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Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British
animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...
based in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and
clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...
techniques, particularly those featuring its
plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product category ...
characters
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
,
Shaun the Sheep ''Shaun the Sheep'' is a British stop-motion television series and a spin-off of the '' Wallace and Gromit'' franchise. The title character is Shaun (previously featured as the sheep named "Shaun" in the 1995 short film '' A Close Shave'' and t ...
, and Morph. After some experimental computer-animated short films during the late 1990s, beginning with ''
Owzat ''Owzat'' is a 1997 CGI short film created by Aardman Animations. Plot IMDb explains: "It's Ghosts vs. Skeletons one night in a churchyard cricket match. At the outset, it appears that the Ghosts' bowler will best all of the Skeleton's batsmen. ...
'' (1997), Aardman entered the computer animation market with ''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...
'' (2006). As of February 2020, it had earned $1.1 billion worldwide, with an average $134.7 million per film. Aardman's films have been consistently very well received, and their stop-motion films are among the highest-grossing produced, with their 2000 debut, ''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...
'', being their top-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time.


History


1972–1996

Aardman was founded in 1972 as a low-budget project by
Peter Lord Peter Lord CBE (born 1953) is an English animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring p ...
and
David Sproxton David Sproxton, (born 6 January 1954) is a British entrepreneur, best known as one of the co-founders, with Peter Lord, of the Aardman Animations studio. Sproxton was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 17 June 20 ...
, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture. The partnership provided animated sequences for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series for deaf children ''
Vision On ''Vision On'' was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for children with hearing impairment. Concept and production ''Vision On'' was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ur ...
''. The company name originates from the name of their nerdish Superman character in that sequence. The process of using clay animation to produce a segment called "Greeblies" (1975) became the inspiration for creating Morph, a simple clay character. Around the same time, Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shorts ''Down and Out'' and ''Confessions of a Foyer Girl'', entries in the BBC's ''
Animated Conversations Animated Conversations is a series of short animated films by Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio ba ...
'' series using real-life conversations as soundtracks. Aardman also created the title sequence for ''
The Great Egg Race ''The Great Egg Race'' was a BBC television series, that ran from 1979 to 1986 broadcast on BBC 2. Twenty-two episodes were produced and presented by six presenters over the life of the show. Programme ''The Great Egg Race'' was a BBC televisi ...
'' and supplied animation for the multiple award-winning music video of Peter Gabriel's song " Sledgehammer". They produced the music video for the song " My Baby Just Cares For Me" by
Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...
in 1987. Also in the 1980s, they created the trombone-playing character "Douglas" in a television commercial for
Lurpak Lurpak is a Danish brand of butter owned by Arla Foods. It is sold in over 75 countries worldwide, and is known for its distinctive silver packaging. Lurpak came into existence in October 1901 after a combination of several Danish dairy farmers d ...
butter. Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, including the ''
Conversation Pieces Conversation Pieces is a reworking of the Animated Conversations concept. It consists of a series of five shorts which aired on Channel Four between 1982 and 1983. Each of the 5 shorts were five minutes long. As AllAboutAardman explains, "in the ...
'' series. These five shorts worked in the same area as the ''
Animated Conversations Animated Conversations is a series of short animated films by Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio ba ...
'' pieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the ''Lip Synch'' series. Of the five ''Lip Synch'' shorts, two were directed by Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one by
Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...
. In 1991, Park's short, ''
Creature Comforts ''Creature Comforts'' is a British adult stop-motion comedy mockumentary franchise originating in a 1989 British humorous animated short film of the same name. The film matched animated zoo animals with a soundtrack of people talking about th ...
'', was the first Aardman production to win an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. Park also developed the clay modelled shorts featuring the adventures of
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
, a comical pair of friends: Wallace being a naive English inventor with a love of cheese, and Gromit his best friend, the intelligent but silent dog. These films include '' A Grand Day Out'' (1989), '' The Wrong Trousers'' (1993) and ''
A Close Shave ''Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave'' is a 1995 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC Bristol and BBC Children's International. It is ...
'' (1995), the latter two winning
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
.


