Cheers and then boos for evil penguin Feathers McGraw as statue unveiled

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park revealed the sculpture in his home city of Preston.

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park and the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, pose next to the statue of the animated character Feathers McGraw at Animate in Preston (Peter Byrne/PA)

A 4ft-high bronze statue of evil penguin Feathers McGraw has been unveiled near to his arch enemies Wallace and Gromit.

Crowds gathered in Preston, Lancashire, to watch Nick Park, the creator of the popular animation film franchise, reveal the sculpture in his home city and then greet the new artwork with cheers… and then playful boos.

One onlooker shouted “arrest that chicken” to laughter.

Animate statue — Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park joins the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, at the unveiling of a statue of Feathers McGraw at Animate in Preston (Peter Byrne/PA)

Feathers McGraw appeared in the Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers and returned in a starring role in Vengeance Most Fowl, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day.

Long thought to be a chicken, Feathers was exposed as a penguin when Wallace and Gromit foiled his plan to rob a museum of a precious diamond.

Preston-born Park and the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, performed the ceremony on Thursday as part of the opening of Animate, the city’s new £45 million entertainment and leisure complex on the site of its former indoor market.

The silent criminal mastermind character stands outside Animate but ominously close to the existing Wallace and Gromit bronze statue bench at nearby Preston Markets, also opened by Park in September 2021.

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park speaks in Preston — Nick Park speaks following the unveiling of the statue (Peter Byrne/PA)

Park said: “As a proud Prestonian, I couldn’t be more ‘egg-cited’ to see our infamous Feathers McGraw joining Wallace and Gromit in my hometown.

“I’m not sure how happy Wallace and Gromit will be though to have their arch nemesis clutching the limelight and a little too close for comfort.”

Animate features The Arc Cinema with eight screens and the 16-lane Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, along with various food outlets.

Councillor Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said: “To have Nick Park officially opening our flagship regeneration scheme, Animate, is a genuine honour and landmark moment for the council and the city.

“In addition, the new Feathers McGraw statue is a fantastic complement to the Wallace and Gromit bench which has drawn so many visitors to Preston, its popularity has blown us away.”

Nick Park sits on the Wallace and Gromit bench statue — Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit, at the September 2021 unveiling of the bronze Wallace and Gromit bench sculpture at Preston Markets (Danny Lawson/PA)

Vengeance Most Fowl has been nominated in the best animated feature film category at the forthcoming Academy Awards.

Park’s Aardman animation studio has previously won four Oscars over the years.

The first win came for the 1989 stop-motion comedy Creature Comforts, while the second film starring Wallace and Gromit, The Wrong Trousers, picked up the best animated short film Oscar in 1994.

Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave won the same award in 1996, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit won best animated feature in 2005.