Creator Nick Park hinted that he was done with full length. In 2008, the British animator shared the challenges of making the first Wallace and Gromit feature, 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The most glaring, perhaps, was being told the material didn’t cater enough to American audiences, not that he’s one to yield to trans-Atlantic pressure. Still, his follow-up, A Matter of Loaf and Death, clocked in at merely half an hour. And Aardman Animations’ iconic duo hasn’t ventured onscreen since – until the streaming era, that is. 

So, given those conditions, it’s amazing that a 79-minute follow-up was even considered, much more conceived. Whatever the case, fans have reason to rejoice.

Merlin Crossingham takes over Steve Box as Park’s co-director this time. Voicing Wallace is Ben Whitehead, replacing Peter Sallis, who retired in 2010 and sadly passed away in 2017. In this latest caper, we’re reintroduced to Feathers McGraw, the villainous penguin first seen in the 1993 short The Wrong Trousers and now incarcerated for diamond theft. Of course, he holds the titular tandem responsible. And there’s a reason the film is subtitled Vengeance Most Fowl.

We then immediately return to Lancashire in North England, where the clay protagonists reside. We’re reminded that Wallace is as inventor, both through his household contraptions and through Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) a robotic garden gnome designed to help with all-around tasks. Wallace understandably celebrates his latest innovation. Gromit, on the other hand, feels threatened. Turns out, there’s more to the expressive beagle’s suspicions than mere jealousy, especially when McGraw learns about Norbot. 

Pandemonium strikes when the reprogrammed Norbot recruits his fellow gnomes to break into the neighborhood’s homes. This alarms Chief Inspector Albert McIntosh (a returning Peter Kay) and his new protege, PC Mukhergee (Lauren Patel), who automatically (but erroneously) trace Wallace as the culprit. Naturally, this compels Gromit to go on the pursuit and, soon, the bigger motives are revealed. 

There’s enough in the ensuing slapstick-laden chase scenes to thrill both young and young-at-heart, more so when the enduring bond between man and pooch inevitably takes centerstage. Ultimately, the film manages to reinvigorate the stop motion franchise’s zany spirit and, perhaps, even attract fans from the Netflix generation. While not particularly a series highlight, it’s a more-than-welcome return to form two decades later. And given what the creative team endured prior to this sixth overall onscreen outing, you can say it lives up to its title.