On the occasion of the broadcast from Friday on Netflix of “Wallace and Gromit: The Palm of Vengeance”, filmmakers Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham reveal the secrets of a success that has been making us laugh to tears for thirty-five years.
The master and his witty dog, models of tenderness and humor in plasticine. Netflix/Aardman Animations/British Broadcasting Corporation/StudioCanal
By Cécile Mury
Published on January 2, 2025 at 6:50 a.m.
Updated January 2, 2025 at 6:14 p.m.
Wallace and Gromit, the plasticine “stars” of the British animation studio Aardman, return to Netflix, more hilarious than ever, in Wallace and Gromit: The Palm of Vengeance. We met its two directors, Nick Park (the original “dad” of the duo) and Merlin Crossingham, at the last Annecy festival, for the presentation of the film. Where it's about funny thrillers, infernal machines, garden gnomes… And, above all, endless creativity.
The “black gnome” genre
Nick Park. “Garden gnomes have always been part of the world of Wallace et Gromit. And since Gromit loves taking care of his beloved flowerbeds so much, what would happen if Wallace, with the best of intentions, decided to help him by making a garden robot? What if it went very wrong?… We had a lot of fun with the codes of film noir, a genre that we love, the contrast between this atmosphere and our characters was very funny. I think we invented a subgenre… That of the “black gnome”! »
L’abominable Feathers McGraw
Merlin Crossingham. “He's a penguin… burglar, a formidable enemy of Wallace and Gromit, since the short film Bad pantsin 1993. Over the years, it has become iconic! Many people were constantly asking us for his return, and this was the opportunity: he found his place quite naturally in history. He's a hilarious antihero, especially because he's as impassive as a “real” gangster in an old-fashioned detective film…
A characteristic which at the same time makes him very difficult to animate: he has no expression, and he does not speak! The audience must be able to understand his intentions, while maintaining this minimalist coldness. Our animators are particularly gifted at this, they perfectly master the small, subtle movements, the barely perceptible, but significant changes… Like real actors! And sometimes, when Feathers McGraw isn't really doing anything, it's all about camera positioning. »
Part of the suspense rests on the positioning of the cameras. Richard Davies/Netflix/Aardman Animations/British Broadcasting Corporation/StudioCanal
Funny mechanics
M.C.“All the machines that Wallace creates are born from a great mix of ideas, at the start of the film's production, from the storyboard stage: how to make the show unique and funny, and what machine is even more ridiculous and useless than the precedent could we invent? These are the kinds of questions we ask ourselves above all! »
N.P.“Once we come up with the idea, we develop its design with the art director and his team, to make sure that the machines have, well…, their logic, at least a kind of mechanical credibility. Of course they are totally crazy, but we have to be able to believe in them, they have to seem to work, and the animators have to be able to manipulate them to give the desired effect. Some of them are very good at this part of the job. Knowing how to animate machines is almost a skill in itself! »
Thirty-five years of inventions
N.P. “Aesthetically, Wallace and Gromit has evolved over time, since my first short film, A great excursion, in 1989. The shape of their faces, Wallace's eyebrows, Gromit's nose, which was smaller at the beginning. It's a bit like the first representations of Mickey Mouse, very different from what he later became! »
M.C.“Yes, but their complicity has remained the same. I think that's what allowed them this longevity: all the tenderness and humor that made the public attached to them. The spirit of the beginnings is still there: the pleasure, the spontaneity, the art of stop motion, the “handmade” side. »
N.P.“All the additional technologies we use today are only there to support very “human” know-how and art. We only use digital filming processes when they really fit the studio's style. All our decisions start with: “Can we do it 'for real', on camera?” If the answer is yes, we always choose the artisanal solution. We have a great toolbox at Aardman. We just need to take from it what we need to make our films. »
A man and his dog
N.P.“When I imagined these characters, even before my cinema studies, I started by making sketches where Gromit was a cat. But I quickly changed my mind. The relationship between a dog and its master is stronger, it seemed to me more interesting, funnier, especially if it is a taciturn, resourceful dog, smarter and more “wise” than its “human”. Gromit is a nuanced and sensitive character. In Wallace and Gromit: The Mystery of the Were-Rabbitwe can see a poster representing our two heroes. Above Wallace it says « Master », and above Gromit, « Mind ». The master and the spirit. I think that's pretty fair! »
Wallace et Netflix
M.C.“Our studio, Aardman, has already collaborated with Netflix to Chicken Run : La Menace nuggets, by Sam Fell (2023), and now for this film: the joint work has been very constructive, respecting our creative freedom, what we love and know how to do, as well as what we dreamed of improving. Because there is no question of resting on our laurels. Every time, we want to make our best film. »
Wallace and Gromit The Palm of VengeanceJanuary 3 on Netflix.
