The BBC has unveiled a new trailer for the forthcoming Wallace and Gromit feature-length sequel that will premiere on BBC One on Christmas Day.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will see the claymation characters reunited with the villainous penguin Feathers McGraw, who first appeared in 1993’s The Wrong Trousers.
The film represents the duo’s first feature-length return to screens since The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in 2005.
The Aardman Animations sequel sees Gromit become worried as Wallace takes his eccentric technological inventions too far.
When Wallace creates an AI “smart gnome” called Nortbot that develops an evil mind of its own, it’s up to Gromit to battle these sinister forces, otherwise, Wallace may never be able to invent again.
In the newly-released trailer, Wallace is hounded by reporters on his doorstep who brand him an “evil inventor”. He reckons it has to be a mistake – but then the police arrive with a warrant to search his premises.
The duo are then seen battling the evil force behind all of this – Feathers McGraw – with the trailer closing as Gromit dramatically falls from a sky-high bridge.
In The Independent’s four-star review of the forthcoming sequel, film critic Clarisse Loughrey writes that Wallace becomes so fixated on finding shortcuts to life’s basic tasks “that he’s invented the Pat-o-matic to save him the hassle of petting his own dog”.
“That lethal determination to take every possible shortcut unfortunately makes Wallace a prime target for AI.”
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“Vengeance Most Fowl sees Aardman return to their tried-and-tested formula. Yet, it’s also the source of the studio’s continuing brilliance – somehow, the familiar always feels new, and the craftwork never tires,” writes Loughrey. “If their new feature preaches that we can embrace technology without becoming reliant on it, then Aardman certainly puts its money where its mouth is.”
The film’s executive producer Carla Shelley said at an event last month that the film will make “everybody cry”.
“We’re going to surprise everybody and make you laugh as well. It’s really emotional. That’s what’s at the heart of it,” said Shelley.
According to co-director Nick Park, the character of Wallace – whose inventions are a recurring source of chaos in the franchise – has taken on new relevance in the modern age.
“Wallace is well meaning,” he said. “He’s not a bad guy, but it’s kind of a metaphor for how we’re in love with tech and sometimes it gets in the way of relationships. Gromit would be a lot happier without the tech, inventions and gadgets.”
Discussing the return of Wallace and Gromit’s arch nemesis, Feathers McGraw, Parl said: “Feathers McGraw was obviously the perfect candidate, having sat in jail for 30 years, languishing, thinking of nothing but revenge. It seemed like the perfect motivation for a villain.”
In The Wrong Trousers, McGraw takes control of Wallace’s newest invention, a pair of animatronic trousers, to pull off an ambitious diamond heist.
Vengeance Most Fowl will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.
