Oscar Meagher detects a glitch in the garden with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 16 years since the last offering from the Wallace & Gromit franchise. It could easily have been assumed that the series had met a premature end following the death of Wallace’s voice actor, Peter Sallis. Although it would have been quite the shame to leave it there. At this point, the duo have been astronauts, landlords, window cleaners, pest control and bakers. They still have plenty more scope to explore.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl sees Wallace create an advanced AI gardening gnome, much to the annoyance of his green-fingered dog. While the invention initially brings financial success, their luck is soon undone by the return of an old foe. That description may sound like Mad Libs to anyone unfamiliar with the world. For newcomers: Wallace is the human, Gromit is the dog. They live in Yorkshire, enjoy cheese and toast, and occasionally invent things. Also, the entire series is animated in claymation, making each of their adventures boundless in possibility.
The film is directed by Merlin Crossingham and franchise creator Nick Park. While the animation, over the years, has become noticeably smoother, the sense of humour remains in line with its early predecessors. The filmmakers approach the material with assurance. Considering these films has gathered such universal appeal, it’s comforting that the series hasn’t compromised its identity. The most notable change is Wallace’s new voice actor, Ben Whitehead, who brings the appropriate warmth and dim-wittedness to the character. After all, sympathies have never rested with the humans.
In the lengthy list of fictional dogs, Gromit is possibly the absolute best of the pack. He enjoys the simple things in life, tea, gardening, and the occasional head rub. He has the loyalty of any canine, the intelligence to rival his owner, and the bravery of any action hero. Plus he has thumbs. Real-world anxieties about the rise of Artificial Intelligence feel minute in this world. After all, they’ve been toying with this sort of thing for years. It’s unfortunate that our version of AI strays so far from mechanical trousers, sheep-herding robot dogs and ski-obsessed sentient machines. You could even say Wallace & Gromit is the perfect avenue for such a discussion. In a world where AI-generated images are everywhere, it’s nice to spend time with something that could only have been dreamt up by a couple of oddballs. These characters are the product of human effort, every gesture painstakingly hand-crafted.
Is AI a necessary advancement or the final nail in humanity’s coffin? The film doesn’t suggest we should cast aside artificial aid completely, only that certain things require a personal, human touch. When it comes to petting your dog, maybe it’s better to do it yourself.
If you want to see Vengeance Most Fowl, I’d recommend watching it twice. Once at normal speed, then again at a quarter of the speed. Forget a joke a minute, there’s a joke every 15 seconds. Be careful not to miss the joke in the corner of the frame, or the one hidden in the background. That’s the secret as to why these films age so well. The comedy is never too specific to date, and so numerous that rewatches become essential. The film doesn’t belong to any specific generation or age group. Children will love the action, dads will love themselves for understanding the puns, and grannies can sit back and say, “Well, that was lovely.”
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is available to stream online now.
