Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

How about we start this year's sprint to the Oscars with something fun?

Who better than Wallace and Gromit, the signature duo of Aardman Animations? All but two of their previous cinematic adventures have won Oscars, so it was no surprise their second feature film, Vengeance Most Fowl, would pop up in the Best Animated Feature lineup. Here's what to expect when you play it on Netflix.

This is actually a sequel to their first Oscar-winning short, The Wrong Trousers, which ended with cheese-loving inventor Wallace (Ben Whitehead) and his dog Gromit (eternally silent) nabbing the evil penguin mastermind Feathers McGraw (also eternally silent). Now serving a life sentence at the zoo, Feathers bides his time plotting to reclaim the Blue Diamond, the MacGuffin from the previous short. After that, he'll get his vengeance most fowl.

Meanwhile, Wallace invents Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), a robot garden gnome who's too good at his job. They start a gardening business together, while Gromit feels left out by Wallace's tech-dependence (he even has a gizmo for head pats!). Gromit accidentally allows Feathers to hack into Norbot and create an army of evil Norbots to wreck Wallace's good name. With Wallace's inventing future at stake, it's up to Gromit to shutdown Feathers' latest scheme. That's mostly it.

It doesn't take much to get acquainted, or reacquainted, with the series' gentle silliness, which is personified by Wallace and Gromit's morning routine. It's delightfully funny as Gromit works Wallace's overly complicated inventions to help him do the simplest tasks. It's less funny when Wallace unveils the "pat-o-matic," the aforementioned head patting gizmo, which does little for Gromit's interpersonal needs. However, you'll never forget that Wallace, despite his ignorance, still cares for Gromit. That much is affirmed in the climax, an action set-piece with speeding (for lack of a better word) narrowboats. The resolution also gives us a nice reversal of Wallace's tech-dependence.

Also in the cast are Chief Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay), who returns from the feature Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and his new PC, Mukherjee (Lauren Patel). Mackintosh is too presumptuous of Wallace's guilt, but his buffoonish personality makes it hard to hate him. Mukherjee is slightly better in that she actually gives Wallace the benefit of the doubt; not even her doubting him for a bit is enough to dislike her. Even the aptly named reporter Onya Doorstep (Diane Morgan) is quite funny, as is anchor Anton Deck (Muzz Khan).

The Norbots are delightfully silly even if they're supposed to be annoying. I think it has to do with their chipper personality, even as they overly cultivate many a garden. Their charging routine, which involves them moaning an interminable time just to reach one-percent charge, is hilarious. Gromit's attempt to relocate Norbot Prime during his routine ends up kickstarting the plot. The Norbots also have an overly chirpy song that makes for a surprising earworm. Conversely, the deadeyes of the evil Norbots are appropriately disturbing. You'll just have to see how Wallace and Gromit literally reboot them, or how they save the day in the climax.

Gromit and Feathers may be bereft of dialogue, but that's compensated by Aardman's trademark plasticine animation. Feathers' blank face is unnerving, especially when he briefly parodies Max Cady from Cape Fear, but even he has bits of silliness. He's quite flummoxed by Wallace's cyber-security measures, at first. But he figures it out with an obvious clue. It's quite goofy, rather than idiotic, how nobody sees through Feathers' paper-thin disguises (like his trademark chicken disguise). Gromit is a lot more vocal, as he speaks with just the raise of an eyebrow. We laugh as he plays the straight man, and we feel for him when he bemoans Wallace's tech-dependence. He proves an awesome dog when he leads the final battle against Feathers and the evil Norbots. 

 This is the first main instalment in which Whitehead voices Wallace, who was voiced by Peter Sallis until his retirement in 2010, and I must say his voice is almost indistinguishable. All the better, as Wallace still feels as delightfully chipper as ever. Julian Notts' signature march is enough to ease you into the proceeding 79-minutes. Its grand, yet gentle tune will get you feeling good even if you haven't seen a Wallace and Gromit entry in years. The same goes for Nott and co-composer Lorne Balfe's overall score, even when it gets intense. Its numerous gags and puns are delightful; Feathers' stint behind bars is called "doing bird," Gromit partakes in a Virgina Woof novel, and the Norbots do a Flintstones maneuver with Wallace's van. You'll just have to see the film for more. 

What else can I say about it? Vengeance Most Fowl would make for a grand day out at the movies. At home, it makes for a fun time on Netflix, and it's not even a close shave. Once again, Aardman have proven themselves able to entertain kids and adults alike with their plasticine characters. It'll make for a great home matinee well-beyond this year's Oscars; seek out their previous shorts while you're at it. As for me, I'm going to look for a few more contenders.