Revenge Most birds can’t beat a chase scene with the wrong pants—and they don’t have to

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a rare twist for the venerable British animated series, so much so that unlike past entries that have largely involved introducing new supporting characters and completely different stories, it’s the first to really commit to Wallace and Gromittext past. Beyond the reintroduction of Wrong pants‘ Feathers McGraw, the film, sometimes to its detriment, is in conflicting conversation with what has come before it – meaning that when it comes to its climactic chase sequence, you can’t help but do what might be unenviable a comparison between the new film and what came before it.

Especially since what came before is arguably one of the greatest chase sequences ever to grace screens, small or otherwise. The wrong pants‘ final chase – in which Wallace and Gromit chase the feathers and diamond the wicked penguin/chicken/criminal has stolen over a model train system the main duo built around their house to ferry mail and stuff around – is a masterclass in economical action and a comedy that is still beloved more than 30 years after it first aired. The score, the cinematography, the sense of speed, the willingness to accept the absurdity of it all because both the characters and the film are diligently dedicated to the small, technical marvel of animating it all with stop-motion techniques: it is simply perfect and timeless in both its grand yet intimate sense of scale and mastery of craft.

So when Revenge. Most birdslike all good ones Wallace and Gromit stories, ends in a chase – and it’s a chase between Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw – you’re already setting yourself up for a losing prospect. Probably no matter what directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham got up their clay sleeves for Revenge it could never compare to what came before. Too similar, and like some elements of the film already, it becomes more of an echo of past glory than something that stands on its own. Too different—perhaps, even to fear bigtoo enamored with the spectacle and the idea of ​​quantity over quality – and ventures into the prospect of still being second fiddle to a masterful chase sequence, no matter how good it is.

Then it’s for good Revenge. Most birdsthe climax of having his cake and eating it. The film comes to one final chase as Feathers turns Wallace’s latest invention, an army of clever Norbot garden gnomesagainst him and detains both the master, the pup, and the original Norbot—he manages to escape with the fabled Blue Diamond he tried to grab all those years ago, setting off a final action that sees Wallace, Gromit, and Norbot chase head first in a car ( is, with an office chair following a car), and then a canal boat. There are now amusing parallels with The wrong pants here: both chases begin similarly, even with similar conversations, as Wallace and Feathers confront each other. There is a contrast between an absurd high-speed train chase and the painfully slow canal boats. Where Wrong pants enjoying the speed of his pursuit, Revenge. Most birds luxuriates (the full sequence is about eight minutes into the final fight, compared to Wrong pants‘ clocks under three minutes). The former is largely a dialogue-free scene (relying on Julian Knott’s sublime soundtrack to set that breezy pace), save for Wallace’s occasional interjections, while the latter is much more chatty and jokey.

And yes, it is is bigger. There are decorations within decorations, jokes within jokes. Revenge. Most birdschasing has the space and width to cause his pace to rise and fall has a chance to breathe compared to Wrong pants‘ fast pace in turn. But in this larger scope, Revenge. Most birdsA chase sequence could add something beyond this “bigger is better” growth: a real emotional heart that Wrong pantsChase just doesn’t have time to think. The Wrong pants the chase is pure action: Wallace and Gromit have to stop Feathers, so they chase him down and stop him. Revenge. Most birdsThe chase should set itself up for a climatic resolution of the emotional dissonance that has grown between the duo throughout the rest of the film, as Wallace’s fixation on invention causes Gromit to feel distanced from his best friend.

He does it partly through pranks – Gromit goes along with Wallace’s love of invention so that MacGyver can erect a makeshift ballista boot, which he uses to disable Feathers’ Norbot army midway, and the pursuing policemen who follow and both sides, are temporarily detained by Pera, who quickly changes into a comfortable nun’s habit as a disguise (“it’s just an innocent nun going on a pleasure cruise,” utters Peter Kay’s PC Macintosha perfect line of dialogue). But it also becomes a moment where Wallace and Gromit realize how much they still care for each other and how far each of them is willing to go to make sure the other is safe, even more than to prevent Feathers from framing them. This all pays off in the final moments, when Wallace is willing to let himself take the blame for Feathers’ crimes if it means saving Gromit from impending doom, but this moment of emotional catharsis is padded out in the entire chase sequence before it.

It’s this extra layer that does Revenge. Most birdsculmination of click and sit next to him Wrong pants‘ all times one in turn. For a film that sometimes struggles in its desire to reflect and be in conversation Wallace and Gromitpast, it’s a moment that makes a clear case for the power it finds in building on the greatness that came before.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl now streaming on Netflix.

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