Aardman bosses on the future of Wallace & Gromit and Feathers McGraw’s surprising origins

As a longtime fan of Wallace & Gromit, I find myself utterly captivated by this fascinating glimpse into the lives of Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, the brilliant minds behind these beloved characters. Their unique blend of humor, wit, and nostalgia has not only captured the hearts of countless viewers but also transcended age barriers, creating a shared experience for generations.

As a passionate cinephile, I found myself standing before two intriguing figurines perched atop a pedestal. One was a man in a brown coat reminiscent of a storeman, while the other was a dog with ears that seemed to express an extraordinary range of emotions. Nick Park, co-founder of Aardman Animations and four-time Oscar winner, playfully invited me, “Feel free to interact with them.

The immense influence Wallace and Gromit have had on British culture might make one wonder when they appear in miniature forms as toys. Yet, there are many more of these adorable creations. As Aardman’s creative director Merlin Crossingham points out, their store houses no less than 40 Gromit figures! These include standing, sitting, and even walking versions of the clever canine. In essence, you can find just about every variation of Gromit that one could imagine.

The two main characters, Wallace and Gromit, are featured in the latest Wallace & Gromit movie “Vengeance Most Fowl,” and they’re also gracing the cover of this magazine. Crossingham expressed his excitement, saying, “It’s quite a big deal to be on the TopMob cover at Christmas.

The Netflix-produced stop-motion feature will debut globally on their streaming platform starting January 3rd, but it will also air on BBC One on Christmas Day. According to Crossingham, “It’s truly unique when everyone watches something simultaneously.” With less communal viewing happening nowadays due to streaming and other factors, he expresses his hope that we can still manage to gather people for a live broadcast and recapture the sense of unity and togetherness that such an event brings.

The new potentially unifying movie is the sixth installment of a series that started with 1989’s “A Grand Day Out.” As Park, who is now 66, points out, this achievement didn’t happen overnight; rather, it’s been built up over the years. Featuring the voices of Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry, Peter Kay, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, and with Ben Whitehead resuming his role as Wallace (previously played by the late Peter Sallis), this might just be their most perilous escapade yet. This time around, they’re faced with the return of a relentless and merciless foe.

Penguin-come-criminal genius Feathers McGraw was jailed at the end of 1993’s The Wrong Trousers, thanks mainly to Gromit’s dogged efforts. Incarcerated and unforgiving, the beady-eyed McGraw has been planning his revenge ever since. “The idea of Feathers goes back to when I was a student at the National Film School and needed money,” says Park.

I imagined writing a kid’s book featuring Wallace and Gromit, where a band of mischievous penguins visited their home and caused havoc with various household devices. These penguins were not at all malicious in their antics.

The concept evolved into “The Wrong Trousers,” a story where the ever-innovative yet questionable in his choices character, Wallace, invites McGraw into his home in Wigan, while Gromit watches, speechless and horrified. As Park explains, “I believe people connect with Gromit because he’s silent, and at some point, everyone feels overlooked or frustrated but can’t voice it. However, Wallace isn’t wicked; he’s simply imperfect. Isn’t that why we find him appealing?

In the tale of Vengeance Most Fowl, Wallace introduces his newest creation – Norbot, an unusually spooky robotic garden gnome. As Park explains, “Gnomes have always been a fixture in the universe of Wallace & Gromit.” For him, these garden ornaments evoke memories from his youth when he visited a friend’s house and encountered one perched in a rocking chair inside an outhouse. At just five years old, he was too petrified to walk by, as it seemed to be grinning at him menacingly.

However, the really terrifying thing about Norbot is that he’s a “smart gnome” and represents, albeit comically, a very contemporary fear – AI technology being taken over by those that would do us harm. “The film is actually very pro-technology,” says Crossingham. “But it’s also asking where technology originates from, who controls it and what’s it for? It’s light-hearted but also a conversation about the dichotomy between the positivity of it all and, on the other hand, thinking, ‘Wait a minute, this is getting out of hand. What is AI doing to our lives?’ It’s also partly so Wallace can say, ‘Ay aye, lad.’”

Park nods at this. “To be honest,” he says, “the joke’s the biggest reason.”

As a movie enthusiast, I’ve found that not everyone appreciates the unique Lancastrian humor of Preston-born Park. During the collaboration between Aardman and Hollywood animation titan DreamWorks, from 1999 to 2007, their executives would occasionally express confusion: “In The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, we had a line like ‘Buckle my trunnions? What’s a trunnion?'” I wonder if similar situations arise with Netflix. Park recounts, adopting an American accent, that Peter Kay coined the phrase, “Flippin’ Nora,” and they inquired, “Who is Nora?

Park, being rather quiet, slightly quirky, and completely engrossed in his work, doesn’t seem like the typical individual executives might easily empathize with. In fact, he recalls presenting an idea to them that left them dozing off. “It was a concept based on Wallace & Gromit,” he says. “But did it hinder the idea? No, it got made and even won an Oscar.

For British viewers, a significant charm of Wallace & Gromit and other Aardman works such as Chicken Run lies in the familiar softness of plasticine, a texture we recall from our childhood. However, upon handling them personally, I realized that Wallace and Gromit are not as pliable as one might initially suppose.

According to Crossingham, it’s not accurate to think of every character at Aardman as modelling clay. Only Morph was entirely made of clay. Wallace’s tank top and legs were never clay; they were resin initially, and later switched to foam latex. As technology advanced, we’ve adopted various materials in our creations.

Park explains, ‘Ever since we started producing feature films, we’ve had to transition into an industrial setup.’ He likens this process to a large-scale Disney production where numerous people work on various aspects simultaneously. Yet, he emphasizes the importance of maintaining their unique voice and style within that production.

The distinct style of Wallace & Gromit, created by Park and Crossingham, features a charmingly old-fashioned portrayal of northern England with occasionally mischievous animal characters that appeals to both young and older audiences. According to Crossingham, “Wallace & Gromit isn’t targeted at any specific demographic.” Instead, it serves as a unifying force, allowing adults and children to share laughter over the same humor. This works, explains Park, because it includes subtle, amusing elements without resorting to anything offensive.

Indeed, they do monitor their content, keeping an eye out for inappropriate sections. However, the humor primarily revolves around clever wordplay (puns) and physical comedy, with a great deal of slapstick, along with Gromit’s expressive glances.

Despite this, a moment in Vengeance Most Fowl involves a scene where the character Wallace, bare-naked, employs a Perspex tube to navigate downstairs for breakfast. “In our previous advertisements,” says Crossingham, “Wallace often appears nude, but there’s always something strategically placed to preserve modesty.” Essentially, he resembles Action Man.

What, I suggest, smooth “down there”? Park frowns. “I don’t want people to imagine Wallace naked too much,” he says. “But I do wonder about hookups with other brands. Could we interject him into Barbie’s world?” Crossingham’s eyebrows shoot up. “Yes, Wallace and Ken!” More bad news for Gromit.

2024-12-10 04:45

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