26/12/24

BBC iPlayer

Christmas without Wallace and Gromit? Unthinkable.

And this year, there’s a brand new feature-length offering for our delectation, which brings back the duo’s most formidable foe, Feathers McGraw, who – ever since the events of 1993’s, The Wrong Trousers – has been languishing in a high security prison or, as some prefer to call it, ‘the zoo’. Meanwhile, at 62, West Wallaby Close, Wallace (who, after the sad demise of Peter Sallis, is now voiced by Ben Whitehead) is still inventing at full throttle, which means that poor Gromit is finding precious little to do. Wallace has even invented a machine that can give his faithful pooch a pat on the head and… well, it’s not the same as getting a pat from your best pal. Right?

But Wallace’s latest brainchild, a smart-gnome called Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), may be an invention too far – particularly when Feathers, from his place of incarceration, devises an incredibly complex method of overriding Norbot’s system an and then further contrives a way of copying him, over and over, to generate a whole army of gnomes committed to freeing Feathers from captivity. 

Feathers still has his sights squarely set on getting his flippers on the fabled blue diamond, which is stored at the local cop shop under the watchful gaze of Chief Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay) and his ambitious assistant, PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel). As Feathers’ evil plan unfolds a proper caper ensues…

As ever, this is a delightfully inventive escapade, consistently funny throughout. Wallace’s Heath Robinson-style inventions are still a reliable source of merriment, while many viewers will enjoy the references to classic movies dotted throughout the narrative. Whitehead recreates Sallis’s distinctive tones with eerie skill and, once again, Feathers McGraw somehow manages to exude an air of total menace without the advantages of anything resembling actual features. Meanwhile, the multiple gnomes are deliciously creepy as they march along in unison, declaiming in Shearsmith’s jovial tones how very helpful they are whilst trying to send Gromit hurtling to his doom.

If the final protracted barge-chase doesn’t quite measure up to the frantic train-set sequence of The Wrong Trousers, this is nonetheless another assured addition to the W & G collection, with the original handmade ingenuity of the earlier films augmented by some impressive CGI touches. Written by Mark Burton and Nick Park and directed by Merlin Crossingham (and Park), it would be a grumpy soul indeed who doesn’t find themselves chortling from start to finish. If the titular twosome have become something of an institution, it’s worth repeating that they have more than earned their place in viewers’ hearts.

Cracking stuff, Gromit! Now pass the Wensleydale and bring on 2025.

4.3 stars

Philip Caveney