Summary
- Feathers McGraw is back in
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
, much to the joy of fans who have long awaited his return. - The decision to bring back the evil penguin was motivated by an idea involving gnomes in the Aardman world.
- Gromit was originally supposed to talk, but became a beloved character through the animator’s happy accident.
The newest Wallace and Gromit film, titled Vengeance Most Fowl, is bringing back one of the most iconic villains in stop-motion animation, the evil penguin Feathers McGraw. Fans have been desperate to see the character come back to the big screen since his debut in The Wrong Trousers, and Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit, has revealed why it’s finally time for the character to make his long-awaited return.
Speaking to Variety, Nick Park looked back on his career as a stop-motion animator, and looked ahead to his next project, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Park said that fans weren’t alone in their adoration of Feathers, as the character’s creator has wanted to bring the penguin back for a long time. However, Park struggled to find the proper motivation for Feathers’ return. He then revealed he had been working on an idea for a short film involving the gnomes from Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and it presented the perfect opportunity for Feathers’ revenge. Nick Park said:
“I had this idea knocking around since ‘Curse of the Were-Rabbit,’ because gnomes have always been a part of Wallace and Gromit world. I was planning a short film, maybe a Christmas BBC half-hour or something. But I had struggles with what would motivate the gnomes. For years, people had asked, ‘Would you ever bring Feathers back?’ but I couldn’t think of a context for it. Suddenly, it seemed that would be the perfect story solution.”
Gromit Was Originally Meant to Speak, Creator Nick Park Reveals
Alongside Wallace’s signature cadence and quirky line deliveries, one of the franchise’s most endearing qualities is the trusty and silent sidekick Gromit, who always helps his friend and owner get out of their disastrous situations. As you might expect from an animated dog, Gromit doesn’t speak, and instead uses his eyebrows and body movements to communicate with Wallace. However, this wasn’t always the plan.
Related
Wallace & Gromit’s Aardman Animations Assure Fans They Are Not Running Out of Clay
Aardman Animations has released a statement following reports they only have enough clay left for one more movie.
During the interview, Park looked back at the origins of Wallace and Gromit. The animator revealed that Gromit was originally meant to talk, and even recorded some demo dialogue for his first film, A Grand Day Out. However, an issue with animating the character’s mouth meant that Park was forced to render the character mute, a happy accident which resulted in one Aardman Animation’s best characters. Park explained:
“In the first shot at film school, Gromit was looking really hacked off because Wallace was using him as a trestle [or saw horse]. I just couldn’t get in there to reach his mouth, so I started to animate his brow instead. When people saw the rushes, everyone was like, ‘Whoa, that has a lot of personality. You know what he’s feeling.’ It was a happy accident, but suddenly I had a dynamic between the two of them.”
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will be directed by Park and Merlin Crossingham. Following the passing of Peter Sallis, Ben Whitehead will be voicing Wallace in the new movie. Whitehead is joined by Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry, and Muzz Khan,
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
releases on Netflix this winter.