Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl(2024)

Oh, if only I'd thought of the "smart gnome" when I had a garden. It could have proved invaluable with the pruners, the shears and the mower. Unfortunately, though, I didn't and "Wallace" did. That's a little to the chagrin of his pal "Gromit" who, quite prophetically, worries that things will not end well for this latest in a long line of inventions that usually end up with a mind of their own. What's much more sinister here is the fact that the long incarcerated nemesis of the cheese-loving pair is out for revenge. When "Norbot" starts showing just a little too much independent spirit, might there be something more malevolent afoot? Alternatively, of course, "Gromit" could let the thing run riot in the hope that maybe it will deter his pal from any more quirky engineering? I have struggled with the thin-ness of the stories in the feature length Aardman animations in the recent past, but this is back to the high standard of the "Wrong Trousers" (1993) with characterful mischief throughout, loads of quickly paced and colourful panic and mayhem, some entertaining voice talent to accompany the story and, naturally, chaos of an epic proportion at a denouement that's really quite entertaining. The clay stop-motion figures are hugely expressive and detailed - especially the bug-eyes, but also the oversized hands and with retribution in mind, we've a marvellously, but simplistically, crafted nasty to foil too. Thirty years on, their antics are still well worth a watch as a Christmas gift that really does keep on giving.