1997–2007

In December 1997, Aardman and DreamWorks (later DreamWorks Animation) announced that their companies were teaming up to co-finance and distribute ''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...
'', Aardman's first feature film, which had already been in pre-production for a year. On 27 October 1999, Aardman and DreamWorks signed a $250 million deal to make an additional four films that were estimated to be completed during the next 12 years. Along with the deal their first project was announced, titled ''
The Tortoise and the Hare "The Tortoise and the Hare" is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 226 in the Perry Index. The account of a race between unequal partners has attracted conflicting interpretations. The fable itself is a variant of a common folktale theme in w ...
''. Intended to be based on
Aesop Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales c ...
's fable and directed by Richard Goleszowski, it was paused two years later because of the script problems. On 23 June 2000, ''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...
'' was released to a great critical and financial success. In 2005, after ten years of absence,
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
returned in
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning '' The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. The following year ''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...
'', Aardman's first computer-animated feature, was released. On 1 October 2006, right before the release of ''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that due to creative differences DreamWorks Animation and Aardman would not be extending their contract. The deal was officially terminated on 30 January 2007. According to an Aardman spokesperson: "The business model of DreamWorks no longer suits Aardman and vice versa. But the split couldn't have been more amicable." Unofficial reasons for departure were weak performances of the last two movies, for which DreamWorks had to take writedowns, and citing the article, "Aardman executives chafed at the creative control DreamWorks tried to exert, particularly with ''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...
''..." The studio had another film in development, ''Crood Awakening'' (eventually ''
The Croods ''The Croods'' is a 2013 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and stars the voices of Nicol ...
''), which had been announced in 2005, with John Cleese co-writing the screenplay. With the end of the partnership, the film's rights reverted to DreamWorks. On 10 October 2005, a serious fire at a storage facility used by Aardman and other Bristol-based companies destroyed over 30 years of
prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
s, models, and scenery often built by the Bristol-based Cod Steaks. This warehouse was used for storage of past projects and so did not prevent the production of their current projects at the time. In addition, the company's library of finished films was stored elsewhere and was undamaged. An electrical fault was determined to be the cause of the blaze. Referring to the 2004 South Asia earthquake and tsunami, Park was quoted as saying, "Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal." From 2006 to 2007, the
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...
in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, had an exhibit featuring the works of Aardman Studios. Sproxton and Lord visited the exhibit in May 2006 and met with animator
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
during the visit. Miyazaki has long been a fan of Aardman Animations' works.


