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Netflix bosses in America expressed concern Peter Kay‘s voice work in the latest Wallace and Gromit movie.
On Christmas Day 2024, the stop-motion animated duo is back acclaimed new special titled Vegan Most Fowlwhich brought back the terrifying villain Feathers McGraw.
It’s the first Wallace and Gromit project to be released in ten years – and the first since Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallis, died in 2017.
Ben Whitehead replaces Sallis Vengeance Most Fowlwhich also features voice work by Reece Shearsmith, Lauren Patel and Diane Morgan.
But it was comedian Kay who caused problems for directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham with a line he improvised while in the filming booth.
At one stage in the new film, Kay’s character, Chief Inspector Mackintosh exclaims: “Flippin’ Nora!” – a phrase unfamiliar to Netflix executives in the US.
Park said The sun: “Peter ad-libs enough. At one point, he was surprised by something and shouted: ‘Flippin’ Nora’. One day we got a message back asking: ‘Who is Nora and why is she overturned?’
Crossingham said they were assured the Ka bosses’ comment was “not rude, not swearing” but “an innocent expression”.
Speaking of replacing Sallis in the lead role, Whitehead said The Independent: “The character was always changing, at least physically. So Nick and Merlin did give me a bit of permission to develop the voice and develop it. It frees you up – you stop worrying so much about faking or hitting long vowels the right way.
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“But in saying that, you want it to sound like Wallace. It’s hard as a fan to hear that and say, ‘That’s not Peter Sallis!’
Park previously said BBC he found making the film “quite emotional” because Sallis “was such an original, unique voice”.
He continued: “So it’s very difficult for anyone to step into his place. But we are blessed with a young actor we have known for many years who can do a fantastic impersonation of Wallace.
“He stepped in very graciously, and he’s just great. It’s hard to tell them apart.”
In a four star rating, The IndependentFilm critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “Vengeance Most Fowl is proof that traditional can still thrive—not just in how the film looks, but even in its barrage of puns (one magazine reads: “Gardens of the Galaxy”) and corny dad jokes.