Revenge of Wallace and Gromit Most of Fowl’s jokes were rejected for being too British, but I want to know more about the “family viewing” gag

As we look forward upcoming movies 2025 in theaters and streaming, I’m so excited for the world to see the Netflix series Wallace and Gromit: Wildest Revenge. Aardman Animation’s world of comedy straddles the line between tongue-in-cheek humor that adults will enjoy and gags that will drive kids crazy. The legendary franchise has always been an example of particularly broad and crowd-pleasing entertainment.

However, this beautiful shortcut has its limits, and directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham recount an occasion where this line was firmly drawn by the powers that be. This leaves us with a new mystery that I need to know more about.

How Wallace & Gromit: Revenge: Most Birds Balanced Its British Humor for Global Audiences

I think this is the moment where I would turn my swivel chair around and gesticulate like a true villain; looks a lot like one of our favorite show-stealing villains, Feathers McGraw. I haven’t been able to admit it yet, but I haven’t seen it yet Wallace and Gromit: Wildest Revenge in advance… I actually got to visit the set. So today’s trailer announcement wasn’t the only information I had to use when I entered into a recent conversation with Mr. Park and Mr. Crossingham.

Feathers McGraw sits calmly with a cup of coffee in his hand in Wallace & Gromit: The Revenge of Most Birds. — (Image credit: Aardman Animations/Netflix)

On the first press day for this winter’s Netflix/BBC release, some of Aardman’s top minds were on hand to discuss everything from the wonders of stop-motion animation to why Feathers McGraw is returning in the first place. Earlier in the day, the story was raised at a virtual press conference that some of the jokes might not go down well with international audiences.

On this particular topic, I asked Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham about whether they need to fight to keep some of the British comedian’s friendly jokes under wraps. Revenge The Most Bird. Solving this problem allowed the directors of the latter Wallace and Gromit image to share the following anecdote with CinemaBlend. As Pak said:

Sometimes the dialogue is something incomprehensible “over the pond.” And Chief Inspector Mackintosh states: “It’s a common phrase in the UK, it’s not rude, but he just says, ‘Rolled over the Burrow!’ And we don’t know where it came from, but it’s just British lexicon (expressions). Yeah. And I don’t know if people understand this or not, but we were kind of asked the question of whether to remove it or not. But Netflix is very respectful of the Wallace and Gromit brand and how it operates. They let us go with it.
Nick Park, CinemaBlend

Merlin Crossingham also expressed his opinion on the same problem that arose with the advent of the new Wallace and Gromit film to life. As he shared:

We talked about a swamp chain earlier because a swamp chain is like a toilet flush valve. And we say: “Someone stole my swamp chain!” It didn’t really happen because of the language. It worked because the joke no longer fit into the continuity. Sometimes there are other reasons why a joke like this doesn’t make it into the sequence. But I mean, during the development of (Vengeance Most Fowl), a lot of jokes came and went. In fact, it is quite difficult to remember the details, but they are always present in our minds.
Merlin Crossingham, CinemaBlend

Wallace and Gromit: Revenge of Fowl’s Bridge first trailer showed a balance between quirky English humor and broad Hollywood action/adventure, and the new look we just got continues to strengthen that case. Seeing Feathers McGraw do his best impression of Max Cady from Cape Fear this is one crossroads where both adults and children can have a good laugh at something that definitely reflects across different cultures.

At the same time, creating something that stands on its own two feet on home court is also difficult. This results in Nick Park and Merling Crossingham accidentally crossing the line with a gag, but are politely asked to walk back.

