Wallace & Gromit’s New Movie Highlights A Harsh Reality About The Franchise After 36 Years

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a tour-de-force from Aardman Studios, but it highlights a vital narrative aspect that previous renditions have practically ignored. Claymation master Nick Park, whose credits include the previous Wallace & Gromit films and classics like Chicken Run, returns to bring his iconic characters to life once again, along with the return of the infamous antagonist, Feathers McGraw. While Feathers McGraw is a criminal mastermind and a danger to public society, the new film also highlights the potential danger of one of its protagonists.

Wallace is a friendly old chap, and Gromit is his loyal canine companion. They’ve saved the day before and are regarded as local heroes for their previous apprehension of Feathers McGraw. However, the new film sees Wallace, played by Ben Whitehead in Vengeance Most Fowl’s cast, with a target on his back after his Norbot inventions start stealing and terrorizing the town. Their plan is to take people’s garden equipment and transform it into a secret submarine to break Feathers McGraw out of prison so he can return to Wallace’s home and steal the diamond he’s always wanted.

Wallace & Gromit Proves Wallace Is Actually Pretty Dangerous

Wallace’s Inventions Are Seriously Dangerous

Wallace may have good intentions, but the events of Vengeance Most Fowl suggest that he might need to be regulated in some capacity. While he can’t explicitly be blamed for what the Norbots did, the fact that he constructed them with an “evil” mode speaks to a potential for danger that the films need to address. Had Feathers McGraw got away with his plan, which he would have if not for Gromit’s intuition and last-minute-trick, Wallace would deserve to be held accountable for what his robots did. Even though Feathers set them on their path, he programmed them.

Obviously, it’s a cartoon without very serious dramatic stakes, but it would be fun to see the risks of Wallace’s work addressed in subsequent movies. Gromit was framed and imprisoned in A Close Shave, and now Wallace came close to being arrested in Vengeance Most Fowl, so it would be interesting to see a film where he’s fully captured and has to reckon with the consequences of his inventions. Since Vengeance Most Fowl’s ending leaves Feathers McGraw with the potential to return, seeing this happen in a sequel could be very fun.

Wallace’s Inventions Are Actually Really Scary In The Wrong Hands

Feathers McGraw Accessed The Norbots Way Too Easily

Feathers McGraw has proven multiple times that Wallace’s inventions are a terrible risk when handled by a malicious person (or penguin). In Vengeance Most Fowl, Feathers easily guesses Wallace’s password to access the inner functions of Norbot, turning what should be a helpful little gardening gnome AI into a criminal menace. Not only can Norbot be programmed to steal, he can be programmed to construct an army of other Norbots to do his evil bidding, leading to a mass crime wave in Wallace’s neighborhood.

The same can be said about Wallace’s robotic trousers from The Wrong Trousers, Feathers’ first appearance. Wallace’s tech seemed fine and dandy until Feathers took control of them and began using them to aid in his thieving purposes. As shown by Mukherjee’s confiscation of all of his possessions, Wallace’s house is filled with unique gadgets, and it would be a goldmine for someone like Feathers to get into. Norbot, being an AI with the potential for evil, is the scariest, but Feathers McGraw has access to so much potential if he continues to use Wallace’s work for crime.

Wallace’s Creations Can Cause Real Chaos

Wallace Accidentally Caused A Town-Wide Panic

The fact that Vengeance Most Fowl’s whole plot is that Wallace is broke is absurd, as his inventions are ingenious. Before Norbot got flipped into evil mode, he was an incredibly useful asset that would literally revolutionize the planet if he could be mass-produced. Consider Wallace’s other gadgets, though, like his turning Chief Inspector Mackintosh’s boot collection into an effective boomerang cannon aboard the boat toward the end of the film. It’s all the more hilarious that Mackintosh and Mukherjee end the film thanking him for his efforts.

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Flips A Major Aspect Of Their Previous Adventures

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a terrific new installment to a beloved franchise, flipping an element used in a previous movie.

There are several things done using Wallace’s inventions in this movie alone that are genuinely frightening to imagine, and Wallace doesn’t even seem to realize the gravity of anything that’s happening. Seeing future movies tap into this mad genius side of Wallace would be such a fun flip of the usual dynamics. Although it’s hilarious that he’s absurdly oblivious about the effects of his machines, even on his closest friend and pet, having a Wallace & Gromit movie that acknowledges the joke and taps into it in a different way could be amazing.

Gromit Keeps Wallace From Becoming A Menace

Gromit Is The True Hero Of The Story

Dogs are truly man’s best friend, and no one is more loyal and forgiving than Gromit. Especially in Vengeance Most Fowl, where Gromit is practically brushed to the side due to Wallace’s growing love for the new Norbot, he still investigates the situation behind Wallace’s back and helps discover that the Norbots are working for Feathers McGraw. If not for Gromit, Wallace wouldn’t have even known what was going on and likely would’ve been arrested while Feathers got away with the diamond unscathed.

The same situation essentially plays out in The Wrong Trousers, where Gromit is immediately suspicious of Feathers when he arrives. Of course, Gromit can’t vocalize his complaints, but Wallace needs to learn by now that his dog has a far superior sense of character assessment and that he needs to listen to him more often. Gromit indulges Wallace in all of his outlandish home-improvement inventions, even helping him get out of bed in the morning with the lever-and-pulley system, but that’s the least of it.

Wallace would be in serious trouble without Gromit. He would be a criminal menace and would have no idea what was even happening. That dog is a hero who deserves more credit than he receives. All he wants to do is tend to his garden and enjoy toast and jam for breakfast, yet he’s subjected to getting jam in his face or sentenced to prison for life due to his association with Wallace. Vengeance Most Fowl proves that Gromit keeps Wallace grounded, and while that’s instrumental to their dynamic, it would be fun to see a movie where Wallace goes off the rails.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl features the beloved duo as they confront a “smart” invention gone rogue. When an autonomous gnome hints at larger schemes by a vengeful adversary, Gromit must navigate perilous challenges to protect Wallace and prevent a threat that could end their inventive escapades forever.

Release Date

January 3, 2025

Runtime

79 minutes

Cast

Reece Shearsmith
, Ben Whitehead
, Peter Kay
, Diane Morgan
, Adjoa Andoh
, Lenny Henry
, Muzz Khan

Director

Nick Park