‘This is my latest invention’: Y’all, Wallace and Gromit are back with a new Netflix movie and I am giddy beyond measure

Animated movies occupy such a strange space in today’s cinematic zeitgeist. For all the anecdotal slander they receive about not being as prestigious as their live-action counterparts, we’ve had films like Toy Story 3 and the Spider-Verse franchise prove time and time again that this medium is an absolute artistic juggernaut. And with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim due to hit theaters at Warner Bros.’ behest soon, the future of animation’s reputation is looking brighter and brighter.

Pixar may be the go-to name everyone thinks of when it comes to consistent animated boons, but it would be a crime to omit Aardman Animations from that conversation, especially since the long-running British studio is set to dial up another yet homerun with its favorite duo.

Indeed, Netflix is due to play host to a brand new Wallace & Gromit movie in the form of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and the teaser you see above is just a small, whimsical taste of what’s in store this time around.

Per Tudum, the film will revolve around Gromit’s concerns that Wallace — ever the inventive maverick — is becoming too reliant on his doohickeys and thingamajigs, particularly when Wallace unveils a “smart gnome”; an AI-powered garden gnome named Norbot that can presumably handle all the tasks that Wallace doesn’t want to handle (so, in essence, most every task).

So what’s with the chicken pun in the title? Well, no sooner does this mechanical helper turn hostile is it revealed that Feathers McGraw — the penguin criminal mastermind (who tends to pass himself off as a chicken) and long-time nemesis of the duo — has returned with a vengeance, and it’s up to Gromit to save the day once again. Indeed, Gromit is the best of man’s best friend.

Folks, this movie is going to kick ass, full stop (motion). The Wallace & Gromit franchise alone has four Academy Awards to its name (three for Best Animated Short, and one for Best Animated Feature thanks to the objectively perfect movie that is Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), and there’s not even an arguable miss amongst Aardman’s nine feature films so far. It stands to reason, then, that Vengeance Most Fowl will continue that trend with a hearty shake of confidence.

After all, you don’t spend hours upon hours upon hours navigating a craft as meticulous as stop-motion animation only for the end result to be noticeably mediocre. This particular branch of creativity takes absolutely no prisoners, and the fact that Aardman Animation has gone nine for nine on bringing the thunder is no coincidence. So kick back, relax, and wait for them to go 10 for 10 when Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl spruces up Netflix later this year on Dec. 25.