Cert – U, Run-time -1 hour 19 minutes, Directors – Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
Gromit is growing increasingly concerned about Wallace’s (Ben Whitehead) reliance on inventions, especially when he creates ‘Smart-gnome’ Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) who begins to cause havoc in the area, however someone else may be in control.
Since his first appearance in The Wrong Trousers over 30 years ago Feathers McGraw has become one of cinema’s most fearsome villains. His return in Vengeance Most Fowl has been said by director, and Wallace And Gromit creator, to have initially come about as a way to link the chaos caused by Wallace’s latest invention, gleefully chaotic smart-gnome Norbot (Reece Shearsmith). Perhaps alongside his re-introduction comes Curse Of The Were-Rabbit’s Chief Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay) and newbie PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel) trying to pin the garden wreckage caused by Norbots across town on Wallace.
The titular duo’s world still feels as traditional and charmingly British as ever, while surrounded by technology as Wallace creates an invention to do every task to Gromit’s frustration. An almost timeless state when it comes to the look of the gadgets and technology – an old box TV fits right in, a smartphone would feel out of place. When focusing on the pair, and the escapades directly linked to them such as Norbot, and his army controlled by a still-imprisoned Feathers McGraw planning his revenge as he hacks into the gnomes from his zoo-based cell, this second feature is at its best. As it deviates towards the likes of Mackintosh and Mukherjee things feel slightly slower. There’s still plenty of enjoyable wordplay and lashings of visual gags to delight on endless re-watches, yet scenes focusing on such supporting characters feel slightly removed from the rest of the film.
While only six minutes shorter than 2005’s The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (for me one of the greatest animated films there is) this feels less of a fully-rounded film than the Oscar-winning feature which successfully filled its run-time. Vengeance Most Fowl still feels like a complete and rounded narrative, however its narrative feels more of a longer short, or special, than a feature, as if certain points could be expanded upon or just given a minute or two more. Yet, as said, there’s plenty within the film to fill the run-time with little issue, and a good deal of laughs packed in. The familiar Wallace And Gromit style is still intact and present, and its what truly pushes the film and brings about the consistent entertainment factor.
Much of it’s held in the visual detail and jokes which crop up as part of it and the overall animation style. This fifth outing for the pair on our screens has perhaps the smoothest and cleanest animation yet (you can’t quite see the fingerprints on this occasion, unfortunately) and it certainly adds to the climactic stages which are packed with as much charm and creativity such as the all-timer model train chase in The Wrong Trousers. The passionate beating heart that’s poured into these characters and their adventures is as present as ever and brings an individual life to both. Whenever Wallace, Gromit and the likes of Norbot and Feathers McGraw who keep the focus on the joyous pair of pals are on-screen, the majority of the short run-time, there’s another cracking adventure to be found.
While it might not always feel like a full feature Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a welcome return for the consistently entertaining duo whose world is still packed with a variety of laugh out loud gags and visual and narrative creativity.
Just A Little Bit Random 