How Aardman Made Wallace & Gromits Silent Villain Work
gizmodo.com
Stop-motion animation is a prospect challenging enough for any studio, even Aardman, which has been pioneering the form for decades at this point. But what happens when you decide to bring back a villain whos famous for not being able to say a single word, can barely move any part of their face, and mostly gets by by standing around and blinking? That has been one of the most challenging aspects really, of the whole movie, Nick Park recently told Inverse about the decision to bring back Feathers McGraw, the villain of Wallace & Gromits second TV outing, The Wrong Trousers, decades later for Vengeance Most Fowl, now streaming worldwide on Netflix. At least Gromit has a brow he can move up. He can understand thoughts more clearly. Its all about the simplicity of how Feathers moves, the deliberate and small movements. A look here, a blink. Minimalism, really. As Park explained, Wallace & Gromit is no stranger to silent characters, given that the titular second half of the duo is a dog who cant talk. But Gromit is still surprisingly articulate: his ears can move, his eyes are similar to any other human characters, he can move different parts of his face, and has full hands, feet, and even a neck to move his body about with and express his emotions clearly to the audience. Feathers, on the other hand, is a tiny stylized penguin (occasionally disguised as a rooster). His eyes are tiny beads, his entire body is shaped like a bottle. If Feathers wants to use body language, hes got his flippers, which are restricted in their own ways, and then hes got moving his whole body at once. And yet, in bothWrong Trousers andVengeance Most Fowl, he remains utterly charming, occasionally sinister, and still completely communicable to the audience. Despite there being over three decades time between his on-screen appearances, the techniques Park (and now hisVengeance Most Fowl co-director, Merlin Crossingham) used to make Feathers feel akin to any other character inWallace & Gromit have remained the same. We use camera moves, the sound, Crossingham explained. Hes a very cinematic character because we rely, as filmmakers, on all those tricks to make him the hero/villain that you see and love to hate.The more things change, the more some things stay the same. But forWallace & Gromit, and Aardman more generally, it speaks to the timelessness of the craft involved in this kind of traditional hand animation. Back when Toy Story first came out in the 90s, a studio like us, were thinking, Oh, boy, how long do we have left? Park concluded. But we kept going. As long as youre telling good stories, compelling stories with compelling characters, then its just the technique really. All these years later, Feathers remains as compelling as he has ever beenand still up to those same cinematic tricks.Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is now streaming on Netflix. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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