Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl premieres at 6.10pm, Christmas Day on 大象传媒 iPlayer and 大象传媒 One.
The highly-anticipated feature-length film sees Gromit鈥檚 growing concern as Wallace becomes over-dependent on his inventions - which proves justified when Wallace creates a 鈥榮mart gnome鈥� that seems to develop an evil mind of its own. As events begin to spiral out of control, it鈥檚 up to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces, or Wallace may never be able to invent again!
But who could possibly be behind such evil actions?! Rightfully behind bars for all this time, Feathers McGraw is back with vengeance. Feathers McGraw was last seen in 1993鈥檚 BAFTA and Academy Award winning short The Wrong Trousers.
Interview with Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham (Directors)
What can you tell us about Vengeance Most Fowl?
Nick: We really hit the ground running with this film - Wallace is still an inventor of course but in this film, Wallace鈥檚 inventions are really starting to get to Gromit and get in between their relationship. To add insult to injury, Wallace - with good intentions - invents a smart-gnome, but everything goes wrong from there and the film explores how Gromit copes with this new favourite in the household.
Merlin: It also explores how technology, which is brilliant and we do celebrate it in the film, can sometimes become a wedge between Wallace and Gromit. Technology thematically is something that is so important to Wallace so it鈥檚 also about Gromit needing to accept Wallace for who he is and to eventually find a compromise for them both.
How did you know that now was the right time to bring Wallace & Gromit back?
Nick: We鈥檙e very much led by the idea and this idea has been with us for a while. It seemed like it just held lots of potential for story, gags and drama.
Merlin: Also because we work with Wallace & Gromit every day, they never go away. For us, it was thinking about when is the idea right for the next project. Nick has been thinking about this concept for years, since Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
This film also sees the return of the iconic supervillain, Feathers McGraw. What inspired you to bring him back?
Nick: It was really to solve a big story problem we were having. The original story was about Wallace inventing these mechanical smart-gnomes and how they go wrong and cause trouble, but there was always a problem around what was motivating them and where are they coming from. It was like a lightning strike really, as people have been asking for a long time about when we鈥檒l be bringing Feathers McGraw back, and until now we just never really found the right place for him - but this just felt like the perfect opportunity.
What gave you the idea to make a new film about a smart-gnome?
Nick: I鈥檝e had the idea of gnomes for a while. Once you make one film it sparks an idea for others. This happened on Curse of the Were-Rabbit, back in 2005. Gnomes have always been a big part of Wallace and Gromit鈥檚 world and it was just this idea about Wallace making a smart-gnome to help Gromit in the garden because it just offered lots of comic potential.
Merlin: The good ideas always stick around and if they don鈥檛 go away, you know there鈥檚 something there.
Is the portrayal of the smart-gnome a reflection of life today?
Nick: Wallace and Gromit鈥檚 world is absurd and that is what it plays off a lot of the time but I suppose there is some truth to it all. Technology has a lot of pros and cons. I always pick up on how a lot of tech can sometimes be quite annoying because some of it seems completely pointless. You have to question is it enhancing your life or is it somehow making it worse?
Merlin: In the real world, we鈥檙e living in a time of great acceleration in technology and I don鈥檛 think Wallace and Gromit are looking at that, because we look at technology from within the world of Wallace and Gromit. It鈥檚 not technology as we know it today, it鈥檚 talking about technology as inventions so it鈥檚 relevant to their world and lightly touching possibly on the real world.
Can you tell us how long it has taken to create, from the story up until production?
Merlin: It鈥檚 a long journey!
Nick: The idea has been with us for a few years but actually when we started real work on it, from when Mark Burton came on board, it鈥檚 been about four years. Within that time and once we鈥檙e happy with the script, we start storyboarding and that becomes the story reel which plays like the film with a rough soundtrack with our scratch music and voices, so it gives us a feel of the shape of everything.
Merlin: So, the actual time it takes for us to do the whole process is about five years. It鈥檚 around a year of writing, a year of storyboarding and into pre-production and then a couple of years of actually ramping up to film. We usually film for around 15-18 months and then go straight into post-production. Then we can share it with the world!
