Nick Park has been making stop motion animated films since 1982 when he began work on the short film, A Grand Day Out as a graduation project for the National Film and Television School. The short was the first to feature crazy inventor Wallace and his pet dog, Gromit. Netflix recently released the pair’s latest adventure, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and it is already a hit with critics boasting of a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
There was some fear and trepidation among fans when they learned that the factory that made the modeling clay that Park uses for his films shutdown in 2023 fearing that this outing would be the last. Perhaps a clay shortage would make for a good excuse to wrap up entirely.
In an interview with the BBC, Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit stated that Vengeance Most Fowl was not the end of the series. “[It’s] certainly not the end, I think there’s plenty of bounce still in their bungee. We’ll carry on. There’s always ideas worth kicking about.” Director Merlin Crossingham agreed, but said, “Give us a minute though. They take a while to make!”
And indeed they do. It is estimated that the 79-minute film took just over four years to make, but the wait was completely worth it. In our modern world of CGI, green screens and other computer animation tricks, I fear that many viewers won’t appreciate the work that went into this thing. That isn’t to say that Park doesn’t use some of this trickery to make a better film, but by and large, what you see on screen is flawless manipulation of clay one tiny movement at a time.
Vengeance Most Fowl may be the best in the series. It certainly is the most beautiful. I was mesmerized by one particular scene where a crowd of reporters stood outside of Wallace’s home. Although Wallace’s windows are textured, you can still see these reporters moving about on the other side. While he could easily get away with doing less, Park takes even the smallest detail seriously.
Nick Park is a four-time Academy Award®-winning director who surrounds himself with great talent. The story of Vengeance Most Fowl was written by Park and long-time collaborator, Mark Burton and Park shared directing duties with Merlin Crossingham. So, not only is the animation great to look at, but the story is also enjoyable from beginning to end. It has the look and feel of the classic Wallace and Gromit shorts and this story even brings back a villain from the past.
Despite his many helpful inventions, Wallace (voiced by Ben Whitehead) proves to be difficult to live with for Gromit. However, after the morning chores are done, Gromit can relax in the backyard doing what he loves best – gardening. However, the excentric inventor can’t help himself. Wallace created a robotic gnome called Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) to “help” Gromit as a thank you for all of the pup’s hard work.
Meanwhile, the glove-wearing, chicken impersonating, Feathers McGraw is still serving time at the local zoo for the theft of the Blue Diamond (from 1993’s short, The Wrong Trousers). When he hears news that the famed diamond will be put back on display at the city museum, the evil genius has a new motive to break free and cause some new havoc by creating his own “helpful” gnomes.
Also included in this venture is Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh (Peter Kay) and new recruit, PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel) mirroring the inventor and dog relationship where the latter is smarter than the former.
Vengeance Most Fowl features a few sendups from previous Wallace and Gromit films and classic movies like The Godfather, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, James Bond and Mission Impossible with car chases, battles on top of train cars, explosions and more.
The new Wallace and Gromit film is more enjoyable than 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It is suitable for the entire family with dry humor that everyone can appreciate. The well-paced story features a great message about friendship too. It even features a real mystery that must be solved before the end credits roll. The only shame is that the movie debuted on Netflix instead of the movie theater. The movie can easily be overlooked, but this is one that you won’t want to miss. It can serve as a good enough reason to sign up for the streaming service if you haven’t already.
As for the company that stopped producing the clay, Park states that he will find a new supplier.
Main Image: Netflix
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