‘Wallace & Gromit’ back for a full-length adventure
LOS ANGELES
The cheese-loving English inventor Wallace and his loyal dog Gromit have been stars since the beginning.
In the 35 years since Nick Park introduced the world to his stop-motion creations and their eccentric, unapologetically British existence, they’ve won Oscars, appeared in commercials, video games, animated series and even the occasional bit of (unofficial) protest art. Feature films, however, have been few and far between. Part of the reason is the difficulty: Even a 30-minute short can take upward of two years. Besides, why mess with a formula that’s produced only classics?
After working on the pair’s first feature, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” which was released in 2005 and won an Oscar, and “Early Man,” Park even doubted that he’d dabble in the form again. But sometimes inspiration requires a little more breathing room: That's how the second “Wallace & Gromit” feature film, “Vengeance Most Fowl,” came to be. It debuts on Netflix worldwide, except in the U.K., today.
Gnomes have always been part of Wallace and Gromit’s world. After “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” Park started kicking around an idea about a smart gnome, Norbot, built to help Gromit in the garden.
“There was something a bit missing,” Park said. “We tinkered around with the story on and off for years and it seemed to be lacking the more sinister element that’s often in ‘Wallace & Gromit.’ Why do the gnomes go wrong? Who was the motivated villain?”
Five years ago, the solution came to them: Feathers McGraw, the conniving penguin with a penchant for heists and simple disguises, who turned their lives to chaos in “The Wrong Trousers.”
“He was the answer to everything,” Park said. “The story got bigger and more exciting. Suddenly it became a feature-length film.”
Part of the charm of the “Wallace & Gromit” films is their unabashed Britishness, which the filmmakers have had to fight (politely) to preserve as their audience has become more and more global. While Netflix was largely supportive, they did have a bit of a back and forth over the turn of phrase “Flippin’ Nora!” (They ultimately kept it.)
“A lot of the stuff in the films is inspired by stuff we grew up with, the design of things, little products,” Park said.
