海角大神

Wallace and Gromit are accustomed to danger. The madcap inventor and his loyal dog have faced foes such as a deranged robot, a serial killer who targets bread bakers, and an archnemesis who is that most fearsome of creatures, a penguin.

But in late 2023, the claymation duo appeared to face an even worse peril. Their clay manufacturer was going out of business. Without it, Aardman Animations wouldn鈥檛 be able to continue creating its beloved animated characters.

Aardman, which has also made features such as 鈥淐hicken Run鈥� and 鈥淪haun the Sheep Movie,鈥� hastily issued a statement. It reassured fans that it had ample storage of clay. Thank goodness. The company was in the middle of filming 鈥淲allace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.鈥� The feature film, which opens in very limited theatrical release Dec. 18, 2024, and debuts on Netflix Jan. 3, 2025, will delight fans old and new.

If you鈥檝e never seen any of the previous 鈥淲allace & Gromit鈥� films 鈥� and you really should; they鈥檝e won three Oscars 鈥� here鈥檚 what you need to know beforehand. The eccentric inventor and his canine companion live in the northern British county of Lancashire. Their greatest love in life is cheese 鈥� especially rolls of Wensleydale. But their suburban life is far from mundane. Wallace is perpetually hatching daft schemes. In the duo鈥檚 first adventure, 鈥淎 Grand Day Out鈥� (1989), he built a rocket to go to the moon. Why? It鈥檚 made of cheese.

A long-running joke is that Gromit, who doesn鈥檛 speak or bark, is smarter than his owner. Well, he is a beagle. And unlike that听辞迟丑别谤 famous animated beagle, who only dreams of donning goggles and flying a Sopwith Camel, Gromit can actually pilot a plane and drive a car. He also makes cups of tea. If Gromit were to compete in the Crufts dog show, it would be akin to Tiger Woods entering a mini-golf tournament.

鈥淰engeance Most Fowl鈥� picks up where an earlier adventure left off. In 鈥淭he Wrong Trousers鈥� (1993), Wallace and Gromit foiled a penguin who masterminded a jewelry heist. The new movie begins with the thief, Feathers McGraw, being sentenced to life imprisonment inside a maximum security facility. Namely, a zoo. Meanwhile, Wallace and Gromit are blissfully unaware that the penguin is hatching a plot to escape, enact revenge, and once again steal a priceless diamond.

Their day starts, as always, with an alarm clock that activates a Rube Goldberg-like machine. It lifts Wallace out of bed, plops him onto a conveyor belt that gets him in and out of a bathtub, puts clothes on him, and whisks him downstairs to the breakfast table. Cue Gromit鈥檚 signature eye roll. Later that morning, Wallace unveils his latest invention, a robot garden gnome. Norbot can accomplish any task. That makes him an ideal tool for Feathers McGraw to commandeer for his villainous scheme.

鈥淰engeance Most Fowl鈥� encapsulates everything that makes 鈥淲allace & Gromit鈥� movies such a joy for children and adults. Its humor is unabashedly silly, yet slyly clever. The new movie reprises one of the best sight gags in 鈥淭he Wrong Trousers.鈥� Feathers McGraw is a master of disguise. To pass as a chicken, the penguin pulls a rubber dishwashing glove onto his head. It鈥檚 as effective as Clark Kent鈥檚 glasses. His beady-eyed blink, remorseless as ever, is also deeply hilarious.

This time out, creator Nick Park is joined by a co-director, Merlin Crossingham. They frame their shots with unusual camera angles. Aardman continues to test the boundaries of what it can accomplish with painstakingly handcrafted claymation. In this latest adventure, the animators venture underwater. Also impressive: the characters鈥� facial emotions. There鈥檚 comic mileage in Gromit鈥檚 expressive eyes 鈥� ranging from exasperated to determined 鈥� as the heroic dog endeavors to save the day. A staple of 鈥淲allace & Gromit鈥� movies is an elaborately staged chase scene. The model railroad scene from 鈥淭he Wrong Trousers鈥� evokes the ingenious heights of Harold Lloyd鈥檚 silent films. Park and Crossingham raise the bar yet again with a 鈥淢ission: Impossible鈥�-style climactic sequence in which Gromit pulls off stunts worthy of Tom Cruise.

Given the creativity on display, it feels churlish to complain about disappointing aspects of 鈥淰engeance Most Fowl.鈥� But it must be said that some storyline elements feel too much like a retread of 鈥淭he Wrong Trousers.鈥� As that adventure was, this one may have worked better as a short film than as a full-length feature. And perhaps it鈥檚 time to take the characters to a fresh location, one that鈥檚 as unexpected as their original voyage to the moon.

Will there be more 鈥淲allace & Gromit鈥� movies? Although Aardman鈥檚 clay supplier has gone out of business, the animation company has engineered a solution. 鈥淢uch like Wallace in his workshop,鈥� its press statement said, 鈥渨e have been tinkering away behind the scenes for quite some time with plans in place to ensure a smooth transition to new stocks.鈥�

To paraphrase Wallace, 鈥淛ob well done, lads.鈥�

鈥淲allace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl鈥� is rated PG for some action and rude humor.

Editor鈥檚 note: This review, originally published Dec. 19, has been updated to correct the British county where Wallace and Gromit live.