The following contains spoilers for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, now streaming on Netflixcharacters like Feathers McGraw for a new heist attempt.

Notably, it's more than just the villain that's a returning element for the film. Vengeance Most Fowl's story and ending underscore an important element of the franchise as a whole, reinforcing a central emotional theme of the series by revisiting a sad aspect of many previous shorts. This gives Vengeance Most Fowl a clearer connection to the legacy of Wallace and Gromit, even beyond the elements that directly build on Feathers' return.

Wallace Almost Accidentally Replaces Gromit With A Machine

Gromit Has To Face His Greatest Fear Again In Vengeance Most Fowl

One of the big emotional throughlines of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl focuses on Gromit feeling isolated and removed from his own life, replicating a consistent theme of the series. Vengeance Most Fowl introduces Wallace's newest invention, a helpful little robotic gnome named Norbot. The purpose of the device is to handle the little annoyances of life, but Wallace's well-intentioned efforts just remove Gromit's ability to garden in peace. This plays into Gromit's overall concern that his connection with Wallace is being replaced, with the inventor even creating a machine to pet Gromit instead of doing it himself.

This builds into the film's showcase of Gromit's loyalty to Wallace, and plays a big part in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl's ending. When confronted with the chance to stop Feathers McGraw at the risk of his own life, Gromit is brought back from the edge by Wallace's proclamation that he could never deal with the loss of his companion and best friend. This pays off in the film's final moments, which reveal that Wallace has reprogrammed the Norbots and happily pets Gromit. This underscores their connection, especially after previous shorts and films explored similar themes.

Gromit's Biggest Tragedy Has Already Happened Before

The Wrong Tros And A Matter Of Loaf And Death Had The Same Emotional Arc For Gromit And Wallace

Multiple Wallace & Gromit stories have focused on the bond between the titular characters, with tension in the shorts stemming from Gromit's fears that Wallace will eventually leave him behind. This was a key component of The Wrong Tros, which also saw Wallace create a machine meant to replace his responsibilities towards his dog. This coincided with Feathers' arrival as a boarder in Wallace and Gromit's home, steadily stealing Wallace's attention and even Gromit's bedroom. As a direct sequel to The Wrong Tros, it makes sense that Vengeance Most Fowl would return to that drama.

[Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death] highlighted the lengths Gromit will go to protect Wallace even when the latter has no idea of the danger he's in...

Gromit's fears of being replaced also factored into A Matter of Loaf and Death. That film tweaked the formula by introducing Piella Bakewell, a possible love interest for Wallace who turns out to be a dangerous serial killer. Part of the drama in that short centered around Piella's efforts to turn Wallace against Gromit, even faking an injury to blame on the dog. That short highlighted the lengths Gromit will go to protect Wallace even when the latter has no idea of the danger he's in, underscoring the importance of their relationship in Gromit's eyes.

Wallace & Gromit's Central Friendship Is The Emotional Core Of The Series

Wallace And Gromit's Bond Is At The Core Of Every Story In The Series, Including Vengeance Most Fowl

The fact that Wallace and Gromit characters keep returning to this central theme underscores how central it is to the overall emotional throughline of the franchise. At the core of the shorts and films is the friendship between Wallace and Gromit. A classic "man and his dog" bond that's been expanded to fit a world of criminal penguins, Wallace & Gromit has repeatedly explored the importance that friendship plays in their lives. Vengeance Most Fowl brings back the emotional strife Gromit has felt at being shunted out of Wallace's life and makes it a key element of the new film.

For much of Vengeance Most Fowl, Gromit is completely unaware that (through some inventive hacking) Feathers McGraw is the one controlling the Norbots. His tension with the little machines stems from them just being the latest example of Wallace phoning in their friendship and shifting their connection to unfeeling robots. That makes the ending of the film particularly sweet, as Wallace has not only adjusted to pay more attention to Gromit, but the dog has made peace with the Norbots. It gives the otherwise stand-alone entries in the series a deeper emotional connection to Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.