A villain from Wallace and Gromit’s past resurfaces in Vengeance Most Fowl, causing new problems for the eccentric English inventor and his underappreciated dogs. As the sequel’s nifty wordplay title suggests, the culprit is none other than Feathers McGraw, the diamond-thief master of disguise last seen in the 1993 Oscar-winning short “The Wrong Trousers,” which exploits another of Wallace’s inventions. His escape from the local zoo is in the stop-motion duo’s second feature in as many decades.
Watching Wallace and Gromit, you get the feeling that the pair’s lives are very boring – as if they have spent the last 16 years (that’s how long it has been since A Matter of Loaf and Death) enjoying the simple routine of life. Cheese and toast from their cozy home at 62 West Wallaby St. A little hype can go a long way, and while director Nick Park and co-director Merlin Crossingham are clearly stretching things out to hit the 79-minute mark, it’s a pleasure to find these two, as well as the Penguin’s nemesis, back on the big screen (although Most will watch it either on the BBC this Christmas or on Netflix early next year).
When it comes to sequels, the obvious advantage of animation is that time can stop between parts, allowing Aardman to pick up where we left these characters – unless of course it serves the material for watching them grow up, a la “Toy Story.” Or “Inside Out.” Technology is getting better, making everyone’s job a little easier, but the studio doesn’t have to worry about aging its stars, as other ’80s favorites like Indiana Jones and Axel Foley have done in recent follow-ups. Fortunately, Park remains committed to feeling He hand-crafts his characters, using little CGI, but otherwise sticks to the same endearingly jerky aesthetic, which is key to comedic timing.
Once again, Wallace (voiced by Ben Whitehead since the death of Peter Sallis) and Gromit (silent as always) act like an old married couple, which is what made The Wrong Trousers so satisfying. It gets to the emotional heart of the dynamic between the dorky bachelor and his taken-for-granted pet. The fact that Gromit cannot speak allows Wallace to happily ignore what his companion is doing. When the feathers appear, the tenant immediately puts a strain on their relationship, demoting Gromit to the Kennel while he plans his big heist. (Subsequent installments have played on similar threats, often in the form of questionable romantic prospects.)
In each case, the lesson is the same: Wallace depends on Gromit much more than he realizes. For all of Wallace’s tinkering, devices meant to simplify his life would be of little use without Gromit pulling the levers at just the right moment. Such is the case with Norbot, a voice-activated, AI-driven garden gnome introduced by Wallace who aims to help Gromit around the garden. Right out of the box, the gadget repairs the landscape and amputates Gromit’s paws.
As played by Reece Shearsmith, this Nifty Odd-Jobbing robot makes a cute and “sophisticated” addition to the Aardman world. He’s not the first gnome to appear there — his kitsch relatives made cameos as lawn ornaments in “A Close Shave” and “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” — but he is the first to address it prominently. With his rosy cheeks and insanely happy smile, Norbot immediately rubbed Gromit the wrong way. The poor dog is right to be suspicious, because clearly this latest innovation is more powerful than Wallace knows – and could easily be hacked by a certain prisoner, who still wants that blue diamond.
As anyone familiar with “The Wrong Trousers” can tell you, Feathers is among the most entertaining antagonists in animated history, due to the sheer simplicity of the penguin’s design. He was essentially a black-and-white bowler with beady eyes and fins, who could disguise himself as a chicken by attaching a red rubber glove to his head. Feathers makes for an obviously ridiculous – but still effective – antagonist where you can read all sorts of threat in his stare (aided by the right strings on the soundtrack).
One of Park’s signatures was his love of classic film genres, which skewed towards Ealing territory with their sloppy comedy. Although Feathers started out as a Hitchcockian villain all those years ago, in this incarnation, he brings to mind a criminal mastermind like Hannibal Lecter, who was no less terrifying behind bars. Even simple gestures seem comically mischievous, whether that involves shaving with a popsicle stick or petting a white seal pup. Honestly, it’s a shame we don’t see more feathers earlier. Instead, our attention is on Norbot, who is being reprogrammed by the evil penguin into the rattle’s “evil mode.”
It’s an odd coincidence that Aardman introduced the AI assistant the year DreamWorks released The Wild Robot, which carries an emotional dimension that film lacks. On Feathers’ instructions, Norbot builds an army of dwarf clones, but their presence threatens the relationship between Wallace and Gromit not so much as Wallace’s other passion: invention. There are very different stakes, as Police Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay, returning from Were-Rabbit) and newbie Mukherjee (Lauren Patel) confiscate all of Wallace’s equipment.
Compared to Aardman’s last few films, “Vengeance Most Fowl” feels more contained, which is ultimately a good thing — a lesson learned from “Were-Rabbit,” which ran the risk of becoming unwieldy as its ensemble grew. The film is full of references to previous adventures, from Gromit’s familiar red motorcycle to the “Mission: Impossible”-style ending, which evolves from a toy train in Wallace’s living room to the real deal. It’s all good for a laugh, although some of us have spent a long time waiting for a reunion, but this pun-laden lark seems a bit slight. Perhaps this is a mistake due to expectations that are too high, but as Emily Dickinson no less astutely said, “Hope is the thing that clings to the feathers.”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will be released in select US theaters on December 18 before streaming on Netflix starting January 3, 2005. The BBC plans to release it in the UK in time for Christmas.