On January 3rd, Aardman Animations will, via Netflix, bring two British institutions back to our screens.
Wallace & Gromit, originally created by animator/director Nick Park, first appeared on screens in 1989 short film ‘A Grand Day Out,’ which introduced the world to the absent-minded yet cheery cheese-loving inventor Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and his world-wearier yet loyal (and silent) pooch Gromit.
That first adventure saw them on a mission to find cheese on the moon, only to encounter issues with a rogue robot. The short was nominated for Best Animated Short Film in 1991 at the Oscars, only to lose to ‘Creature Comforts,’ also from Aardman and created by Park.
Since that original outing, Wallace and Gromit have cropped up through the years in a TV series and further shorts, including ‘The Wrong Trousers’ in 1993, ‘A Close Shave’ in 1995 and ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ in 2008, plus full-length feature ‘The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ in 2005, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature the following year.
The pair are coming back for ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,’ which re-introduces the villain of ‘The Wrong Trousers, a scheming, dastardly penguin called Feathers McGraw, who this time has revenge on his mind.
It also sees Wallace (voiced this time by Ben Whitehead) trying his hand at AI, through a smart garden gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith). Chaos naturally ensues, especially when Feathers decides that the gnome makes the perfect vehicle to enact his new plan to steal a priceless diamond and frame Wallace for the crime.
Our heroes will have to contend with bumbling local law enforcement and an army of the smart gnomes all doing Feathers’ bidding.
gt6Nhslw3lt1QxWyMT7T42Netflix held a press conference for the film, featuring director and co-writer Park, co-director Merlin Crossingham and producer Carla Shelley.
Here are 10 things we learned at that press conference, edited for clarity and length.
1) The Story Has Been on Park’s Mind For Years
While Wallace and Gromit have cropped up on TV and in other venues since ‘Were-Rabbit,’ the new movie represents their proper return. But the idea of the gnome and to revisit Feathers has been on Park’s mind for two decades at least, according to his producer.
Carla Shelley: It’s been bubbling for a really long time, actually. I think when we all really got the chills at the studio was when Nick had the idea to bring Feathers back in alongside the smart gnome, and I just remember that moment when he had this iconic image of the penguin back on the wall. It started as a half-hour idea, really, but I think when Feathers joined the gang, we thought, ‘Well, he definitely needs more screen time,’ and suddenly we were looking at a full-length film again.
2) This is Merlin Crossingham’s Directorial Debut, But He’s an Old Aardman Hand
Crossingham was Park’s first choice as co-director, after a healthy career with the company.
Merlin Crossingham: I was an animator on ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Curse of the Were-Rabbit.’ And I’ve been working as Wallace & Gromit’s creative director since about 2009, so Nick and I have worked very closely across all of the Wallace & Gromit things, and it was Nick, really, who said, ‘How about it? Do you want to direct this with me?’
3) Ben Whitehead Had Peter Sallis’ Approval to Take Over Voicing Wallace
While Peter Sallis was the voice of Wallace for the early shorts and ‘Were-Rabbit,’ the actor passed away in 2017. But even before then, he’d given the nod to Ben Whitehead to take on the role for certain projects.
Nick Park: We met Ben back when Peter Sallis was still around, and he came in to do a background voice in ‘Curse of the Were-Rabbit.’ When Peter wasn’t around, Ben stepped in as Wallace. And we realized he could do a brilliant mimic of Peter’s Wallace. So he knew Peter and had his blessing to work on other projects that Peter wasn’t interested in, such as doing GPS voice recordings [as the character].
4) Aardman’s Creative Council Helped With the Movie
As with Pixar’s “Brain Trust,” the Aardman team has a council of filmmakers and others who offer advice on movies in production.
Carla Shelley: We call it a creative council. That’s what we have, which is really not a set group, it’s a forum for us to get together and give a little bit of feedback. Because I think when you’re working on these films over such a long period of time, and you know, we talked about comedy, and often two, three years into a project, we’re, “Is that still funny? Is it still working?” So it’s a chance, really, for Nick and Merlin to share it with a slightly wider group of development team writers, other directors within the studio, just to see, “Is this gag landing? What’s the timing like?” And so we quite regularly get together and review the story reel and give feedback.