Nick: At the peak of it, we have around 35 animators all working every day on different sets doing between 1-5 seconds of animation a day.
Merlin: We have around 200 supporting crew in the studio too. It鈥檚 a massive team effort to make a film like this.
Nick: In a good week, we might hit a minute of film. That鈥檚 good going too!
As with all Wallace & Gromit projects, Vengeance Most Fowl has a brilliant cast. What has been like to work with them all?
Nick: One of the fun parts of this process is choosing the voices for these characters and we鈥檝e got such a brilliant cast. We鈥檝e of course got Ben Whitehead voicing Wallace, we have Peter Kay who was originally PC MacIntosh in Curse of the Ware-Rabbit but he鈥檚 now been promoted to Chief Inspector MacIntosh. He鈥檚 training up a young police cadet called PC Mukherjee, played by Lauren Patel who is excellent.
Merlin: We鈥檝e also got Reece Shearsmith as Norbot. The process is quite abstract because we don鈥檛 have much to show the voice actors when they start working with them, so we ask them to do some quite peculiar things and they have to take a leap of faith. It鈥檚 wonderful to hear the characters for the first time and we then use their vocals as a springboard for the physical performance that the animators bring later on in the process.
Nick: We design the character first, we鈥檝e got a brilliant puppet making department here but we sketch them and have them made. We initially use our own voices and imagine what the voices will be like but we are looking for someone who will really fit those characters as well as the humour and quirkiness of the script and this world.
What is difficult finding a new voice to play Wallace after Peter Sallis passed away? What was the process?
Nick: When Peter Sallis passed away it was incredibly sad and what he brought to Wallace鈥檚 character was irreplaceable.
Merlin: But finding a replacement isn鈥檛 a new thing, it鈥檚 been a very long journey for us. Ben Whitehead, who is now the voice of Wallace, actually worked with Peter and was Peter鈥檚 understudy. He鈥檚 worked as the voice of Wallace from quite early on doing bits of the Wallace voice when Peter wasn鈥檛 able to. Over the years, we鈥檝e worked very closely with him so for us it has been a very natural progression.
For those that aren鈥檛 familiar, Nick where did the idea for the very first Wallace & Gromit come from?
Nick: It goes back to film school, a lot of ideas come from sketch books as I was always doodling. I had the idea which was initially a man and cat actually, but I found a dog easier to make out of clay. When you鈥檙e animating a character, you have to be able to move them around and handle them. The first idea was about a man that built his rocket in the basement of his house in order to go to the moon for cheese which became A Grand Day Out.
Merlin: As you do!
Nick: Ha, yes very realistic! But he needed someone to talk to and Gromit became the perfect companion. I often have to pinch myself when I even hear someone say the names 鈥榃allace and Gromit鈥� when it was originally a daft idea at film school! When I look back at my own early animation on A Grand Day Out, I probably wouldn鈥檛 employ myself! I was a student and it was the first big thing I did.
Merlin: I鈥檇 like to think I could do the shots now, but I don鈥檛 think we could. The animation team are brilliant and every film we ask for more and they鈥檙e able to deliver more. The standard of the animation we鈥檝e got in this film is quite extraordinary.
Nick: Absolutely, they鈥檙e so good. Many of the animators have worked on the early Wallace & Gromit film. Dave Alex Riddett is our Director of Photography and he lit The Wrong Trousers and all of the other Wallace & Gromit films. Some of our animators are new but a lot of them have been with us for years, working on Early Man, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep as well as working with other studios across the globe, as stop motion animation is really flourishing around the world.
Merlin, you started working with Aardman as an animator. You鈥檙e now the Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit and of course directing the new film alongside Nick. How does that feel?
