By Sarah Osman

In their latest divinely idiosyncratic romp, Wallace & Gromit take on the threat of that most impersonal and worrisome technology: AI.

A scene of good cheer in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. 

One dull night sometime in the ’90s, my family and I stumbled upon Wallace & Gromit. We were instantly enchanted by the hapless inventor and his clever dog as they journeyed to the moon in search of cheese. We were even more enthralled by their scuffle against a criminal mastermind: Feathers McGraw, a penguin who disguised himself as a chicken via a rubber glove on his head. We continued to follow the adventures of Wallace & Gromit and their adorable spin-off buddies. What amazed us most about the pair — and what has continued to amaze me about Aardman Animation, the wizards behind Wallace & Gromit — is the gob-smacking amount of detail and care that goes into the making of the adventures of these figures. Stop-motion animation is by far the most difficult form of filmmaking: a true labor of artistic love that cannot be rushed. That’s why it’s fitting that, in their latest divinely idiosyncratic romp, Wallace & Gromit take on the threat of that most impersonal and worrisome technology: AI.

In Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Wallace decides to make his and Gromit’s lives easier by creating Norbot, a perpetually cheerful gardening gnome. As in many of the pair’s stories, Wallace fails to notice what Gromit really wants — and he definitely does not want Norbot. Gromit takes great pride in caring for his garden — in the same way many artists take enormous pride in nurturing their creations. When Norbot quickly trims all of Gromit’s bushes into the same homogeneous shape, Gromit is heartbroken. The rest of the neighborhood loves Norbot — he’s so efficient! Their love for Norbot reflects our admiration for corporate-concocted art: why take the time (and money) to make something by hand when a computer can just do it for you in half the time? What banks and investors and technologists and Wallace fail to see is the beauty AI (and Norbot) destroys. But it must be admitted that, unlike most forms of AI, at least Norbot is cute.

Meanwhile, Feathers McGraw, the dastardly thief now serving his time in a zoo, spots Norbot on the news. At last, it’s his chance for vengeance most fowl. By utilizing his technology skills, Feathers reprograms Norbot — and the now many duplicate Norbots — to be evil. The robots break Feathers out of jail, the first step in their transformation into a gang — along with being gardeners, they’re thieves. Feathers frames Wallace and Gromit for his crimes, but, as in their other exploits, Gromit has a few tricks up his sleeve to thwart him.

Like the pair’s earlier films, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is filled with hilarious bits: an absurd boat chase that takes place on boats that only go five miles per hour, Norbot’s disturbingly loud recharging noise. And, of course, Feather’s chicken disguise never fails to supply yuks. Could AI come up with these gags? No way — only a human can come up with inspired pratfalls.

On a thematic level, Feathers is framed as the villain. But it could be debated that Wallace is a baddie as well. The guy didn’t create Norbot from a malicious place — he sincerely wanted to help people. But his creation did cause considerable harm and, thankfully, Wallace realizes it before it is too late. As for the real-life creators of AI, are they like Wallace? Did they unintentionally create a monster out of altruistic impulses? Or are they more like Feathers — they knew exactly what they were doing, bankrolling AI to benefit themselves and Wall Street? This is too deep of a question for an animation to answer — but it is hinted at.

What Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl makes clear is the enduring charm of stop-motion animation. If nothing else, it puts corporate cogs on notice: they shouldn’t rely on AI to create captivating art. Only a human can create creatures as enchanting as Wallace and Gromit, and I, for one, was ecstatic to see their latest venture. Thank you to the hardworking animators at Aardman Animation: please continue to prove that robots, regardless of how cute or efficient they may be, can’t replace humans for everything.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to the Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.