Latest news with #VengeanceMostFowl
The Independent
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Wallace and Gromit fans call out ‘absolute disrespect' for film at Oscars 2025
Fans have been left disappointed after Wallace and Gromit missed out on an Oscar during the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday (2 March). Vengeance Most Fowl was the franchise's first film to be released in ten years. T he stop-motion animated comedy stars Wallace, a cheese-loving inventor, and Gromit, his loyal beagle. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, but lost out to Flow, a fantasy adventure starring a cat and featuring no dialogue. The claymation duo donned a fancy outfit for the ceremony, with Gromit wearing a sparkly red bow tie and Wallace sporting a sparkly green suit in the same shade and style as his recognisable sweater vest. However, the team have won Oscars in the past. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit won in the same category in 2006, while The Wrong Trousers picked up a trophy for Best Short Film in 1994. But fans were left furious. 'Wallace and Gromit was robbed,' one person hit out on X/Twitter. 'The absolute f**king disrespect that Wallace and Gromit didn't win Best Animated Feature,' said another supporter. 'Wallace and Gromit were more deserving,' explained another. 'More effort goes into stop-go animation and it was funny.' In a four-star review, The Independent 's film critic Clarisse Loughrey, wrote: ' Vengeance Most Fowl is proof the traditional can still thrive – not only in how a film looks, but even in the barrage of puns (one magazine reads: 'Gardens of the Galaxy') and corny dad jokes. 'There are some timely updates, including a pitch-perfect gag about online Captcha verification tests. But I'm not sure any other studio could get away quite so cleanly with dropping a Shawshank Redemption prison gag in the year 2024. That's how you know Aardman has earned a privileged place in British culture.' The Academy Award winning films originally starred Peter Sallis, who first agreed to do the role in exchange for a £50 donation to a children's charity. Once the franchise took off, he became the regular lead in the popular films, also acting as the eccentric creator in adverts and video games on occasion. Sallis died in 2017, aged 96. Creator Nick Park said that it had been difficult to work on it without its veteran star, Sallis. He was replaced by Ben Whitehead, 47, who worked with Sallis on The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wallace and Gromit: PC Mukherjee's ready for 'insane' Oscars trip
The actor who voiced the plucky PC Mukherjee in the latest hit Wallace and Gromit film has said she is pinching herself ahead of a "quite insane" trip to the Patel starred in the BAFTA-winning Vengeance Most Fowl and will travel with cast and creators to the ceremony in Hollywood after the film was nominated for an Academy long-awaited return of the animated stop-motion franchise from Aardman Animation was watched by 20 million people when the film aired on BBC One on Christmas 23-year-old, whose character was a firm favourite with fans of the film, said the audience response had been "so above and beyond what I thought it was going to be". She told BBC Radio Manchester being involved in the film was an "incredible experience", but added that the Oscars call came as a surprise. "I woke up, I had like that horrible flu that had been going around and I just had a text from my agent saying, 'oh, you're going to the Oscars in like two weeks'," she said."And I thought I dreamt it in my weird, ill state."I don't even really know how it works. "And at this point I'm not questioning it. I'm just hoping they'll let me in when I show up."The Bolton actor's turn as PC Mukherjee was a high point in the hilarious outing, as the intrepid new PC was central to the plot, helping the iconic title characters track down their penguin nemesis, the master of disguise Feathers film also featured the vocal talents of Patel's fellow Boltonian, comedian Peter Kay, who voiced PC Mukherjee's superior, Ch Insp Mackintosh. Creator and Preston-born Nick Park and his Bristol-based Aardman Animations team have already won four Oscars, so Patel said hopes were high that they would add to that achievement."The team are so insanely talented and their minds are brilliant and the script is so witty and so fun," she said. "It made it such an enjoyable job to work on [and they are] also just all lovely people."They've got Oscars and they're very successful, they're very well known. "But they're all just really lovely, down to earth people who just want to make the film as good as it can be." The trip to the Oscars comes three years after Patel landed her first role in coming-of-age musical drama Everybody's Talking About Jamie. That success came just days after she was rejected by a number of drama schools and she said she got the part in an open online then, she said she "fell head first" into the industry, which was "kind of mental", and she recently joined the cast of BBC drama Waterloo Road for the latest said becoming a professional actor was a dream come true."I never thought that I would be able to do it professionally in this capacity," she said."I was like, 'oh, maybe I'll go to drama school and then in like 10 years, I'll get a little bit on the telly and, and that'll be great'. "And I'll maybe do some community theatre because that's really fun. "But yeah, it's mad. I can't believe it."Everyone who has ever met me as a child would know that I loved singing and dancing and attention." She said she was excited about every aspect of her trip and had chosen her all-important red carpet outfit."I wanted to find something that I felt really good in, that I felt represented who I was and I think I found that," she she added that she would keep the exact details of the outfit "under wraps".Above everything else though, she said there was one thing she was really looking forward to."I'm really excited to see Raye perform," she said."I love her so much and I've never seen her live and the first time I'm going to see her is at the Oscars, which is mental."The 97th Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Sunday. Coverage will be on the BBC News can watch Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl on BBC iPlayer. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Pleasure Beach teases Feathers McGraw update as five rides close
