
Aardman’s beloved Wallace and Gromit return for their first adventure in 16 years. “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”, directed by four-time Oscar winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, is a love letter to fans of the franchise. Mark Burton’s screenplay (one of the finest of the past year in cinema) is filled with clever puns, visual references, humor and heart. This is a chipper, delightful experience.
Gromit is not a huge admirer of Wallace’s latest invention, the NORBOT — a talking robotic garden gnome that’s designed to make daily household chores and activities easier. But things get much more complicated when a former nemesis of W&G gets his hands on the technology. It’s the return of mischievous penguin Feathers McGraw! I spoke with Park and Crossingham about how challenging — and remarkable — it is to have Feathers, Gromit and other dialogue-free characters still be so expressive.
Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh is hilarious. His young assistant, PC Mukherjee, makes for a great new addition to the team. At its core, “W&G” has relied on the storyline of Gromit feeling undervalued and underappreciated by Wallace, until Wallace understands just how intelligent his dog is. You may find “Vengeance Most Fowl” using this device to be ‘same old, same old’, but only briefly, as there are so many surprising scenes that take this chapter for the iconic duo in such fulfilling and emotional directions.
If this is the final time Park makes a W&G film, then it’s quite a conclusion. “Vengeance Most Fowl” is charming and highly entertaining, with the kind of spunk and sophisticated comedy we’ve come to expect from, and love about, Aardman. I’m thrilled it did so well with its Christmas Day BBC TV airing, and now global audiences can check out this Critics Choice and Annies nominee on Netflix. (And hopefully it’s on the Oscars ballot as well.)
LCJ GRADE: A-
Running Time: 79 min.