Throughout Wallace and Gromit’s carefully handled history, you’ll see the dynamic duo that come with an occasional fingerprint on has paid homage to other staples of cinema history. Now, it’s been revealed that in their latest movie, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, a nod to The Lord of the Rings can be found deep within its depths.
Speaking to Variety about the latest film released on Netflix that earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, production designer Matt Perry revealed where a nod to the epic adventure in Middle Earth can be found. During Gromit’s discovery of the helper gnome, Norbot’s hidden lair, the film gives off strong Isengard vibes. “The idea was based on the building of the Uruk-hai army, so we’re getting that feeling of sparks and industrial works.”
It was a view that even the Dark Lord might be impressed by and another testament to the incredible work of Aardman Animations, who have handled Wallace and Gromit’s adventures since 1989. “We doubled the height of the basement to allow for that shot. We just wanted it to be vast,” explained Perry, with not a digital bit of wizardry in sight for a sequence that “was all in-camera.”
Giving everyday tools an alternative use is something that the silent but brilliant Gromit and his pal, Wallace, have been doing for years. This time, of course, they’re forced to face an equally clever foe with Feathers McGraw, who is busting out of prison by way of a submarine, which was designed to be intentionally imposing just like its dead-eyed captain. Perry told Variety they were particular about what was brought aboard the vessel. “Victorian gardening tools to make the inside have that gothic feel.”
You can see just how McGraw faces off against our heroes right now with Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl streaming on Netflix.