Five "smaller, less popular rides" will be closed this year, Pleasure Beach Resort has theme park also teased a possible Wallace and Gromit ride update, saying the team "loved" the Vengeance Most Fowl film and advised visitors to "stay tuned".Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, Gallopers and Red Arrows Skyforce will all be closed during the 2025 season, the Blackpool theme park has said."The smaller rides were already being run on reduced opening times and our rider data showed that they have some of our lowest throughput," the theme park said in a statement on its website. "After a great deal of thought, it was clear to us that the right decision is to make changes which will allow us to reinvest into a bigger and better future."Pleasure Beach Resort said Ice Blast, which closed for refurbishment last year, will also reopen this year as Launch ride will keep the original format, shooting seated riders vertically into the sky, but will be "more thrilling, immersive and dynamic", the park Grand National will also have a "short period of downtime" ahead of its 90th birthday."As a much older ride, Grand National is in need of extra care to keep her running at her best, so ahead of her birthday we need to carry out some essential maintenance," the theme park said."The nature of this maintenance, coupled with her age, meant it wasn't possible to do during the closed season." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Cheers and then boos for evil penguin Feathers McGraw as statue unveiled
A 4ft-high bronze statue of evil penguin Feathers McGraw has been unveiled near to his arch enemies Wallace and Gromit. Crowds gathered in Preston, Lancashire, to watch Nick Park, the creator of the popular animation film franchise, reveal the sculpture in his home city and then greet the new artwork with cheers… and then playful boos. One onlooker shouted 'arrest that chicken' to laughter. Feathers McGraw appeared in the Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers and returned in a starring role in Vengeance Most Fowl, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day. Long thought to be a chicken, Feathers was exposed as a penguin when Wallace and Gromit foiled his plan to rob a museum of a precious diamond. Preston-born Park and the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, performed the ceremony on Thursday as part of the opening of Animate, the city's new £45 million entertainment and leisure complex on the site of its former indoor market. The silent criminal mastermind character stands outside Animate but ominously close to the existing Wallace and Gromit bronze statue bench at nearby Preston Markets, also opened by Park in September 2021. Park said: 'As a proud Prestonian, I couldn't be more 'egg-cited' to see our infamous Feathers McGraw joining Wallace and Gromit in my hometown. 'I'm not sure how happy Wallace and Gromit will be though to have their arch nemesis clutching the limelight and a little too close for comfort.' Animate features The Arc Cinema with eight screens and the 16-lane Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, along with various food outlets. Councillor Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said: 'To have Nick Park officially opening our flagship regeneration scheme, Animate, is a genuine honour and landmark moment for the council and the city. 'In addition, the new Feathers McGraw statue is a fantastic complement to the Wallace and Gromit bench which has drawn so many visitors to Preston, its popularity has blown us away.' Vengeance Most Fowl has been nominated in the best animated feature film category at the forthcoming Academy Awards. Park's Aardman animation studio has previously won four Oscar s over the years. The first win came for the 1989 stop-motion comedy Creature Comforts, while the second film starring Wallace and Gromit, The Wrong Trousers, picked up the best animated short film Oscar in 1994. Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave won the same award in 1996, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit won best animated feature in 2005.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cheers and then boos for evil penguin Feathers McGraw as statue unveiled
A 4ft-high bronze statue of evil penguin Feathers McGraw has been unveiled near to his arch enemies Wallace and Gromit. Crowds gathered in Preston, Lancashire, to watch Nick Park, the creator of the popular animation film franchise, reveal the sculpture in his home city and then greet the new artwork with cheers… and then playful boos. One onlooker shouted 'arrest that chicken' to laughter. Feathers McGraw appeared in the Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers and returned in a starring role in Vengeance Most Fowl, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day. Long thought to be a chicken, Feathers was exposed as a penguin when Wallace and Gromit foiled his plan to rob a museum of a precious diamond. Preston-born Park and the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, performed the ceremony on Thursday as part of the opening of Animate, the city's new £45 million entertainment and leisure complex on the site of its former indoor market. The silent criminal mastermind character stands outside Animate but ominously close to the existing Wallace and Gromit bronze statue bench at nearby Preston Markets, also opened by Park in September 2021. Park said: 'As a proud Prestonian, I couldn't be more 'egg-cited' to see our infamous Feathers McGraw joining Wallace and Gromit in my hometown. 'I'm not sure how happy Wallace and Gromit will be though to have their arch nemesis clutching the limelight and a little too close for comfort.' Animate features The Arc Cinema with eight screens and the 16-lane Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, along with various food outlets. Councillor Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said: 'To have Nick Park officially opening our flagship regeneration scheme, Animate, is a genuine honour and landmark moment for the council and the city. 'In addition, the new Feathers McGraw statue is a fantastic complement to the Wallace and Gromit bench which has drawn so many visitors to Preston, its popularity has blown us away.' Vengeance Most Fowl has been nominated in the best animated feature film category at the forthcoming Academy Awards. Park's Aardman animation studio has previously won four Oscars over the years. The first win came for the 1989 stop-motion comedy Creature Comforts, while the second film starring Wallace and Gromit, The Wrong Trousers, picked up the best animated short film Oscar in 1994. Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave won the same award in 1996, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit won best animated feature in 2005.
