Character Study
Tracing the evolution of our favorite characters from script to screen.
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Three feet, 12 pounds of pure evil.
The material:Clay.
And not a lot of it.
Sweats when he gets nervous.
Has a pet seal.
Totally silent and expressionless, which makes him all the more terrifying.
At the time, he was already beginning work onA Grand Day Out,the series first short film.
I was trying to think of ways to earn money as a student.
I was thinking of book illustration, he says.
I could doWallace & Gromitas kids books.
I had this idea of penguins for that.
I just liked them visually and comedically.
Then, for reasons of economy, production said, No, how about one penguin?
The clay wasnt a small expense.
So I had one penguin.
It became more of a comedy and the antics a penguin might get up to domestically in the house.
How would that be?
It makes it more interesting.
Park was intrigued and searched for inspiration from the golden age of Hollywood.
I also thought ofThe Ladykillersor the Ealing comedies of that era, he explains.
Once he was a villain, it became much more vital and exciting.
That was the attraction to the idea.
It was just the unlikeliness of a penguin being a villain.
We decided to go dead against that, he recalls.
Steve Box, who animatedThe Wrong Trousers,got strict instructions from Park: Hes a milk bottle.
That somehow made him scarier.
You know those thumbtacks with those round heads?
With the pin snipped off?
Thats him, Parks says.
Time and money constraints helped achieve Featherss physicality.
A lot of fellow filmmakers reacted in disbelief at how powerful this little penguin was.
There was a real disdain for him.
The return of the king
Park didnt set out to makeVengeance Most Fowla sequel toThe Wrong Trousers.
(Companion piece is his preferred term.)
Wallace & Gromitfilms always have a sinister side, he notes.
It might seem like exploiting a character or theres no good context.
Why not have Feathers use the smart gnome technology for his own evil purpose?
That was exactly what we needed and Feathers was the perfect solution, Park says.
Various cinematic works helped inform how sinister Feathers could become.
ForThe Wrong Trousers,Alfred HitchcocksRebeccawas the main inspiration for Parks.
Mrs. Danvers, played by Judith Anderson, is the housekeeper, he explains.
Thats Feathers and Gromits dynamic.
It was that internal torment De Niro had inCape Fearthat I found particularly interesting.
They were part of Feathers alter ego.
That scared the hell out of me as a kid, Park adds.
The Norbots operated by Feathers, when he comes in a room, turn at the same time.
It was a deliberateVillage of the Damnedchildren punch in of thing.
Out of nowhere, he brandishes a gun from his flippers and takes aim at our two protagonists.
Still, theres more to the character than a violent streak.
His villainy is more sophisticated than just straight fighting.
He gaslights, Park says.
Its just about undermining and getting underneath their skin.
(Even with a gesture as small as Feathers putting on Wallaces slippers inThe Wrong Trousers.)
Its smartness, Park explains.
Thats why hes a perfect antagonist to Gromit, because its smart versus smart.
It also helps that Wallace is clueless and unable to identify Feathers while hes wearing a chicken-glove disguise.
Feathers can get between them because Gromit knows something is up, Crossingham notes.
Hell willingly manipulate without care of consequence to any of the other characters.
Their canal route spits them out of a tunnel and hundreds of feet above land.
Thats not a very elegant solution.
It brings Feathers down.
Also, Gromit isnt really a fighter like that.
Gromit wiggles away, but its incredibly striking.
Its a moment of physical combat that symbolizes their relationship.
Then its gone for that very reason, Crossingham explains.
Feathers is a very violent character, but hes violent by intent.
He has a bit of vanity, doesnt he?
Hes one buff penguin.
And it gets in the way.
InThe Terminator,he talked about the difference between a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional character, he says.
He has human vanity.
We did the same thing inThe Wrong Trousers.
You need that element of, Oh, yeah.
I recognize that in myself, Crossingham notes.
Im not massively into how I look, but Ill check my hair to confirm it looks okay.
Hes a real one.
That makes him even scarier.
I was rooting for him to win, Park admits.
At times you have to.
But Feathers chooses not to use it.
Adolf Hitler probably loved his dog and thats whats scary.
Hes de-powered at the end.
Hes lost everything he was fighting for and they arent even in pursuit of him, Crossingham says.
Feathers has an ego and hed want to be chased, but they didnt.
Thats quite demoralizing for a villain like that.
Park has a grimmer read on Featherss ending: A fate worse than prison is being out there ignored.
But Im not making any promises, says Crossingham.
The one thing they insist will never happen is a prequel that offers more insight to his life.
They blameStar Warsfor such an impulse.
When I was growing up, one of the worst villains out there was Darth Vader.
Then I found out he wasnt as bad as he was supposed to be, Crossingham puts it.
I got confused when they tried to explain why he was bad.
Park believes adding an origin story is just lazy from a creative perspective.
Do we really need to see Feathers as a chick?
Theres always going to be a badass penguin, Crossingham adds.
Were not Vader-ing Feathers.
