"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" Film Review

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Rating: 4.5/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

    Wallace and Gromit have been staples of British Animation for over a decade now, with the man and his pet dog going on numerous wacky adventures. They always provide such a warm and welcoming film for audiences around the world, and allows them to really transport into these films and have such a good time from beginning to end. Especially in a year that hasn't had the best animated features, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a wonderful picture that rounds out the year for animation, with fun, wacky loving characters and an adorably fun villain that can easily become a favorite for audiences; he certainly has become a favorite animated character of mine. 

    The film follows Wallace (now played by Ben Whitehead after the death of Peter Sallis) and Gromit as they are developing new inventions and trying to make new gadgets to help themselves in everyday life. One of the newest inventions Wallace has come up with is the new garden gnome named Norbot that is able to do all the gardening and house chores that anyone needs done. Even though everyone is enamored by the idea and wants to get their hands on one of these smart gnomes, Gromit is very leery of it and doesn't want anything to do with it. 

    At the same time all this is happening, criminal penguin named Feathers McGraw is plotting his revenge against the two titular protagonists. After they caught him in the act of stealing the Blue Diamond, he has held a grudge against them and is trying to plot his way out of the prison and to enact revenge on the man and his dog. 

    This movie is hilariously fun from beginning to end. There are moments where it feels like the film sort of drags at times when trying to tie the scenes and events together, but overall, this movie will have people hooked and entertained from the opening credits to the ending credits. The whole film just feels so happy and energetic, and it really does a great job of transporting the viewer into this beautiful, idyllic world of Wallace and Gromit. 

    The two stories that are intermingled are blended together to near perfection, allowing the filmmakers to not only continue the story of Wallace and Gromit and have their characters evolve, but also use these outside elements to show how it affects their friendship through these trials and tribulations. They give equal time and attention to these two contrasting stories to fully flesh them out, which is impressive as the movie is only an hour-and-nineteen-minutes long. 

    The characters of Wallace and Gromit are great here again, and I love the chemistry these two characters share. Even though Gromit doesn't speak, you can just see how much these two characters care about one another and how they have went through so much together. Whitehead does a wonderful job of filling the shoes of Sallis, showing that he may never be the original actor, but he still does a great job. I also really loved the characters of Chief Albert Mackintosh (Peter Kay), Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), and PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel). But, it's the character of Feathers McGraw that really stands out here for me. 

    His character is so brilliantly designed and tons of fun. I absolutely fell in love with this antagonist when I first watched this film, and he honestly goes into the ranks of some of my all-time favorite cartoon characters. The filmmakers do such a wonderful job of making him so fun and hilariously evil that you can't help but root for the character from beginning to end. One of my favorite moments of this film is when Feathers is trying to solve one of those "Are you a human?" puzzles on the computer; it's honestly comedic genius.

    In terms of the visuals here, the claymation is beautifully on point. It's incredibly impressive what they are able to do with the clay and stop-motion, and it really enhances the film. As a whole, it feels very personal and shows the filmmakers spent tons of time trying to perfect this film, and they do a standup job from beginning to end. 

    Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is just a fun and very enjoyable animated comedy, and I loved nearly every second. This movie is the perfect film for families worldwide, and hopefully creates many young Wallace & Gromit fans. I truly hope we get to see more of Feathers McGraw in the future.