Merlin: My first job on a Wallace & Gromit production was actually as a runner on A Close Shave in 1995. I was still a student at film school so my contribution to the film was support, I鈥檇 like to think. My first creative touch on Wallace & Gromit was on Curse of the Were-Rabbit as an animator. I鈥檝e then worked with Wallace & Gromit and Nick over the years and for me it鈥檚 been a really wonderful creative journey. To start with, I just wanted to be a character animator 鈥� I didn鈥檛 have directing on my radar as something that I necessarily needed in my life, I was more focused on the performance side of it. As things progressed, Nick asked me to do some directing here and there and it really lit my creative fire 鈥� I loved the challenges of it and all the complexities that come with it. Going from animation where you鈥檙e so focused on a portion of time, which I loved, but the polar opposite as a director where you need to see not only the smaller aspects but also the bigger picture. It鈥檚 been a fantastic creative journey for me.
Nick: Merlin was always one of the top animators on all of the Wallace & Gromit films he worked on. He also seemed to get things really quickly and has done some of the best parts of the films. It鈥檚 great for me to be able to share the journey with someone and with a fellow visionary. He鈥檚 good at directing and good with the humour so the choice wasn鈥檛 difficult.
The Wallace & Gromit theme tune is as iconic as the characters. Do you have any input with the music side of things?
Nick: We鈥檝e been lucky to have Julian Nott on all of the Wallace & Gromit films and for Vengeance Most Fowl he鈥檚 joined by Lorne Balfe. They鈥檝e done a brilliant job with the score and we鈥檝e always had very open conversations about what we want, how the scene works, and what beats to hit during specific scenes. For example, there鈥檚 been times where we reference a more emotional or sad scene in the film and asked if they can work the theme tune into that and they鈥檝e done it.
Merlin: It鈥檚 been a great collaboration for the whole process. I feel very lucky that the synergy has worked so well because the music is so important to the final film, so to have Julian and Lorne on board from the start was really key.
Nick: Even from the early storyboard stages, they started to sketch up pieces for us so we had samples that we could work with. Julian and I were at film school together and because A Grand Day Out was a film school project, I was so lucky that Julian had the availability when he did because I loved some of the music he had composed for other students鈥� films.
Merlin: It really is an earworm because you hear people humming or listening to the tune. Once it鈥檚 there you can鈥檛 get rid of it! We鈥檝e also got a new song in Vengeance Most Fowl that Reece sings in character as Norbot. It鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e had a song overtly in a Wallace & Gromit film.
Nick: It鈥檚 a spoof of certain cartoons that always have songs in 鈥� it started that way anyway. Mark Burton our screenwriter wrote the lyrics and then Julian and Lorne composed the theme for that. It鈥檚 become Norbot鈥檚 theme tune!
Are there any technology advances that have helped with this film?
Merlin: Technology has inevitably raced ahead. When we made Curse of the Were-Rabbit, everything was shot on film. The principle change now is that we don鈥檛 shoot on film anymore. The cameras have gone from being huge to now being tiny, which has helped to get high quality cameras into our miniature sets in a way that we never could before. We can see the result there and then too, we don鈥檛 have to wait for it to come back from a lab as we used to. That kind of thing does make everything quicker. We can now ask for visual effects that we could have never dreamt of a few years ago. I think the fundamental idea and philosophy behind the way we make films is to start with the camera and ask 鈥榗an we do it in front of the camera?鈥� as our first question. If it can鈥檛 we try and find a solution.
Nick: All the characters are still made of clay mostly. There are different materials we use for different parts but the expressive parts of the puppets, like their heads and hands, are still clay. That鈥檚 also the heart and soul of Wallace & Gromit, that it remains handmade and hand-crafted. As Merlin says, we embrace the technology too because it can help us expand the world and make it a bit more believable. For example, there鈥檚 a lot of water in this film and we couldn鈥檛 do it with cling film as we used to!
Merlin: You鈥檇 never include water in a stop motion film historically because it鈥檚 just so difficult, but now we can so we do! It鈥檚 lovely, we鈥檝e got stop motion as one of the oldest crafts in cinema that is fusing with some of the latest cutting edge production technology and I think it鈥檚 a lovely harmony. We use every tool in the tool box, that鈥檚 for sure!
