Feathers McGraw Returns! Aardman and BBC release new trailer and info for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Tonight the BBC and Aardman have released a first look at their upcoming stop-motion holiday feature film Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
The latest outing for the studio’s world-renowned inventor and canine duo sees the surprise return of the franchise’s most beloved villain Feathers McGraw, known for his chillingly mute performance in 1993’s BAFTA and Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers.
Vengeance Most Fowl sees Gromit’s growing concern as Wallace becomes over-dependent on his inventions – which proves justified when Wallace invents a ‘smart gnome’ that seems to develop an evil mind of its own. But who or what could be the cause? As events begin to spiral out of control, it’s up to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces, or Wallace may never be able to invent again!
Directed by Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park with Merlin Crossingham, the 70-minute long film will be the pair’s first feature-length outing since 2005’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit and is set to premiere on the BBC/BBC iPlayer this Christmas followed by a global release on Netflix.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: Aardman’s four-time Academy Award®-winning director Nick Park and Emmy Award-nominated Merlin Crossingham return with a brand new epic adventure, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Image © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
Among the announced cast is Ben Whitehead as Wallace (having taken the mantle since original performer Peter Sallis’s passing in 2017) with Peter Kay reprising his Were-Rabbit role as Chief Inspector Mackintosh. Additional cast members will include Lauren Patel (Lloyd of the Flies), Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9), Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh and Lenny Henry.
I’d had the idea of a film about garden gnomes turning bad for more than a decade, but I could never work out what made them bad. It occurred to me that the single most asked question I get when I meet fans is, will the penguin Feathers McGraw, Wallace and Gromit’s original antagonist from The Wrong Trousers 30 years ago, ever return? We’ve had fun bringing him back in cameo capacities but now, three decades on, it felt like the right time. Then it hit me: What if Feathers was involved with these gnomes? We’re hoping that this film will appeal to fans of “Gnome Noir” everywhere and that people will be gratified when they see what Feathers has been up to since The Wrong Trousers.
-Nick Park (Creator, Wallace and Gromit and Director, Vengeance Most Fowl)
Image © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
Whilst we love to revive enthusiasm across our existing fan base, we also want this film to reach people who have never come across Wallace and Gromit before. Hopefully Vengeance Most Fowl is full of everything people love about Wallace and Gromit while introducing new themes to their ongoing story.
-Merlin Crossingham (Creative Director, Wallace and Gromit and Director, Vengeance Most Fowl)
This new feature-length Wallace and Gromit film will captivate audiences of all ages this Christmas on the BBC, as the longed-for return of Feathers McGraw and some ingenious inventions including a “smart gnome” make for an unmissable adventure showcasing British creativity at its best.
-Charlotte Moore (Chief Content Officer, BBC)
Image © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is part of a newly-announced Netflix animation slate for 2024 and beyond that also includes the upcoming features The Imaginary, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, Spellbound, That Christmas, The Twits, K-Pop: Demon Hunters, Plankton: The Movie, Pookoo as well as new series such as Motel Transylvania, Ghostbusters (Working Title), Minecraft and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.