zoo where Feathers is imprisoned, discovering that they have used their contraband to build a submarine for Feathers to escape in through the sewers. Feathers then spots Gromit and has Norbot cut him from the tree he is hiding in. The duo fall into a nearby enclosure and the impact resets Norbot to his original setting. Gromit goes to the museum, where the Blue Diamond is being put back on display, but it is soon revealed that it was replaced with a decoy; Feathers had hidden the real diamond in his and Wallace's house prior to his arrest. Gromit returns home, but he and Wallace are captured by the gnomes as Feathers recovers the diamond before detaining the duo in a wardrobe.

Wallace and Gromit manage to use a leaf blower in order to escape with Norbot. The trio then pursue Feathers down a canal on narrowboats while Mackintosh, unaware of the latter's escape, and Mukherjee, still believing in Wallace's innocence, pursue on a bicycle; one of the narrowboats happens to belong to Mackintosh. After he and Wallace come up with a way to reprogram the gnomes, Gromit jumps aboard Feathers' narrowboat, but when Feathers sees that the police have blocked the canal, he steers off a navigable aqueduct. With the boat teetering over the edge, Wallace persuades Gromit to surrender the diamond to Feathers. Satisfied about his apparent victory, Feathers then jumps off the narrowboat, which falls, but Gromit is rescued by Norbot and his fellow gnomes.

Feathers escapes to Yorkshire on a train, but discovers that Gromit had tricked him with his own decoy-planting deception. Mackintosh praises Mukherjee for trusting her instincts and retires from the force, passing the torch to her. Wallace returns to inventing, admitting that machinery cannot replace the human touch, and Gromit gains a new respect for Norbot.

Voice cast

[edit]
See also: List of Wallace & Gromit characters
  • Ben Whitehead as Wallace, an eccentric inventor and Gromit's owner. Vengeance Most Fowl was Whitehead's first full film performance as Wallace following Peter Sallis' retirement in 2010 and subsequent death in 2017. Whitehead has voiced Wallace in video games and commercials since 2008.
  • Peter Kay as Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh, former police constable having been promoted to chief inspector. Kay reprises his role from Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.[5]
  • Reece Shearsmith as Norbot, Wallace's latest invention designed to do jobs around the house, but whose personality setting is altered by Feathers McGraw[6]
    • Shearsmith also voices Norbot's fellow robotic gnomes, who act as minions for Feathers McGraw.
  • Lauren Patel as PC Mukherjee, Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh's plucky and young protégée.[7]
  • Diane Morgan as Onya Doorstep, a news reporter for Up North News.[8]
  • Muzz Khan as Anton Deck, a newsreader for Up North News; the character's name is a pun on the television duo, Ant & Dec.[9]

The Farmer from the Wallace & Gromit spin-off series Shaun the Sheep makes a cameo, voiced by John Sparkes.[citation needed] Adjoa Andoh and Lenny Henry have cameo roles as a judge and Mr. Convenience.

Production

[edit]
Models from Vengeance Most Fowl on display

During production of A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008), Nick Park remarked on difficulties with working with DreamWorks Animation during the production of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), such as the constant production notes and demands to alter the material to appeal more to American children.[10][11] This discouraged him from producing another feature film for years, with Peter Lord noting that Park preferred the "half hour format",[12] as well as the end of the partnership after the poor box office performance of Flushed Away (2006).

A new Wallace & Gromit film was announced in January 2022, with Park and Merlin Crossingham as directors, from a screenplay by Mark Burton, while Claire Jennings was announced to produce.[13][14] Park conceived the film as another 30-minute short, which expanded into a feature film.[15] The factory that made Lewis Newplast, the modelling clay used by Aardman, shut down in March 2023; Aardman purchased enough remaining clay to cover the new film.[16] The Daily Telegraph reported that the studio may not be able to produce further films, but Aardman released a statement clarifying that it would find a new supplier.[17][18]

The title was announced on 6 June 2024, alongside the reveal that Feathers McGraw, the villain of The Wrong Trousers (1993), would return. At that time, Richard Beek was announced to have replaced Claire Jennings as the producer, although Jennings would remain credited as a consulting producer.[19]

Music

[edit]

The score was composed by Lorne Balfe and series composer Julian Nott, with the themes composed by Nott. Balfe previously provided additional music for Nott's score in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).[20] Gromit listens to Eric Coates' By the Sleepy Lagoon before being interrupted by Norbot. "Born Free" by Matt Monro is also briefly in the film, played by Feathers McGraw during the escape scene. McGraw at one point plays J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the organ mounted in his submarine, a reference to the piece's use in the 1954 movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, as played by Captain Nemo.

