Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Wallace & Gromit are back... and so is Feathers McGraw. That's probably enough for any viewer. Many might wonder is this going to be as good as The Wrong Trousers. The answer is no, but it's not far off and really only falls short because it's a sequel. It's near impossible to capture the magic of anything as much loved as The Wrong Trousers, even though that was a sequel of sorts. The pairs house has had some upgrades. Wallace's new wake up routine is genius. Not that long suffering Gromit is impressed. He's happy with the simple life. The Pat-o-Matic for instance isn't to his taste. He'd much rather have a nice pat on the head from Wallace. Wallace's latest invention though is for Gromit, to help him in the garden. A smart gnome called Norbot, who instead of helping, ruins Gromit's garden, invading his only sanctuary. The neighbours though are impressed and this kicks off Wallaces scheme to solve their money troubles, Gnome Improvements. What about the penguin you may ask? Well he's doing time at the zoo, but upon hearing of his foe's latest invention. He finds a way to hack Norbot, change his settings to 'Evil' and have him create an army of evil gnome clones. They first terrorise the neighbourhood, besmirch Wallace's good name, help Feathers break out of the zoo and steal the blue diamond that alludes him in The Wring Trousers. The details are delightful. The animation is beautiful. The story first class and the action both gripping and wonderfully cinematic. So no it's not as jaw dropping and perfect as The Wrong Trousers, but it doesn't need to be. It's just as much fun and it's a joy to have a new adventure to enjoy over and over again.

Gromit is growing concerned that Wallace is becoming too reliant on his invention. They're proved to be correct when his master creates a smart Gnome which he names Norbort, whose factory setting are reset and it switches to evil mode. When it becomes apparent that the nefarious Penguin Feathers McGraw is behind the chaos which ensues, Gromit sets out to put a stop to his devious plan and save Wallace who finds himself in some very hot water.

The ninth animated full length feature from Aardman Animations, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl sees the long awaited return of Nick Park's beloved cartoon duo. The eccentric, homely inventor who lives with his loyal pet Canine companion Gromit. Initially having featured in four short movies that were made-for-TV. They've become something of a British institution becoming one of the most successful exports to come out of the UK. So much so that it inspired a full length movie in 2005 with The Curse of the Were Rabbit.

Directed once again by the ingenious Academy Award winning Nick Park, whose dedication to his art in bringing such an intricate, detailed piece of animation to life is peerless. The zany, quirky world that his unlikely comic duo inhabit has lost nothing of It's idiosyncratic charm. Introducing a wonderfully infectious creation with Wallace's robotic Garden Gnome Norbot (voiced by Reece Shearsmith). A zestful, speedy contraption that is the set-up for some sublime sight-gags. He proves to be a force of nature performing gardening tasks with ample hustle and bustle. The scene alone where he's being recharged is delightfully rib-tickling.

The plot also serves to signal the come back of Feathers McGraw, the criminal Penguin mastermind from The Wrong Trousers. Now finding himself imprisoned in a local zoo. Whose plot to exploit Norbot for his own ends, includes exacting revenge on are heroes who were previously instrumental for having him seen brought to justice. Cue a wealth of inspired and elaborate slapstick set-pieces which I have to say really should have been brought to the big screen, as the small screen just doesn't do it quite the justice it deserves. It's none the less bags of unadulterated, outlandish fun. Not least because of the inclusion of Chief Inspector MacIntosh, (Peter Kay) last seen in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and plucky young protégée PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel). Ben Whitehead delivers an uncanny vocal performance, replacing the late Peter Sallis, magnificently. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought it was Sallis himself. He beautifully embodies the warmth and personable charm of the character. With the rest of the voice cast certainly no shirkers either. It has lost none of Its innate Britishness.

Considering that Curse of the Were-Rabbit took five years to finally reach cinema screens in 2005. It comes as no surprise that it took sixteen years after their last short, a Matter of Loaf and Death, for us to get Vengeance Most Fowl but It's been well worth the wait.

Containing a steady stream of blink and you'll miss them small gags that demand repeated viewing. Park once again leaves us wanting more, although given its due to the demanding production process I shouldn't wonder that it might be another seventeen years since we might see them again. And fingers crossed that this won't be the last.

Over 30 years has passed since the release of the Wrong Trousers so people might be forgiven for thinking that Wallace and Gromit are getting a bit dated. Yet this completely destroys that notion!! The Yorkshire humour, the cute relatable characters combined with an interesting plot makes for a lovely family movie! They've definitely not lost their touch! My kids loved it and so did I. Would recommend to anyone regardless of whether you've seen previous instalments as can be seen as a stand alone movie. A personal favourite villain Feathers McGraw shows what can be done with a lump of plasticine that doesn't even speak. When you consider how much stop start animation is required to fill the 80 minutes then you realise just what a work of art this really is. Bravo!

What a call from the BBC, an evening showing of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl debuting to the local masses. Of course it excels at everything it attempted to. From a technical and just genuine enjoyment perspective its great.

Firstly, Aardman have managed to retain their exceptional status as he greatest stop motion producers we have seen in film. Challenges have been faced across the company by being lack of clay and so much more but again they provide. A spectacular 78 minutes of pure joy and love soaked into the most beloved British film franchise of all time, as they still achieve a 100% record for Wallace & Gromit. But how?

Now a foolish claim would be that these films are made for children, but it's simple to shut down masterful entertainment retaining the witty humour from previous entries keeping the established narrative contracts of both Wallace, the man trying to keep up with the times but runs to fast. And Gromit, less of a myopic take on situations. The dichotomy built between them is magnificent and in the closing sequence as it bridges through the sheer power of friendship and love brought a tear to my eye. Character development isn't everything but the sheer attachment you can have for this duo speaks for itself. Of course you can't speak about characters without mentioning Feathers. The foil. The comic relief. The sly penguin. Back to his best swiftly establishing himself amongst the great villains of cinema, his body language forged in the clay work sustains this construct, even minor head tilts or arm movements encapsulates so much fun and depth into a character who hasn't even opened his beak once, a true icon.

The filmmakers aren't subtle with there hidden allegories specifically the anti-AI message referenced in the films. The "norbots" evident microcosm of this, as clearly a flicker of there code creates potential travesty's if put into the wrong hands, emblematic of real world danger as pressure mounts amongst, ai. Hidden allegorical messages blanketed amongst a vastly entertaining feature, refreshing in the animation genre of film, and yet another top tier entry into what is rapidly becoming one of my favorite franchises in film.

A great movie, after a very long wait. These characters have the same charm and comedy brilliance as the all time greats. Gromit, although animation, has the same dead-pan timing as Stan Laurel and to achieve that in animation is brilliance.

The key to W&G is that they never stray far from their roots and this was their best long form outing so far, the plot has so many nods to movies and a level of brilliant comedic detail in the design and smaller props. Always read the book covers and look around to see these wonderful details.

I might be alone but I noticed quite a few nods to Tim Burton's 'Batman Returns' especially in a moment with a submarine and a rubber duck!

This was a great return to form after the split with DREAMWORKS and it seems that the producing team did a cracking job on keeping it real.

A note to say although Peter Sallis will always be much missed the vocal performance by Ben Whitehead is pitch perfect and a flawless interpretation.

I'd love to see the studio revisit Pirates and of course give us a few more W & G adventures in the years to come.