Warning: SPOILERS for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

At the end of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, we see the most villainous penguin in movie history, Feathers McGraw, disappear into a tunnel on the back of a freight train. He’s missed out on stealing the Blue Diamond he covets, but, at the same time, he’s gotten away with his attempted crime. All charges against Wallace for the theft of the diamond are dropped by the police, but they’ve let this pesky penguin slip through their fingers.

This open-ended conclusion to Feathers McGraw’s comeback in Vengeance Most Fowl teases further storylines involving the character in future Wallace & Gromit films. I really hope that’s not the case, because bringing Feathers back for another showdown with Wallace’s implacable pooch Gromit would actually undermine his perfectly executed return for this movie. The world needed Feathers McGraw back this Christmas, after three decades without him since Wallace and Gromit foiled his last evil plan in 1993’s The Wrong Trousers. But I question whether or not his return is even necessary.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Teased Feathers McGraw’s Return

He Doesn’t Get His Just Desserts At The End Of The Movie

Feathers McGraw is the mastermind behind the various crimes committed in Wallace’s name throughout this latest Wallace & Gromit movie. It naturally follows, then, that once his plans are thwarted at the end of Vengeance Most Fowl, he should be made to pay for what he’s done – but that doesn’t happen. While Gromit almost plunges to his death, Feathers opens an umbrella he’s conveniently picked up during his getaway, and drops gently onto the back of a moving train. Although Gromit has tricked him into taking a turnip with him instead of the Blue Diamond, Feathers himself has escaped from the film’s death-defying climax unscathed.

“That told him, Gromit,” Wallace tells his faithful friend, as Feathers McGraw looks at the turnip he’s holding in astonishment. “He’s a bad egg, that one.” A bad egg, indeed, who’s surely off to commit another crime, that we could well be hearing about in Wallace and Gromit’s next adventure. With Feathers going free, this movie is unlikely to be the last we see of him.

Feathers McGraw Is One Of My Favorite Movie Villains, But He Shouldn’t Return

The Impact He Has In Vengeance Most Fowl Is Because He’s Been Away So Long

It seems odd that a small, expressionless bird with pinheads for eyes and a red rubber glove pulled over his head – with the aim of making him resemble a chicken – should be so terrifying. But that’s exactly what Feathers McGraw is, and much of the terror he invokes stems from the blank expression he wears while committing his terrible crimes. McGraw is undoubtedly, in my opinion, the best of all the Wallace & Gromit villains that Aardman Animations have come up with down the years. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he might be one of my favourite movie villains, full stop.

If he returns for another movie, however, I’m worried that the spell will be broken. His inane facial features will no longer strike the same feature into our hearts, and the superb Cape Fear parody used to promote his impending return in Vengeance Most Fowl will have been for nothing.

Feathers McGraw only works so well as a villain because he’s seldom seen in Wallace & Gromit. He appears seemingly from nowhere in The Wrong Trousers, taken in as a harmless stray penguin by the impressionable Wallace, and seems like the last person – or penguin – you’d expect to steal a diamond. Then, with Vengeance Most Fowl, we had to wait 31 years for Feathers to return, as inconspicuous as ever, to try and finish what he started. The effect he has as a villain who belies his innocuous appearance will be completely lost if he’s added to the franchise’s regular cast.

How Likely Is It Feathers McGraw Does Return In The Next Wallace & Gromit?

Franchise Creator Nick Park Is Prudent With His Character Comebacks

Hopefully, though, we don’t need to worry about Feathers McGraw returning for another Wallace & Gromit movie anytime soon. Based on what franchise Nick Park said about the character’s comeback in January of this year, the Aardman team are treating Vengeance Most Fowl as an exceptional case when it comes to bringing a previous villain back into the fold. “I’ve never really been into bringing characters back in the Wallace & Gromit films,” Park told Variety. “It was more just an opportunity that seemed just right.”

The opportunity presented by Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Fowl was absolutely right for the return of Feathers McGraw, arguably the greatest masterstroke in the history of the franchise. But, thankfully, Park’s prudent approach to bringing characters back should mean that he and his team don’t make the mistake of over-relying on Feathers for future movies. If his freight train getaway is the last we see of the character, it’s a fitting way to bow out for stop-motion animation’s greatest villain.

Sources: Variety