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Vengeance Most Fowl: The First GREAT Animated Gnome Film

Many members of our staff were pleased to hear our review of Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was in production, and rightfully so. There’s nothing quite like claymation anywhere else in the industry, with titans like Aardman and LAIKA producing hits that resonate with cinemagoers old and new. The Wallace and Gromit series began with a series of short films in the late 1980s, but Vengeance Most Fowl marks the inventor and his dog’s second feature length endeavor since 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. That film brought home the title of Best Animated Feature at the 2006 Academy Awards. We’re not making any statements regarding Vengeance Most Fowl and its potential to win the award again at the upcoming ceremony, but that doesn’t mean we’re not thinking it.

Following a brief scare concerning Aardman’s supply of clay for film production, the company clarified the supply would not affect the pipeline of Vengeance Most Fowl, which went on to premiere on BBC last Christmas and have a wider release on Netflix the following year on January 3rd. Wallace & Gromit as a series has long been a masterclass in visual gags and subtle comedy. Silent as characters like Feathers McGraw and Gromit may be, their expressions and gestures show Aardman’s mastery of their craft is still alive and well.

Wallace & Gromit as a franchise is one that fundamentally instills its viewers with the knowledge that the title characters will prevail in the end. This isn’t to say Vengeance Most Fowl is without its share of suspense and stakes. Wallace may be a caring inventor who wants to aid in the betterment of the neighborhood, hopefully with a breakout invention of his, but Feathers McGraw is just as evil—if not more—as he was in The Wrong Trousers, the 1993 short film preceding the duo’s newest entry.

Feathers’ army of hijacked Norbot units paints one of the bleakest pictures portrayed in the Wallace & Gromit series, though this is far from a bad thing. The gravity with which Gromit handles the situation at hand is gripping and tense. Again, though the viewer maintains a feeling he will prevail, it honestly amplifies the intensity of the situation wondering how the road to victory is assembled. The callbacks to past Wallace & Gromit entries don’t feel out of place, they feel warranted rather than something thrown in for fanservice or familiarity.

Vengeance Most Fowl is a great film for the family, fans of comedies, claymation, and Aardman’s work in general. The plot is simple yet well-executed, and much of the shots in the film are incredibly well-composed and well-lit, being some of the franchise’s most ambitious work to date when put into perspective. It’s well deserving of its nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, and we’re holding out hope it’ll put up a good fight.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is now streaming on Netflix worldwide.

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