Fetch your wensleydale, crackers, and cup of tea and join us as we review the latest Wallace and Gromit...
Words: Joey Shields
Looking at the TV listings for Christmas Day, it was clear no other channel stood a chance: the BBC had the day conquered. Not only were we treated to the finale of much-loved Gavin and Stacey, but the charmingly hapless inventor and his canine companion also made a comeback. It’s 16 years since the last Wallace and Gromit outing, A Matter of Loaf and Death, and nineteen years since the last (and only other) feature length film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which was released in cinemas in 2005.
The latest instalment, Vengeance Most Fowl sees Gromit become increasingly concerned with how much Wallace relies on his inventions, one of which is a delightful but disconcertingly chirpy AI gnome called Norbot.
Norbot is one of Nick Park’s, Wallace and Gromit's creator, greatest characters to date; he’s endearing, always smiling and handy with the hedge clippers. He did, at times, remind me of that terrifying animatronic doll in Squid Game however - another Christmas comeback this year. The ‘nifty, odd-jobbing robot’ doesn’t stay endearing for long once a familiar face manages to re-program him...
“If you ask me, this was arson… someone arson around!”
The villainous Feathers McGraw is back and he's out to exact his revenge. He enlists Norbot to create an evil gnome army to free him from the prison (the zoo) he has been held captive ever since his attempt to steal the infamous blue diamond in The Wrong Trousers back in 1993.
Feathers tries to frame Wallace for his crimes which sees the cheese-loving inventor up against Chief Inspector Mackintosh, a returning character from The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, played with aplomb by Peter Kay. I still laugh when I think of the then Police Constable Mackintosh discussing the vegetable competition at the village’s crisis meeting, “If you ask me, this was arson… someone arson around!”
It’s a storyline full of fun and the usual daft capers – a dramatic narrow boat chase towards the end is especially enjoyable. My only gripe would be that the feature length aspect seemed too long for a TV show, it would have been nice for a film of this length to see a theatrical release as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit did.
It goes to show how the landscape of entertainment, and the preferences of the viewing public, have changed in the intervening years with audiences more inclined to watch films in their own homes rather than visit the cinema. At least this way, the whole family was able to sit down and watch it on Christmas Day - especially as a show that all generations enjoy. I also missed the romantic subplot that is usually included but I suppose Wallace can only be unlucky in love so many times.
Having watched A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman, a behind the scenes documentary about the production company which makes Wallace and Gromit and many other popular titles including Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep, you can better appreciate the time, craft and patience that goes into the creation of stop-motion animation. Park discusses the inspiration for his famous duo, we see what happened when Aardman went to Hollywood and how the innate sense of Britishness is so important to the company. First released in 2015, the documentary is available to watch on iPlayer for a limited time.
Watching Wallace and Gromit is like putting on a pair of comfy slippers, particularly at Christmas time. They’ve delighted British – and global - audiences since the late eighties and it’s great to have them back.
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