Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2025) is directed by Merlin Crossingham & Nick Park and stars Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Muzz Khan, and Lenny Henry. Following Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), this is the second feature-length Wallace & Gromit film and follows the titular duo after Wallace (Whitehead) invents a high-tech robot gnome to do his chores. When their old nemesis, Feathers McGraw, escapes from prison, he sets out to take revenge by hacking into Wallace’s gnome and using it to wreak havoc on the local townspeople. As usual, Wallace is completely oblivious to what’s going on. Thankfully, his good old pal Gromit is there to point him in the right direction so they can eventually save the day. 

After almost twenty years since their last film, Vengeance Most Fowl effectively reminds the viewer why Wallace & Gromit are so special. The timeless dynamic between a hyper-intelligent pooch and his somewhat dimwitted owner is a joy to watch. It’s a simple, but perfect example of classic foils working to their full effect. It’s nice, as well, that although Gromit displays human-level intelligence, his motivations are distinctly that of a canine. Yes, he successfully fights off droves of hyper-intelligent robots, but it’s all in service of protecting his owner. More specifically, he just wants a classic loving pat on the head. 

Wallace is somewhat of a buffoon as usual, but it’s forgivable due to his contagiously positive attitude. He’s so positive that it actually ends up being funny. Characters that go too far with positivity often come across as grating, but because Wallace goes even further than “too far,” it wraps back around and ends up being a joy to watch. It also helps that there’s a certain inherent comedy to claymation in general. Everything is a bit more blocky and crude than traditional animation, but instead of hurting the experience, it adds to it. The filmmakers constantly use the pitfalls of the medium to their advantage, and in turn, create sequences/jokes that can’t be achieved with other forms of animation. 

Although this kind of animation takes significantly longer to produce than other styles, it feels justified. I constantly found myself staring at the screen and wondering how they achieved some of these sequences through stop-motion animation. Every frame feels meticulously planned and therefore not a single image feels like a waste of time. It’s the rare kind of animated film that effectively transports the viewer into a different, colorful world but also displays the tangibility that usually only comes with live-action. In today’s day and age, this film feels important because makes clear the difference in effect between traditional animation and computer animation. 

This feels like a wonderful throwback to the days when filmmakers made children’s films with the adult viewer in mind. The adult viewer will always be the toughest to please, so it only makes sense to create kid films with the intent of impressing them first. I know that sounds backward, but all great movies should be timeless aka appeal to adults as much as kids. 

Overall, this is one of the better animated films I’ve seen in a long time and I’m rooting for it to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film (technically released in 2024 as far as the Academy is concerned). The characters are great, the animation is stunning, and although it’s not always laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a great example of low-key British humor. It’s also well-paced, well-edited, and features a strong climactic action sequence. It’s honestly a wonderful breath of fresh air and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys animated films. I’m not sure if it’s as good as Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but considering that’s one of my favorite animated films ever, it’s impressively close. B+