It’s a Christmas present wrapped in claymation, a stocking stuffer wrapped with laughs, a wonderful treat for the holidays — it’s the new Wallace & Gromit movie, delivered right to your doorstep. Streaming on Netflix, this latest addition to Aardman’s franchise has everything you’d expect from the series, with a holiday twist. After a 15-year hiatus, detective Wallace (Ben Whitehead) and his dog Gromit are back for another crime-stopping mission complete with witty wordplay, wild gizmos and gonzo action, along with a Christmas backdrop that allows for all sorts of holiday cheer.
As a gift for animation lovers, Nick Park created this franchise as a bizzaro alternative to banal genre moosh, starting with short films in 1993 and eventually moving to feature films in 2005 (The Curse of the Were-Rabbit). Since then, Park has shifted his focus to Shaun the Sheep movies, which makes the return of these characters all the more welcome. The director doesn’t just bring back Wallace, the inventor of more gizmos than Rube Goldberg, but the penguin Feathers McGraw (Peter Kay) as well. After stealing the show — along with some diamonds — in the short film The Wrong Trousers, McGraw has been plotting his next move behind bars, planning a scheme that’ll put Wallace back in prison.
Wallace doesn’t seem to notice, as he watches his robot mow the lawn, perfectly content with the lack of chores needed to be done around the house, at least until he notices something off about his new creation. What’s with the robot’s smile, why does it look like a deranged gnome, and why does it disappear whenever a new crime takes place? Feathers McGraw, that’s why — the blank-faced penguin has hacked into the robot’s mainframe to frame his arch-nemesis for murder. Wallace joins Gromit to clear his name, to show off the animated setpieces and to make sure they can eat their beloved cheese custards again.
The film draws on numerous cinematic tropes to heighten the story, utilizing devices from action films, silent comedies and Christmas movies to keep you perpetually entertained. A master of mystery and comedy, Park pokes fun at genre cliches while offering winning examples of them as well. While we can dive into the many layers of genre — the callbacks to Buster Keaton are a treat, especially a comedic chase through a misty pond — you mainly have to admire the way he’s able to create quirky, bizarre, extremely dry comedies that captivate so many children. I mean, this couldn’t be more different than Disney’s animated fare — there’s no princesses or families or life lessons — but multiple generations of children have found themselves glued to these dark mysteries.
With their signature style, which feels even more fresh now that animation has gone digital, Aardman has crafted another comedy that stands out amidst the crowd. Fresh, inventive and engaging, this new Wallace & Gromit is a gift primed for the holidays.