Release

[edit]

Vengeance Most Fowl premiered worldwide on the closing day of the AFI Fest on 27 October at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with a limited theatrical release on 18 December 2024.[21] It aired in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 25 December 2024, and was released worldwide on Netflix on 3 January 2025.[2][22][23][13][14] To promote the film, the BBC also commissioned three Wallace & Gromit-themed idents for BBC One, which were aired through the Christmas season.[24][25] Vengeance Most Fowl was viewed by 9.38 million BBC One viewers on Christmas Day. It was the second-most-watched broadcast in the UK since 2022, after the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, also broadcast that day.[26] After a week of catch up viewing, that figure increased to 16.29 million.[27] Park said Vengeance Most Fowl would not be the final Wallace & Gromit film, and that "there's always ideas worth kicking about".[28]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

Vengeance Most Fowl received acclaim from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 129 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Comforting as cheese and crackers, with some gentle ribbing of modern technology sprinkled on top, Vengeance Most Fowl revives this lovable pair with all their charm intact."[29] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[30]

Writing in The Guardian, Stuart Heritage called it "a triumphant return". He felt the film "does end up suffering a little, in part because of an extended runtime that renders it less densely packed with jokes and invention than we've become used to. It's also a bit too talky, robbing the pair of the easy international appeal they had when their dialogue was kept spare."[31] In the Irish Independent, Vicky Jessop praised the subplot and tone.[32]

Dan Norris, Mayor of the West of England, criticised the BBC and Aardman for not including a ‘Made in Bristol’ line to the film's closing credits, as with other successful global hits like the David Attenborough nature documentaries that are produced in the city.[33]

Accolades

[edit]
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards 20 November 2024 Best Original Score – Animated Film Lorne Balfe & Julian Nott Nominated [34]
Astra Film Awards 8 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Nominated [35]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association 8 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Nominated [36]
San Diego Film Critics Society 9 December 2024 Best Animated Film Nominated [37]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 11 December 2024 Best Animated Film Nominated [38]
Chicago Film Critics Association 12 December 2024 Best Animated Film Nominated [39]
St. Louis Film Critics Association 15 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Runner-up [40]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle 15 December 2024 Best Animated Feature Nominated [41]
New York Film Critics Online 16 December 2024 Best Animation Nominated [42]
Seattle Film Critics Society 16 December 2024 Best Animated Film Nominated [43]
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2 January 2025 Best Animated Feature Won [44]
Golden Globe Awards 5 January 2025 Best Animated Feature Film Nominated [45]
Austin Film Critics Association 6 January 2025 Best Animated Film Nominated [46]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards 7 February 2025 Best Animated Feature Film Nominated [47]
American Cinema Editors Awards 14 March 2025 Best Edited Animated Feature Film (Theatrical or Non-Theatrical) Dan Hembery Pending [48]
Satellite Awards 26 January 2025 Best Motion Picture – Animated or Mixed Media Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Won [49][50]
Alliance of Women Film Journalists 7 January 2025 Best Animated Film Nominated [51]
Annie Awards 8 February 2025 Best Animated Feature Nominated [52]
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production Howard Jones, Rich Spence, Deborah Jane Price, Jon Biggins, Kirstie Deane Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production Carmen Bromfield Mason Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production Dan Hembery Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production Lorne Balfe, Julian Nott Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Matt Perry, Darren Dubicki, Richard Edmunds, Matt Sanders, Gavin Lines Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards 11 February 2025 Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Jo Fenton, Alison Evans, Andy Symanowski, Emanuel Nevado (for "Gromit") Nominated [53]
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Matt Perry, Dave Alex Riddett, Matt Sanders, Howard Jones (for "Aqueduct") Nominated
British Academy Film Awards 16 February 2025 Best Animated Film Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek Won [54]
Best Children's & Family Film Won
Outstanding British Film Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek, Mark Burton Nominated
Cinema Audio Society Awards 22 February 2025 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Picture – Animated Will Norie, Chris Burdon, Gilbert Lake, Simon Rhodes, Nick Roberts, Adrian Rhodes Pending [55]
[56]
Academy Awards 2 March 2025 Best Animated Feature Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, and Richard Beek Pending [57]
Comedy.co.uk Awards — Best TV Comedy Drama Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Pending [58]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ As depicted in The Wrong Trousers (1993).

References

[edit]
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  2. ^ a b Evans, Greg. "First trailer for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl sees old enemy return". The Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ McNamee, Michael Sheils (7 June 2024). "Wallace and Gromit return to face penguin nemesis". BBC News BBC. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  4. ^ Hibbs, James (6 June 2024). "Wallace & Gromit's Christmas 2024 return adds Peter Kay, Reece Shearsmith". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Wallace & Gromit return with Vengeance Most Fowl". British Comedy Guide. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024. Peter Kay will return to voice PC Mackintosh, the character who previously appeared in The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Mackintosh has now been promoted to Chief Inspector.
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  20. ^ Reporter, Film Music (1 August 2024). "Aardman Animations' 'Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl' to Feature Music by Lorne Balfe". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
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