By Randal C. Hill
Netflix has a belated Christmas gift for you—an animated film from England that offers the latest from the delightful (and highly popular over there) Wallace and Gromit franchise. Developed by the fiendishly creative punster Nick Park, his works have been around in the UK since the early 1990s and have earned him three Academy Awards and a Peabody Award.
If you have missed previous Wallace and Gromit offerings, here’s a brief description:
Wallace is an odd-looking, eccentric guy who resides in Wigam, a fictional burg in northern England. He’s an inveterate inventor, creating elaborate Rube Goldberg-like contraptions that usually come with flaws that keep Wallace’s creations from achieving their desired goals. He also offers some off-the-wall services, such as a pest-control service called Anti-Pesto. (Park has always loved punning.)
Gromit is Wallace’s pet dog and best friend. The cool canine enjoys knitting, playing chess and cooking. He never speaks—he has no visible mouth—but communicates through facial expressions and body language. Highly intelligent, Gromit is a graduate of Dogwarts University. He enjoys good books (“Pup Fiction,” “The Bone Identity”), classic films (“Citizen Canine”), and popular rock bands (The Beagles, The Red Hot Chili Puppies).
Did we mention that Park enjoys making puns?
Related: Movie Preview: Cruella
In “Vengeance Most Fowl,” Wallace has created a “smart gnome” called Norbot. Norbot has a mind of his own and becomes the main suspect when goods are pilfered from gardens across the region. Wallace and Gromit learn that an evil crime boss—a penguin named Feathers McGraw—is seeking revenge for Wallace and Gromit’s part in his incarceration for a diamond theft. (McGraw has stewed for 30 years while being locked up.) The three-foot-tall, gun-toting bad guy wears a rubber glove atop his head—don’t ask why—and never speaks, his muteness and his beady eyes only making him more terrifying.
Wallace and Gromit movies employ stop-motion animation techniques, where films are shot one frame at a time and clay models are moved slightly to create the impression of movement. Think Gumby.
On January 3, see for yourself what people in another culture find wonderfully entertaining.
