Wallace & Gromit are better than ever after 35 years in Vengeance Most Fowl

Film fans are in for a true treat this Christmas thanks to the triumphant return of Wallace and Gromit in a new and lovingly crafted feature-length film, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

It’s the first time we’ve seen them since 2008’s short, A Matter of Loaf and Death, and nearly 20 years since they last embarked on a full-length adventure with 2005’s Oscar-winning The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

And, 35 years after creator Nick Park kicked this all off with A Grand Day Out and made Wallace and Gromit Aardman Animations’ calling card, none of the shine nor brilliance has worn off the beloved plasticine clay figures.

Hollywood might be in an era of endless remakes, reboots and sequels, but what Park and co-director Merlin Crossingham understand so well here is that this is a formula you don’t mess with.

Its detailed, handmade and utterly British ways are the hallmark of the franchise, and no fan wants to see any different; they just want to see better – and more. Luckily, Vengeance Most Fowl is ready to deliver.

Following the death of Peter Sallis in 2007, Ben Whitehead makes his full Wallace debut in a remarkably seamless performance of such a distinct character voice, with all its little foibles still perfectly in place.

The eccentric inventor is back in creativity mode once more, this time unveiling ‘smart gnome’ Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), thought up to help long-suffering pooch Gromit out with his gardening and jobs around the home.

It goes without saying that Wallace hasn’t stopped to consider that the outdoors might be Gromit’s sanctuary, with a naturalistic taste that doesn’t match that of the startingly efficient Norbot – and let’s not forget that this is a robot who is, of course, voice activated for Wallace’s famously silent best friend.

We get to enjoy the return of some of Wallace’s iconic past inventions like his ingenious but complicated wake-up system and Gromit’s foe, the pat-o-matic. Honestly, the heartbreak that delightful dog can portray with just one single furrow of his brow is still truly astonishing.

And speaking of an economy of movement – this time terrifying – Aardman was proven correct in deciding to bring back another of its most infamous villains in Feathers McGraw.

The evil penguin hasn’t been seen since the events of The Wrong Trousers in 1993, when he was locked up thanks to Wallace and Gromit.

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It transpires that the jail Feathers has been biding his time in is the zoo, and many years later he is more than ready to exact his revenge.

It also really says something that the quiet patter of his penguin feet remains one of the most foreboding sounds in cinema – and head swivelling and neck cracks are used with great, icy effect as he plots away. We might all have been thrilled by Mrs Tweedy’s return (and a certain tiny cameo) last year in Chicken Run 2, but true fans know that the power of Feathers’ silence really makes him Aardman’s top dog as an arch villain.

A truly cinematic score from Lorne Balfe, working with Julian Nott’s famous theme as well, proves a great accomplice to the grand ambition of Feathers.

He can also cut through Wallace’s bumbling naiveté with deadly accuracy, proving a worthy adversary for the iconic man and dog duo to try and defeat. It was absolutely the right decision to have him return, more vengeful than ever before.

Being a family friendly film though, there’s still fun to be had with Feathers of course, such as his trademark rubber glove on the head, taking the time to fold a hanky neatly in the middle of a daring escape attempt, as well as a very silly nun disguise later.

The Wallace and Gromit franchise continues to delight in entertaining fans with cracking characters, wholesome fun and adorably naff puns too, such as local newsman Anton Deck. The fact that this reference won’t land outside the UK makes it even better somehow because it shows these films remain defiantly British and unchanged.

Speaking of that, Vengeance Most Fowl’s decision to set its thrilling denouement on barges is glorious, as is a daring climax that pays homage to that other British icon, James Bond, as well as Mission: Impossible.

There was always some risk that making Wallace and Gromit a little more tech-heavy in its storyline could date or mar the characters, but a deft balance is demonstrated in keeping one eye on how far tech has developed since 1989 and another on the vintage-inspired but non-specific past of the previous films.

Vengeance Most Fowl also doesn’t clutter up the storyline with too many extra characters – just the return of Peter Kay’s pleasingly pompous and rather inefficient police officer from The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, now a chief inspector, and his bright and plucky protegee, PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel).

Shearsmith is another great voice in the cast as Norbot, every bit as grating and slightly alarming as Gromit fears. And, of course, Wallace’s greatest weakness for Feathers to exploit.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a wonderfully nostalgic movie that’s truly worth the years of painstaking work stop-motion animation requires.

Marrying the higher stakes and Feathers’ return with firmly sticking to the previous recipe for success makes it exactly everything you hoped it would be.