Wallace sits anxiously at the kitchen table in

(Image credit: Aardman Animations/Netflix)

Why the mysterious Wallace and Gromit joke was cut for “family viewing”

“Family viewing” is a phrase that may make some adults cringe, as censorship has ruined many projects in the past. But Wallace and Gromit: Wildest Revenge is a film that thrives in such an ecosystem because the goal is always something everyone can feel comfortable watching together. So I was quite surprised and Very was intrigued to hear from Nick Park about the following story where the BBC had some specific content issues:

The BBC did question a couple of things, didn’t they? Only for family viewing reasons. There was one line, I won’t even repeat it, but we thought it was innocent and apparently (it) has other implications that Mrs. Mulch (says) at the door when Wallace opens the door to the angry crowd. But it passed, and we don’t regret it.
Nick Park, CinemaBlend

I have absolutely I have no idea what this offensive joke was that was removed, and this is even after I was able to admit that I was on set Revenge The Most Bird last July. So Mrs. Mulch’s supposedly mischievous words will remain a mystery that needs to be buried in the sands of time. However, thanks to the visit in question, I can tell you another funny joke that you won’t hear about in the following Wallace and Gromit film, but for completely different reasons.

A naughty girl sits in a zoo pond while Feathers sits and watches the movie

(Image credit: Aardman Animations)

Another Wallace and Gromit-esque prank that can be seen but not heard

Going to Aardman Animations HQ in Bristol this summer was a dream come true for me as I remember watching The Big Day Off when it aired on PBS in the 90s. As part of a group of journalists personally invited by Netflix to check out the work done on Wallace and Gromit: Wildest RevengeI was able to see many touching moments that were put together to form the comedy that awaits us in the coming months.

And being there that day introduced me and my fellow journalists, in particular, to production designer Matt Perry. Our welcome couldn’t have been better, as when we entered his section of the maze of individual sets in the warehouse, we were greeted by a submarine that looked something out of the ordinary. James Bond films. Which makes Mr. Perry’s account of its cheeky name even more apt:

This is a clear reference to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Nautilus. We call her “Naughty Girl.” It’s not mentioned there, but internally that’s what we call it. … (Feathers) will play the organ on his chair, in the spirit of an evil mastermind. An incredible amount of work has been done to achieve this.
Matt Perry, CinemaBlend

I’ll admit, that organ scene is one of those moments that made me want to spit the coffee out of my mouth laughing. And this is even after I saw this impressive miniature interior for myself and prepared for the gag months in advance.

Returning to the topic of humor, Wallace and Gromit: Wildest RevengeMatt Perry continued to discuss the art department’s contribution to the laughter and adventure that went into the upcoming film:

One of the little things our art department does is constantly try to help the story by nodding in every possible way. And there are graphics in the background, all these little layers that we kind of add to the film. In this particular case, Feathers is sitting on his lawn chair because everything that created this submarine was stolen from all the gardens in the city.
Matt Perry, CinemaBlend

Yes my friends, that’s why we tried to warn you about Fowl’s Bridge’s Revenge Norbotand the recently debuted trailer shows even more reasons why those concerns were deserved. Tiny threats are under Feather’s control, and as you can see in the scene featuring Naughty Girl, our enemy is looking to settle a score that’s decades old.

And in a moment of brilliant (almost) silent humor, Mr. McGraw nudges the bagpipe-playing dwarf as he boards his mischievous warship. Which you can watch for yourself thanks to the latest trailer Wallace and Gromit: Wildest Revengeshown below:

Come up with another joke that kids and adults are likely to laugh at, whether you like that particular instrument or not. Whether it’s cheeky jokes or puns where people are named after British TV icons, the Aardman family know how to tell a joke. They also know when to scale back in the name of decency while still leaving a good mystery.

Wallace and Gromit: Wildest Revenge is a typical Aardman laugh riot, and you’ll be able to see it soon enough! If you’re in the UK and Ireland, the film will be shown on the BBC on Christmas Day. For the rest of us, this exciting new adventure will be available to stream on January 3rd using any jailbroken device you use to access your Netflix subscription!

Revenge of Wallace and Gromit Most of Fowl’s jokes were rejected for being too British, but I want to know more about the “family viewing” gag

How Wallace & Gromit: Revenge: Most Birds Balanced Its British Humor for Global Audiences

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