The British Christmas TV schedule has been full of returns after long waits. Gavin & Stacey and Outnumbered to name a couple. But first on the schedule was the return of Aardman’s centrepiece characters. Wallace and Gromit are back on the big screen, or small screen on Christmas day for the UK audience, for the first time in 19 years. The film sees the Northern pair take on a familiar foe, Feathers McGraw, from the Oscar-winning short film The Wrong Trousers.
This time, Wallace’s invention is a smart gnome brought in to make gnome improvements. Meanwhile, Feathers McGraw is in a high-security prison, or for a penguin at a zoo, arrested for stealing the blue diamond. Determined to escape and enact his revenge on Wallace and Gromit, who foiled his robbery. With a newspaper on his cell wall, proclaiming the pair as heroes of the local community, before the film’s title card states Feathers’s aim, wanting Vengeance Most Fowl.
Immediately when you put on Vengeance Most Fowl, you feel immediately safe in knowing that the film is going to be alright. There is a confidence and assured nature to the film, the feeling of a tried and tested formula that will work every time. This is not to say that the film is a remake or has been done before, but it feels that the filmmakers know what beats to hit with Wallace and Gromit.
Whether that is Gromit getting yanked out of bed by his ears to press a button to get the already awake Wallace out of bed, or Wallace worrying about his bills, the film understands exactly what it needs to be and it is solid to a fault. Full of physical Chaplin- or Keaton-esque humour, or puns that will satisfy a British and sometimes global audience. There is an inherent silliness to the whole thing, such as the Gnomes having an evil setting, but the film highlights and plays up the silliness, making it great fun to watch. It is perfect for all the family.
Wallace and Gromit’s return fighting off the rise of the machines and a familiar foe in Feathers McGraw lives up to the hype. It is great fun and perfect for all ages. A gripping watch that flies by, and a welcome return for Aardman’s greatest property.
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