Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Image credit: IMDb

We all know that art imitates life and that films often serve as a source of social commentary as well as entertainment. Films about humanity’s increasingly dangerous reliance on technology have been around since the era of Charlie Chapin in which his famous comic character, The Tramp, very humorously showed us what could happen when technology breaks down in Modern Times. And did we listen?

Isaac Asimov has been trying to caution us with this science fiction stories that usually depict robots turning on their masters or evolving an intelligence to rival humans. I Robot, Alien, Blade Runner, 2001 ASpace Odyssey – what do all these films have in common? Villainous AI. Even Disney had a stab at trying to redirect our reliance on technology with WALL-E and now, with the very real rise of AI, Aardman has taken up challenge.

As a present for Gromit, Wallace invents a robotic gnome to help him in his garden. When the neighbours see ‘Norbot’, there’s a scramble to hire him to help in their gardens and households and Wallace quickly becomes a neighbourhood celebrity. Word travels fast and soon a TV interview with Wallace gets seen by none other than Feathers McGraw, the villainous penguin who tried to steal the Blue Diamond. Languishing in prison, McGraw soon concocts an elaborate revenge plot against Wallace and Gromit, with Norbot as the key.

While Feathers McGraw may be the villain of this piece, the real evil is society’s reliance on technology. The gadgets that populate Wallace and Gromit’s house have exponentially grown in number since The Wrong Trousers, eradicating the need for Wallce to do anything – even pat his own dog. This lack of physical intimacy between the two heroes is the real drama and helps to hammer home the message that there are some things that technology just can’t do.

The film definitely rides strong on nostalgia, essentially being a longer and less emotional remake of The Wrong Trousers. This ensures bums stay in seats and a few laughs get choked out, but I found Vengeance Most Fowl to be a little bit tortured and straining. The jokes are tired, the story is predictable, and even the chemistry between the heroes feels a bit diluted.

Image credit: Animation Magazine

But the animation is still gorgeous with beautiful scenic backdrops that make this one of the bigger Wallace and Gromit adventures in existence. Seeing Claymation and stop-motion is always refreshing because it is an artform that took off but stayed relatively low to the ground. Like a waterfowl, it’s been steadily skimming the reservoir of cinema for decades, content to just glide along.

Vengeance Most Fowl is a fun visit with old friends but ultimately, I still find the old half-hour features to be more emotionally enjoyable.

Director: Merlin Crossingham & Nick Park

Cast: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Muzz Khan, Diane Morgan, Reece Shearsmith & Lenny Henry