As the world is finally catching up with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the 2025 movie schedule has landed one of its best comedies early. Netflix’s 2025 Golden Globe nominee for the best animated motion picture, the picture won me over as a long time fan of Aardman Animations’ iconic creations, and I know I’m not the only person to admit that. Despite that, thanks to the exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the return of Feathers McGraw that you can see above, I actually appreciate this film even more.
In true Wallace & Gromit fashion, the highlighted process has a name that conveniently unfolds into a double entendre. So, if you’re ever at the Aardman offices, make sure you know what you’re asking for when mentioning “The LAV,” because in the case of this process it stands for the “Live Action Video booth.”
When watching this at work during Vengeance Most Fowl’s production, it’s uncanny how the finished product can look so close to the movements of directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. That much is especially true when comparing the LAV footage to the in-film performance of Feathers McGraw, the hardest W&G character to animate.
For example, here’s a screenshot of the side-by-side display of director Nick Park and Feathers McGraw, in a moment of pure intimidation:
As you can see in the reference materials shown above, some of the best moments in Vengeance Most Fowl’s trailer, as well as the finished picture, take a lot of live-action inspiration from both of its directors. While it may not be a new approach to making an animated extravaganza such as this, it does surprise me that it’s Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham who are doing the performing, rather than the vocal performers.
Then again, in some cases, the directors would be the two best suited for the job. That’s especially true when it comes to the voiceless Gromit, who somehow always expresses so much while saying absolutely nothing. I know this because during my earlier interview with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’s helmers, this very subject actually came up.
While director Merlin Crossingham doesn’t have a specific voice for this silent canine protector, he did admit to CinemaBlend that he tackles this particular role with a very vocal approach:
When we are acting out, so we, when we're briefing the animator on the performance of Gromit, for example, we stand in front of a live action camera, and we will take that opportunity to rehearse the performance. … If Gromit is looking at something, I always, as I'm acting it out, I will say the sort of the subtext of Gromit [and] go, ‘What? Oh my goodness!’ And I'll say it out loud, to kind of get in my head where he is in his head.
Though the 2025 Golden Globes may have come and gone, the road to the Academy Awards is still paved with colorful opportunities. With Netflix undoubtedly pushing to have Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl nominated for that huge opportunity, we’ll probably see some more peeks behind the curtain with the good folks at Aardman. I’ll gladly await each one as it arrives, as I can’t get enough of the process that's helped this iconic stop-motion animation saga endure over decades of nothing but love.
If you haven’t seen Vengeance Most Fowl yet yourself, the picture recently debuted for streaming to those with an active Netflix subscription. But, if you want some more inside stories about this latest grand day out, check out our story about how Wallace & Gromit’s ‘family viewing’ status was once questioned by the BBC. Trust me, that story is wilder than you'd think.