Wallace & Gromit has a huge fan base here in the UK and across the globe. What do you think is so special about these characters?
Nick: Fundamental to Wallace and Gromit is that they鈥檙e members of a family really. In that family, you鈥檝e got someone who is very introverted and another who is extroverted. One who is an agent of chaos and other who just wants an ordered quiet life, so you鈥檝e got that dynamic there all the time. I think people just really relate to that, not just because of the relationship between a man and dog either 鈥� that鈥檚 a whole other thing! With Gromit, although he doesn鈥檛 speak, the audience always knows how he鈥檚 feeling. I think everyone has felt misunderstood at some point in their life so when he looks at the camera, everyone can empathise with him.
Merlin: I think it鈥檚 that connection that you recognise in yourself or in someone else and just that light touch of understanding and experience. As a couple, Wallace & Gromit are man and dog but they鈥檙e also like man and wife.
Nick: Even though Wallace can be insensitive at times and keeps coming up with these crazy ideas, we still love him because he鈥檚 flawed and we can relate to him.
Merlin: Also Gromit鈥檚 eternal loyalty to Wallace to go along with that.
How does it feel to be back on the 大象传媒 premiering a new Wallace and Gromit film at Christmas?
Nick: I think the 大象传媒 is a perfect fit because Wallace & Gromit鈥檚 home has always been the 大象传媒. The 大象传媒 has been greatly supportive over the years and now Wallace & Gromit has become a staple thing on the 大象传媒 in the UK, especially over the holidays. I sometimes have to pinch myself to think that my student film, A Grand Day Out, is on the 大象传媒!
Merlin: People often say that they watch Wallace & Gromit at Christmas, it is part of a tradition and we鈥檙e just so delighted that we can continue that with Vengeance Most Fowl. It feels like the best place to be.
Interview with Ben Whitehead (Wallace)
You鈥檝e voiced Wallace before but what is it like to step into the role for a feature film?
After having the chance to work on the voice of Wallace for a range of projects for so long, the opportunity to work on a feature was daunting but extremely exciting. It鈥檚 a very different experience to what I鈥檝e been used to the in the past because it鈥檚 on a much bigger scale. Consequently, a lot more work has to go into the recording of it as well, so it鈥檚 a lot harder to do.
When did you first meet and work with Peter Sallis?
I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Peter on Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which was in 2005. I worked as a read-in actor and it just so happened that I could also do the voice so it was helpful when I was reading with the other actors when they were recording their lines. Before I first met Peter, I was told that he had a dry sense of humour. He was hilarious, so kind, very honest and a brilliant guy to work with and to listen to. I鈥檓 so glad I had that chance because working on Curse of the Were-Rabbit gave the opportunity to be in the room with him on many occasions.
Were there any challenges or considerations when you approached the character, given the legacy of Peter Sallis?
Yes there鈥檚 always challenges to approach the character that someone else has done, especially given Peter鈥檚 legacy. The main thing to consider is that you鈥檙e not going to be able to do exactly the same as them. Nick and Merlin assured me of that as well because a voice match wasn鈥檛 what was required here. However, I wanted to try and take as much as I could from what Peter brought to this character, which originally was made with Peter in mind. I took as much as I could from Peter鈥檚 character but also brought some of my own aspects and characterisations to it.
What is your process to capture Wallace and how do you bring your own interpretation?
In terms of trying to capture Peter鈥檚 voice from before, I obviously do listen back to those and see what has gone on before, which I鈥檝e been doing since I was a young boy watching A Grand Day Out. I tried to get as close as I could to a voice match by doing that. Now, the journey to work is good for me as I can sit on a train and watch the Wallace & Gromit films and have a real laugh and get into character. For me, 鈥榗heese鈥� is definitely the trigger word to help me get in to character. I was also coached by Andrea Hazel Lewis who took the time to look at Peter鈥檚 voice and the character of Wallace. For example, Wallace sometimes protrudes his tongue a little bit, so you can do a similar thing when voicing him.