2007–present

In April 2007, Aardman signed and in 2010 renewed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures to finance, co-produce, and distribute feature films. The next year, Aardman released a new ''Wallace and Gromit'' short film, called '' A Matter of Loaf and Death''. The first film made in partnership with Sony was the computer-animated ''
Arthur Christmas ''Arthur Christmas'' is a 2011 computer-animated Christmas science fantasy comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and co-directed by Barry Cook. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and As ...
'' (2011), which is Aardman's first 3D feature film. 2012 saw the release of '' The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!'' (known internationally as ''The Pirates! Band of Misfits''), Aardman's first 3D stop-motion film and Peter Lord's first film as a director since ''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...
''. Two additional films were announced in June 2007: ''The Cat Burglars'', a stop-motion animated heist comedy film directed by Steve Box, about cat burglars that steal milk, and their plans to pull off 'the great milk float robbery'; and an untitled
Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...
project (which would later become '' Early Man''). The studio is also known to provide generous resources and training to young animators by providing awards at various animation festivals. For example, The Aardman Award at the UK's Animex Festival in Teesside provides story consultation to a promising young animator for their next film. In 2008, Aardman joined with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and Lupus Films to launch a
user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...
animation portal called
4mations 4mations was a website where users can upload, view, and share animated films and games. The site was founded in 2008 by the Channel Four Television Corporation, sponsored by Aardman Animations and Lupus Films. As the site is targeted to adult ...
. They also designed the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
Christmas Idents for that year, which featured Wallace and Gromit to tie in with the showing of the new Wallace and Gromit film called '' A Matter of Loaf and Death'' on Christmas Day at 8:30pm. In April 2008, Aardman launched the Aardman
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel, which is a YouTube Partner channel featuring the entire ''
Creature Comforts ''Creature Comforts'' is a British adult stop-motion comedy mockumentary franchise originating in a 1989 British humorous animated short film of the same name. The film matched animated zoo animals with a soundtrack of people talking about th ...
'' TV series, the Morph series, ''
Cracking Contraptions ''Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions'' is a British series of ten Wallace and Gromit stop-motion animations varying in length from 1 to 3 minutes. Each episode features one of Wallace's new inventions and Gromit's skeptical reaction to it. ...
'' and clips from the
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
films. From December 2008, Aardman also started posting various
flash games A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on ...
on
Newgrounds Newgrounds is an entertainment website and company founded by Tom Fulp in 1995. It hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and offices in Glenside, Pennsylvania. ...
, the majority of which are based on ''
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
'' and ''
Shaun the Sheep ''Shaun the Sheep'' is a British stop-motion television series and a spin-off of the '' Wallace and Gromit'' franchise. The title character is Shaun (previously featured as the sheep named "Shaun" in the 1995 short film '' A Close Shave'' and t ...
''. In 2009, Nintendo announced that Aardman would make twelve short films using only
Flipnote Studio ''Flipnote Studio'', originally released in Japan as , was a free downloadable application available through the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare digital distribution service. Developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, ''Flipnote Studio'' allowed the user to create ...
. The films were posted on Flipnote's Hatena web service provider. The first film was called ''The Sandwich Twins'' and was released on 16 September 2009. The remaining eleven films were released on a weekly basis until Christmas, and can also be downloaded using Hatena. In the same year, the headquarters of the studio moved into a new building, designed by Alec French architects, in Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, although work needing large-scale sets is still carried out in sheds in Aztec West and Bedminster. In April 2009, Aardman Animations edited the existing
Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...
identity by
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...
to make the inflatable eyeball (called "Blinky") in the idents blink. In October 2013,
Peter Lord Peter Lord CBE (born 1953) is an English animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring p ...
(co-founder of Aardman Animations) created a fundraising project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The campaign has a target of £75,000 which will be used to fund 12 new one-minute episodes of Morph. Lord was hoping to start production in January 2014 using the original stop-frame animation. Backers of the project will receive a variety of rewards, including early access to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's level of funding. In 2015, the studio bought a majority share in New York-based animation studio Nathan Love, announcing the merger with a short film called ''Introducing: Aardman Nathan Love'' on 25 September of the same year of that being that the British stop-motion animated series ''
Digby Dragon ''Digby Dragon'' is a British preschool stop motion animated television series created by Sally Hunter, which aired from 4 July 2016 to 29 July 2019. It is produced in the UK by Blue Zoo Productions for Nick Jr. Premise Digby is an anthro ...
'' debuted on Nick Jr. UK in 2016. In advance of Aardman's fortieth anniversary, BBC One aired the one-hour television documentary ''A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman'', first broadcast in December 2015. Narrated by
Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...
, this career retrospective includes commentary by the company's founders and staff, as well as various friends, fans and colleagues including
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
,
John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...
, and
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
. From 29 June 2017 to 29 October 2017, an exhibition entitled "Wallace and Gromit and Friends" was shown at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. A report on this exhibition was shown on Australian ''
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
Breakfast'' on Wednesday, 28 June, featuring an 8-minute interview with producers
Peter Lord Peter Lord CBE (born 1953) is an English animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring p ...
and
David Sproxton David Sproxton, (born 6 January 1954) is a British entrepreneur, best known as one of the co-founders, with Peter Lord, of the Aardman Animations studio. Sproxton was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 17 June 20 ...
. The exhibition revealed that in Nick Park's very early sketches, Gromit was originally a cat, but Park soon changed him into a dog, since it was generally agreed that a dog was clearly more suitable as a loyal pet/companion than a cat and also because a dog would be easier to make and animate in Plasticine. Embedded in the ABC News article is a video interview with Lord and Sproxton, which gives information not only on Wallace and Gromit, but also Shaun the Sheep and others. On 9 November 2018, Aardman Animations announced that Peter Lord and David Sproxton would be transferring majority ownership of the company to its employees in order to keep the studio independent. In January 2019, Lord and Sproxton released a book detailing the history of the studio, called ''A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey, One Frame at a Time.'' In December 2020,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
announced an Aardman Christmas musical special entitled '' Robin Robin''. The 30-minute short, starring Bronte Carmichael, Richard E. Grant,
Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...
and
Adeel Akhtar Adeel Akhtar (born 18 September 1980) is a British actor. In 2017, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Murdered by My Father''. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role o ...
, was released on the platform on November 24, 2021. On 20 January 2022, Netflix announced a sequel to ''Chicken Run'' entitled ''Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget''. The film, starring
Thandiwe Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...
and
Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for starring as Chuck Bartowski in the series '' Chuck'', and as the title character in '' Shazam!'' and its 2023 sequel, as a part of the DC Ex ...
, is slated to premiere on the platform in 2023. A new, untitled ''Wallace and Gromit'' film was also confirmed to be 'in the works', and is currently slated for a 2024 release.


Company name

The company name is taken from one of its early characters, a superhero created for ''
Vision On ''Vision On'' was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for children with hearing impairment. Concept and production ''Vision On'' was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ur ...
'' in 1972. Unlike the claymation productions that the company are famous for, Aardman was cel-animated. Peter Lord has stated that the most interesting thing about the company name is that it "means nothing" and is only a joke that two teenagers found funny. He has stated that the name came from a combination of "Aardvark" and "Superman" for the reason that they found ''aardvark'' to be a particularly funny word. Aardman Animations became their company name when the BBC asked them to whom they should make their first cheque out. Co-founder David Sproxton has claimed that the name was a result of being unable to "find another word with more A's in it than 'aardvark as a schoolboy.


