Film Review - Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2025)

Wallace and Gromit Vengeance Most Fowl is the new Aardman animation film and sees Wallace (Ben Whitehead replacing the late Peter Sallis) and Gromit struggling to pay their bills so Wallace invents a handy new Garden Gnome called Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) but little do they know that Feathers McGraw has gotten wind of Norbot after a news story and he begins to plan his vengeance.

I was never really into Wallace and Gromit growing up (I was more into Disney animation as a kid in the 90s) but I heard very good things about this movie and Feathers McGraw as a villain (those eyes are like the Terminators in the first two films) so I decided to give it a watch.

And my goodness I loved every minute of this movie and I really really pity the other animated films released this year because this one has set the bar and firstly I have to mention the stop motion animation as it is not only gorgeous but you can really tell that there is a human touch to it all especially in the eyes of the characters where the good guys have a real soul to them while the villains well it’s like staring into the Abyss especially with Feathers McGraw.

Speaking of Feathers McGraw what a great villain, cunning/unassuming and moves with stealth like precision plus is a master of disguise (you can’t fool me with that glove Feathers, I know your not a chicken) in fact during one of his disguises I laughed so hard I had to go back as I missed a line of dialogue and in a couple of occasions I was reminded of Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.

And lastly this movie is a riot, I laughed pretty much out loud the entire time I was watching it and I will not lie a part of me wishes this was in cinemas this summer holidays because it would’ve been a massive hit with families but alas we’ll have to settle for it being on Netflix instead (This is all Feather’s fault.)

So LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND, Feathers McGraw is out there, he can’t be bargained with, he can’t be reasoned with, he doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear and he absolutely will not stop.

EVER,

Until he has Vengeance and as for this movie well I loved every minute of it and I have no hesitation giving it a full 5 out of 5.

Film Review - Paddington in Peru (2025)

Paddington in Peru is the third film in the series but is not directed by Paul King though he is involved as an executive producer and story writer (he decided to go and make Wonka instead), this time Paddington (Ben Whishaw) receives word from the reverend mother of the home for retired bears (Olivia Coleman) that his beloved Aunt Lucy has gone missing in the Amazon jungle so Paddington and the Brown Family head to Darkest Peru to go and find her.

Paddington in Peru had an awful lot to live up to for me mainly because the first two films were such high watermarks for family films and what didn’t help matters was that not only was King not returning to direct but also here in Australia this movie is opening less than a week after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which managed to buck the trend of the third film being the worst in the series so could Paddington also buck the trend or would it be left with a Marmalade Sandwich all over its face.

Well sort of while I don’t think this is a bad film per se it is also the weakest of the three but still I had a good time with it, it made me laugh, it made me smile and it still has a lot of that same heartfelt charm the first two films had, Ben Whishaw picks up right where he left off and plays this role so well its hard to imagine what Colin Firth would’ve done with it when he was originally cast in the role, Hugh Bonneville is as fun as ever as Mr Brown while Emily Mortimer does okay but struggles to fill the boots Sally Hawkins left behind as Mrs Brown (she too went to make Wonka with Paul King.)

The standout here is Olivia Coleman and her sense of humour and slightly manic energy fit so well in this world of films while Antonio Banderas is perfectly serviceable, but he is mainly helped by the writing of his character though at least he gets much more to do here unlike in Indiana Jones in 2023.

But all throughout this movie I couldn’t help but think that this movie while fun and entertaining it just doesn’t quite get as good as the first two films did and that has to come down to not having Paul King in the director and writers roles, don’t get me wrong Dougal Wilson does a perfectly fine job but he doesn’t have that same tight focus and firm vision King had with his films.

And in all honesty I don’t blame King for not wanting to direct this movie and choosing to make Wonka instead because I don’t feel that he really had another Paddington film in him, it isn’t like the Sonic film series where there’s decades of games to draw from for new films (though that series will soon fully mine the classic games for their films) and the pressure on him to deliver another classic would’ve been probably too much, that said I do wish this one was as good but its still perfectly fine enough.

And so that was Paddington in Peru and while this is still a fun and charming watch it also falls short of the heights of the first two films and it’s a bit of a shame especially given that not only were the first two films that good but Sonic 3 was able to buck that trend but as they say in the classic, you win some you lose some, 3 out of 5.