5) Nick Park Felt the Pressure to Make the Characters’ Return as Good as Possible
Park, the guardian of the characters he created, has always been careful about how they’re used and has fan expectations in the back of his head.
Nick Park: We’ve enjoyed such good reviews on all the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ films. So I’ve always felt personal pressure –– “how do we live up to that?” And deliver something equally, if not more, funny and compelling. Probably the single biggest challenge we had on the whole film was Feathers McGraw. He has a natural screen presence, but that takes a heck of a lot of discipline and work. His strength comes from how little he does, and a blink can mean a lot. Less is more.
6) The Film Features Lots of Movie References
Wallace & Gromit projects have traditionally referenced other movies, books and TV, though usually in subtle fashion so as not to draw attention away from the story. ‘Vengeance Most Fowl,’ for example, nods to ‘Village of the Damned,’ ‘The African Queen,’ ‘The Italian Job’ and more. Though Shelley and Park’s favorite wink is to the James Bond franchise, with Feathers McGraw in a chair with a seal on his lap like Blofeld and his cat.
Carla Shelley: In the early pitch days, there was just Feathers with the seal on his lap, and that was it for us, it was just, “yes, immediate green light, I think, of the idea.” So it was so lovely to see him get such a big laugh.
7) Some of the British References Had to Be Removed to Play for American Audiences
While Wallace and Gromit are staunchly British, they have international appeal. But one secret the filmmakers know is when to hold on to a joke or reference and when to let it go.
Carla Shelley: There are some that we’ve had to take out, just in terms of the Britishness of the film and the cultural references, there are certain things that don’t travel. I remember we had a gag about a bog chain at one point. For anybody that doesn’t get that out there, that’s like a toilet flush. We were talking to Aram [Yacoubian] at Netflix— he’s, “What’s a bog chain?” So there are certain references we pull back on.
8) Aardman Doesn’t Shy Away from Digital Technology
Though their movies are still handcrafted in terms of the animation technology, the Aardman team doesn’t eschew computer animation or filming techniques.
Nick Park: Since ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ in 2008, everything’s been digital at Aardman. What I mean by that is we shoot on digital cameras instead of 35mm film, and it’s a great safety net, because, for example, if a shot goes wrong –– a picture falls off the wall — the shot isn’t lost, you can mend things afterwards.
9) Gromit Evolved From the Very First Short
While we’ve all come to know and love Gromit’s hangdog –– literally –– expressions, Park reveals that he wasn’t intended to be that way.
Nick Park: In ‘A Grand Day Out’, the first film, my college film, he actually had a mouth in the early days. But he was in a situation where I couldn’t quite reach and animate his mouth, and I just started moving his brow up and down. And in that moment, I believe, Gromit was born, and in a way I can’t think how that could’ve happened in any other medium than clay, because of the way as an animator you have to just touch and tease the brow to get all sorts of little nuances. And I suddenly realized the power of subtlety and nuance and how that gave Gromit a personality that was not what I planned. He became almost more human than Wallace, and he was sensitive and long-suffering and all these emotions. I was surprised how much everyone read it immediately.
10) The Film is Always Undergoing Changes
Like with other animated movies, Aardman’s team is constantly evolving their films as they’re shot.
gt6Nhslw3lt1QxWyMT7T42Merlin Crossingham: The scenes are written, then we storyboard, and that’s the first time when we sort of start to get an idea of the visual impact of it. Although we are all kind of visual thinkers, some things that work on the page don’t always translate to picture. If a scene is funny and working on the page, that’s a great start, then we storyboard it and that’s a time for us to go, “Okay, is it landing as a visually funny thing?” And then we will refine it and work on it.
What’s the story of ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’?
In this latest adventure for the animated duo, Gromit’s concern that Wallace (Ben Whitehead) is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own.
When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!
Who else stars in ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’?
The voice cast for the movie also includes Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, Lenny Henry and Adjoa Andoh.
Other Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Franchise:
- ‘A Grand Day Out‘ (1990)
- ‘The Wrong Trousers‘ (1993)
- ‘A Close Shave‘ (1996)
- ‘Wallace & Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions‘ (2002)
- ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death‘ (2008)
- ‘Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention‘ (2010)
- ‘Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit‘ (2005)