When you start recording, you just need to work around the script rather than diving straight into the script and speaking the lines, it鈥檚 good to just talk around it. I often think of the words that might lead up to the words I鈥檓 reading 鈥� what might happen before it, what he might be saying and the emotional build up to it, rather than just delivering the line. That鈥檚 quite difficult but it definitely helps to come in with some improvisation around it.
In order to bring your own interpretation to the character, you have to rely on your own experience and in particular, your comedy performance experience which is something I鈥檝e always done in theatre. I learnt that at a student 鈥� that comedy is probably where I was going to be more successful because every time I tried to do something serious people would laugh! I think bringing my own experience as a comedy performer is something you鈥檝e got to do in order to hit the jokes.
Did anyone know you could do the voice or did you pick it up as you went along?
When I first came to Aardman, it was just to see if I could read the lines okay for the auditions for the films. I used to do lots of impressions when I was young and Wallace was one of them. I did the voice to Steve Box who was the director auditioning me at the time and I suppose it was a nice added bonus. I became Peter鈥檚 understudy for many jobs that he wasn鈥檛 able to do outside of filming, for example some of the Wallace & Gromit games. Thanks to Aardman for being patient, which you have to be as an animator, they鈥檝e given me twenty-one years to get it right.
What is a typical voice recording session like? What has it been like working with the two directors, Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham?
Usually with a lot of recording sessions, you鈥檙e in a booth and separate from whoever might be directing you. With Aardman projects that I鈥檝e worked on, that鈥檚 not the case as the directors want to be in the room with the performer.
Working with Nick and Merlin together is really useful. I鈥檝e worked with them both independently in the past but having them in the same room is great as they鈥檙e able to put their ears to it and make suggestions. I think it鈥檚 really beneficial having them both there for the evolution of the character too. Nick, of course is the creator of Wallace & Gromit, and Merlin has worked with Aardman for a lot of his professional life on so many different projects so between them they have so much experience and know the characters better than anyone. It鈥檚 a fortunate thing to have them there.
I have to say, I鈥檝e found it鈥檚 sometimes quite challenging to hit some of the lines. I think there鈥檚 such a level of excitement in me doing this that I have to calm myself down sometimes. I say to the directors, 鈥減lease just stop me鈥� 鈥� but they don鈥檛! They just let me go and run with it. Being calm is really helpful because it eases any tension in your voice or your face. I also think of how Peter spoke and he had that very calming voice, so again I try to get that voice match.
Are there any elements of Wallace鈥檚 personality that is similar to yours?
There is a lot of Wallace鈥檚 personality that does resonate with me. There鈥檚 a sort of childishness to him and we see that in his relationship with Gromit. Gromit is definitely the more grown up of the two! I think that childishness resonates with me as well as the emotional turns that he takes 鈥� he may be quite lost one minute and then the next everything is fine and back to normal. There鈥檚 a little bit of me in that too I think.
Were there any challenges for this role?
For me, it鈥檚 just understanding and hitting the right note and energy of the character. It鈥檚 such a funny script so we just kept going until we got it right.
What is your earliest memory of Wallace & Gromit?
My earliest memory would be watching A Grand Day Out on the television, I think it was on midweek when I was at school. It was fantastic, we all know that, but going to school the next day and chatting to your friends saying 鈥榙id anyone see that cartoon where the guy built a rocket with his dog to fly to the moon to get some cheese?!鈥� Everyone loved it and just wanted more.
What do you think makes Wallace & Gromit so timeless?
It鈥檚 undoubtably the humour, it鈥檚 the key to it. The comedy is so good, subtle and sometimes relatable. They鈥檝e built this world that you can keep recalling to past experiences. The characters are just so different that they complement each other quite well 鈥� particularly Wallace and Gromit, they鈥檙e so good for each other. The loyalty of Gromit to this erratic inventor is just brilliant.
I think people also know how hard the work is from an animation point of view, perhaps not to the full extent but they can still appreciate it. I鈥檝e seen actors auditioning for the films at read ins and you can see how much they want to work with Aardman, they鈥檙e really big names too. The biggest names in British acting!