Non-Aardman productions by Aardman directors

A number of Aardman directors have worked at other studios, taking the distinctive Aardman style with them. Aardman's Steve Box directed the animated music video for the Spice Girls' final single as a five-piece, "
Viva Forever "Viva Forever" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, '' Spiceworld'' (1997). The song was co-written by the group with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, while production was handled by the latter two ...
". The video took over five months to produce, considerably longer than the group's box office hit movie, '' Spice World''. He is also the co-creator of the Finnish-British animated series Moominvalley, based on the
Moomins The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finns, Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish language, Swedish by Schildts in Finland. The ...
books. Barry Purves, director of the Aardman short ''Next'', also directed ''Hamilton Mattress'' for Harvest Films. The film, a half-hour special that premiered on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
2001, was produced by Chris Moll, producer of the ''
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...
''
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
'' The Wrong Trousers''. The models were provided by Mackinnon & Saunders, a firm that did the same for ''
Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
'' and ''
Corpse Bride ''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based o ...
''. Similarly, '' Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire'', a BBC Bristol/Comic Relief production, was directed by Richard Goleszowski, creator of ''
Rex the Runt ''Rex the Runt'' is a British live-action stop-motion animated claymation pixilation adult comedy series, primarily consisting of a television show and two short films produced by Aardman Animations for BBC Bristol in association with EVA Ente ...
''. Its sequel, '' Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe'', was directed by Peter Peake, whose directorial credits for Aardman include '' Pib and Pog'' and ''
Humdrum ''Humdrum'' is a 1998 British animated comedy short film directed by Peter Peake. It was released in 1998 and produced by Aardman Animations and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film and a BAFTA nomination in the sam ...
''. Aardman alumni also produced many of the claymation shorts used in the 1986–1990 American television series ''
Pee-wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...
''.


Films

Aardman Animation has produced a number of animated features, shorts, videos and TV series, as well as adverts. Their major feature films are: #''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...
'' (2000) #'' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005) #''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...
'' (2006) #''
Arthur Christmas ''Arthur Christmas'' is a 2011 computer-animated Christmas science fantasy comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and co-directed by Barry Cook. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and As ...
'' (2011) #'' The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!'' (2012) #''
Shaun the Sheep Movie ''Shaun the Sheep Movie'' is a 2015 stop-motion animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 British television series ''Shaun the Sheep'', created by Nick Park, in turn a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' film, ''A Close Shave'' (1995) ...
'' (2015) #'' Early Man'' (2018) #'' A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon'' (2019) #'' Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget'' (2023)


Franchises


Video games


Awards and nominations

The works of Aardman have received numerous awards and nominations, the major awards won include the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and
BAFTA Award for Best British Film The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, first recognising the ...
for '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''.


Books

*
Tristan Davies Tristan Davies is a British newspaper executive and former newspaper editor. Davies was educated at Douai School in Woolhampton. He studied at the University of Bristol, then trained in radio journalism, but took employment for a London newspaper ...
,
Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...
,
Nick Newman Nick Newman (born 17 July 1958) is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter. Early life The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on ...
(1997); ''Wallace & Gromit and the Lost Slipper''. Adler's Foreign Books. *
Peter Lord Peter Lord CBE (born 1953) is an English animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring p ...
; Brian Sibley (1998). ''Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation''. Thames & Hudson Ltd. *
Tristan Davies Tristan Davies is a British newspaper executive and former newspaper editor. Davies was educated at Douai School in Woolhampton. He studied at the University of Bristol, then trained in radio journalism, but took employment for a London newspaper ...
;
Nick Newman Nick Newman (born 17 July 1958) is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter. Early life The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on ...
(1998). ''Wallace & Gromit in Anoraknophobia''. Adler's Foreign Books. *
Tristan Davies Tristan Davies is a British newspaper executive and former newspaper editor. Davies was educated at Douai School in Woolhampton. He studied at the University of Bristol, then trained in radio journalism, but took employment for a London newspaper ...
;
Nick Newman Nick Newman (born 17 July 1958) is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter. Early life The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on ...
(1999). ''Wallace & Gromit: Crackers in Space''. Hodder & Stoughton. *
Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fin ...
(2003). ''Creating Creature Comforts''. Boxtree Ltd. *
Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fin ...
(2004). ''The World of Wallace & Gromit''. Boxtree Ltd. *
Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fin ...
; Paul Simpson (2005). ''The Art of Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. Titan Books Ltd.


See also

*
Lists of animated feature films These lists of animated feature films compiles animated feature films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well as ...
*
List of stop motion films This is a list of films that showcase stop motion animation, and is divided into four sections: animated features, TV series, live-action features, and animated shorts. This list includes films that are not exclusively stop motion. Stop motion ...
* DreamWorks Animation *
Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...
* Gromit Unleashed


References


External links

*
Aardman Animations
at
Newgrounds Newgrounds is an entertainment website and company founded by Tom Fulp in 1995. It hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and offices in Glenside, Pennsylvania. ...
{{Authority control 1972 establishments in England British companies established in 1972 Companies based in Bristol Employee-owned companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1972 Television production companies of the United Kingdom Film production companies of the United Kingdom Peabody Award winners British animation studios