Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl AFI Fest Review — Nick Park and Mark Burton Take Us on a Fun Adventure

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It’s been 19 years since we got the first feature film of Wallace & Gromit. Nick Park and Mark Burton have returned with their newest piece of the franchise,Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. The duo had the film’s world premiere at the 2024 AFI Film Festival before its Netflix release in January 2025. Park and Burton capture the charm of the original with a fun little cat-and-mouse game with a familiar villain.

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most FowlReview

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowlsees Gromit concerned with Wallace’s latest creation, a “smart gnome.” When the gnome develops a mind of its own thanks to a notorious villain, Gromit is forced to battle evil in an attempt to save his master from not only the villain but the police.

Mark Burton’s screenplay is rather simplistic. Wallace captures Feathers McGraw and puts him in jail. We watch him work to break out and get what he feels is rightfully his. Honestly, I am not mad at it because sometimes simple works best in the world of animation. That’s not saying there can’t be depth, but with these characters, the simplicity works, and it moves the film along with a breeze.

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My favorite element of Mark Burton’s screenplay is the “smart gnome” and exploring how dangerous these things can be. Every day you read the news about AI this, or robots this, and it’s slightly terrifying. Burton was able to explore this (in an albeit funny way) to show the worries many have with the idea. It took one mistake by Gromit, and everything was in jeopardy.

We had the glorious return of Feathers McGraw, a criminal mastermind penguin who hasn’t appeared in the franchise since 1993. There is something hilarious about a silent antagonist who just shrugs and points his way to getting the things he wants. That was hilarious to me. Of course, Gromit is also mute in the film, but he is a fun-loving character who makes bonehead mistakes from time to time. Feathers McGraw, again, complete mute, stole the show, and I loved every minute of it.

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When you are covering a film festival, nothing makes you happier than seeing a brisk run time. Mark Burton’s razor-sharp screenplay builds the story in three conventional acts that build upon one another, leaving no room for dullness. It was a short, sweet, and to-the-point 79 minutes, and it got the job done.

Nick Park and his team atAardman Animationswowed with their stop-motion animation. The detailed character design and world-building are lovely. There is a massive explosion scene in the film that left me in awe of how they were able to accomplish such stunning visuals. Netflix’s continued investment in animation shouldn’t go unnoticed, and them letting Park and his team bring this to their platform is excellent.

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Emmy-nominated composer Lorne Balfe replaced long-time franchise composer Julian Nott, and the film benefited greatly. Balfe’s background in composing great action scores ramped up the high-stakes, thrilling action sequences as only he could. It’s one of my favorite scores of the year.

IsWallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowlworth watching?

As someone who is always cautiously optimistic about animation films, I am impressed with what Mark Burton and Nick Park brought to the table with this film.Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowlfeatures beautiful animation, a fun story, and the return of an infamous villain; what more could a viewer want? Anyone who is a fan of theWallace & Gromitfranchise is going to loveWallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

If you have the opportunity to catch this on the big screen, I highly recommend that you do. I saw this with a jam-packed crowd during the festival, and everyone was laughing, clapping, and cheering. It was an incredible time.

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowlscreened at the 2024 edition of AFI Fest, which runs October 23-27 in Los Angeles, CA. It hits Netflix on January 3.