'Wallace & Gromit' Introduce Norbot in the First 'Vengeance Most Fowl' Teaser

It's the last days of August, so naturally, it's time to start thinking about Christmas, at least if you're in the TV business. However, no festive special this year will beat the return of Wallace & Gromit, the claymation duo famous for their 1990s-era shorts The Wrong Trousers, A Grand Day Out, and A Close Shave. For those who somehow aren't familiar with these two, Wallace is an inventor extraordinaire, and his pup Gromit is the brains of the operation. Nearly all of their adventures (including the feature-length outing Curse of the Were-Rabbit and the later additional short, A Matter of Loaf & Death) are due to Wallace's harebrained schemes. (Usually, they are solved by the ever-faithful Gromit fixing his master's mistakes.) The BBC and Netflix have teamed up for a new feature-length film, Vengeance Most Fowl, and once again, Wallace is creating utter chaos and destruction, errrr, new, useful inventions.

This year's brand new addition to the W&G extended universe is Norbot, a garden gnome who helps with gardening, or, as Wallace calls it, "Gnome Improvement." Voiced by Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9), Norbot has made his debut to delighted fans in the first teaser clip from the upcoming film.

Of course, Wallace created Norbot to make his and Gromit's life easier. (Doesn't he always?) As the series character description says: "A quick learner, efficient, incredibly polite and cheerful – Norbot quickly becomes popular with the locals to help with their gardening needs." Well, he may not be so popular with Gromit...

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

In the next epic adventure of Wallace & Gromit, Gromit becomes concerned that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions, and his fears are proven right when Wallace’s new “Smart Gnome” Norbot seems to develop a mind of its own. When a vengeful figure from their past is revealed as the mastermind, Gromit must battle sinister forces to save Wallace.

As previously announced, the voice cast will also feature Ben Whitehead as Wallace, taking over the role from the late beloved original voice actor Peter Sallis, plus the return of Peter Kay as PC Albert Mackintosh. New voices joining the film include Lauren Patel (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Diane Morgan (Afterlife), Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton), Lenny Henry (Three Little Birds), and Muzz Khan (Galavant).

Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park once again wrote the story with longtime collaborator Mark Burton (who turned it into a screenplay) and directed along with Aardman’s creative director, Merlin Crossingham. As part of the trailer release, Park stated: “We are delighted to introduce Norbot, a “Nifty Odd-jobbing Robot” gnome, designed to help Gromit with his gardening chores. Norbot is Wallace’s most proud achievement to date and, according to Wallace, his “best invention ever!” Garden gnomes have long been a part of Wallace and Gromit’s world, but this is no cute patio ornament. Norbot is the ultimate gnome - a “smart gnome.”

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day and “this winter” on Netflix, which is a polite way of saying “not on Christmas Day, but probably before the end of the year.”