All family films, even quaint stop-motion ones, require a good villain. And in Feathers McGraw, the Wallace and Gromit franchise has one for the ages. McGraw is a penguin with all the facial expressions of Jason Statham minus the eyebrows, but he’s fully terrifying here in Vengeance Most Fowl , the first full-length Wallace and Gromit feature in 19 years.
This career criminal is a master of disguise. Snap a red rubber glove on his head, and to the world he’s a chicken; drape him in a kitchen towel, and he could pass for a benevolent nun. His casting as arch-nemesis to the titular pair, in whose mouths butter wouldn’t melt, is perfect.
Rarely have beady eyes been put to better use. Ever since their first outing in 1989’s A Grand Day Out , Wallace and Gromit have proved unlikely cinematic titans, nominated for five Oscars – Best Animated Short and Best Animated Feature alike – and winning three. In truth, Nick Park and his production team at Aardman’s deceptively simple series about an eccentric inventor and his lugubrious beagle really shouldn’t work in the modern era – and certainly not when compared to the world of Disney and Pixar, where everything is bigger, brasher, and louder – but the twee, sweet and decidedly British films remain a delight.
The entire milieu of Vengeance Most Fowl can be deduced from its pun-tastic title, for here is a script that never knowingly avoids one. At one point, in a subplot that revolves around a particular root vegetable.