Wallace and Gromit returned to TV screens on Christmas Day(Image: BBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis)

BBC viewers 'rediscover' childhood fear while watching Wallace and Gromit film

by · Wales Online

Viewers eager to enjoy the latest Wallace and Gromit film on Christmas Day were left unexpectedly frightened as they 'rediscovered' a childhood fear.

The new instalment, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, aired on BBC One and iPlayer at 6.10pm, but it wasn't long into the animated escapade that fans remembered what had once terrified them: the character Feathers McGraw.

The silent penguin first made his mark in the 1993 short The Wrong Trousers, where he ended up behind bars for attempting to steal a diamond. In this new full-length adventure, Feathers McGraw returns to screens as he hatches a plan to break out of the city zoo, seeking revenge after his incarceration, reports the Mirror.

Feathers McGraw returns in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl(Image: BBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis)

According to the film's synopsis: "Gromit's concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a 'smart' gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master... or Wallace may never be able to invent again."

One viewer who tuned into the much-awaited film expressed: "Reliving my childhood and rediscovering my fear of Feathers McGraw," as another BBC viewer commented: "Pretty sure the penguin from Wallace and Gromit was one of the scariest villains from childhood."

"That Feathers penguin chap in Wallace and Gromit used to scare me as a child and today as an adult it still haunts me," shared one concerned person. Meanwhile, others have expressed that the gnomes from the latest film are even more 'terrifying' than Feathers.

Viewers reported reliving their childhood fear while watching the film(Image: BBC)

"Nightmares at this Wallace and Gromit me, them gnomes are f****** terrifying," confessed a frightened viewer. Another exclaimed: "This gnome robot in the new Wallace and Gromit is f****** SCARY oh my god and his black eyes? No thank you." One even compared the film to Netflix's dystopian series Black Mirror, writing: "Wallace and Gromit giving me the Black Mirror creepies."

Aardman's own Nick Park previously expressed his bewilderment to the Independent concerning fans' strong reactions to Feathers McGraw.

"Over the years, I've been constantly surprised by the amount of people who genuinely hate him [Feathers McGraw]," Park disclosed to the publication. "But look," he continued, "He’s only a four-inch tall piece of plasticine.”

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and premieres globally on Netflix from January 3, 2025