 Logo used since 2022 | |
 Aardman Animations' headquarters in Bristol | |
| Formerly | |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Gas Ferry Road,, England |
Number of locations | 5 |
Key people | |
| Divisions |
|
| Website | aardman |
Aardman Animations Limited, known simply asAardman, is a Britishanimation studio based inBristol,England,United Kingdom. It is known for films and television series made usingstop-motion andclay animation techniques, particularly those featuring itsplasticine characters fromWallace & Gromit,Chicken Run,Shaun the Sheep, andMorph. After some experimental computer-animated short films during the late 1990s, beginning withOwzat (1997), Aardman entered thecomputer animation market withFlushed Away (2006). As of February 2020, it had earned $1.1 billion worldwide, with an average $135.6 million per film.[2] Between 2000 and 2006, Aardman collaborated withDreamWorks Animation.
Aardman's films have been consistently well-received. Their stop-motion films are among the highest-grossing produced, with their 2000 debut,Chicken Run, being their top-grossing film,[3] as well as thehighest-grossing stop-motion film of all time.[4] A sequel,Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, was released in 2023.[5]
Aardman was founded in 1972 as a low-budget project byPeter Lord andDavid Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture. The collaboration provided animated sequences for theBBC series for deaf childrenVision On. The company name originates from the name of their nerdy Superman character in that series.[7] The process of using clay animation to produce a segment called "Gleebees" (1975) became the inspiration for creatingMorph, a simple clay character. Around the same time, Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shortsDown and Out andConfessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the BBC'sAnimated Conversations series using real-life conversations as soundtracks.
Aardman also created the title sequence forThe Great Egg Race[8] and supplied animation for the multiple award-winning music video ofPeter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer".[9] They produced the music video for the song "My Baby Just Cares For Me" byNina Simone in 1987. Also in the 1980s, they created the trombone-playing character Douglas in a television commercial forLurpak butter.[10][11]
Later, Aardman produced several shorts forChannel 4, including theConversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as theAnimated Conversations 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 theLip Synch series. Of the fiveLip Synch shorts, two were directed by Lord, one byBarry Purves, one byRichard Goleszowski and one byNick Park.
In 1990, Park's short,Creature Comforts, was the first Aardman Animations film to win anAcademy Award. Park also developed the clay modelled shorts featuring the adventures ofWallace & Gromit, a comical pair of friends: Wallace being a naive English inventor with a love of cheese, and Gromit, his best friend, the intelligent, muted dog. These films includeA Grand Day Out (1989),The Wrong Trousers (1993) andA Close Shave (1995), the latter two winningAcademy Awards.[12][13]
In December 1997, Aardman,DreamWorks (now known asDreamWorks Animation) andPathé announced that their companies were collaborating to co-finance and distributeChicken Run, Aardman's first feature film, which had already been in pre-production for a year.[14] On 27 October 1999, Aardman and DreamWorks signed a $250 million[15] deal to make an additional four films that were estimated to be completed during the next 12 years.[16] Along with the deal their first project was announced, titledThe Tortoise and the Hare. Intended to be based onAesop's fable and directed byRichard Goleszowski,[17] it was paused two years later because of script problems.[18] On 23 June 2000,Chicken Run was released to a great critical and financial success. In 2005, after ten years of absence, Wallace and Gromit are back inAcademy Award-winningThe Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The following yearFlushed Away, Aardman's first computer-animated feature, was released.
On 10 October 2005, a serious fire at a storage facility used by Aardman and other Bristol-based companies destroyed over 30 years ofprops, models, and scenery often built by the Bristol-basedCod 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.[19] Referring to the2005 Kashmir earthquake, 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."[20][21][22]
On 1 October 2006, right before the release ofFlushed Away,The New York Times reported that due to creative differences,DreamWorks Animation and Aardman had decided to finish their agreement.[23] The deal was officially terminated on 30 January 2007.[24] 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."[24] Unofficial reasons for departure were weak performances of the last two movies, for which DreamWorks had to take writedowns,[24] and citing the article, "Aardman executives chafed at the creative control DreamWorks tried to exert, particularly withFlushed Away..."[23] The studio had another film in development,Crood Awakening (eventuallyThe Croods), which had been announced in 2005, withJohn Cleese co-writing the screenplay.[25] With the end of the partnership, the film's rights reverted to DreamWorks.[24]
From 2006 to 2007, theGhibli Museum inMitaka, Tokyo, Japan, had an exhibit featuring the works of Aardman Studios. Sproxton and Lord visited the exhibit in May 2006 and met with animatorHayao Miyazaki during the visit.[26] Miyazaki has long been a fan of Aardman Animations' works.[27]
In April 2007, Aardman signed[28] and in 2010 renewed[29] a three-year deal withSony Pictures to finance, co-produce and distribute feature films. The next year, Aardman released a newWallace and Gromit short film calledA Matter of Loaf and Death. The first film made in collaboration with Sony was the computer-animatedArthur Christmas (2011), Aardman's first3D feature film. 2012 saw the release ofThe Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (known internationally in America asThe Pirates! Band of Misfits), Aardman's first 3D stop-motion film and Lord's first film as a director sinceChicken Run. Two additional films were announced in June 2007:The Cat Burglars, a stop-motion animated heist comedy film directed bySteve Box, about cat burglars that steal milk and their plans to pull off 'the great milk float robbery'; and an untitledNick Park project (which would later becomeEarly Man).[30]
The studio is also known for providing generous resources and training to young animators, including awards at various animation festivals. For example, the Aardman Award at the UK'sAnimex Festival in Teesside provides story consultation to a promising young animator for their next film.[31]
In 2008, Aardman collaborated withChannel 4 and Lupus Films to launch auser-generated content animation portal called4mations.[32] They also designed theBBC One Christmas Idents for that year, which featured Wallace and Gromit to tie in with the showing of the new Wallace and Gromit film calledA Matter of Loaf and Death on Christmas Day at 8:30pm. In April 2008, Aardman launched the AardmanYouTube channel, which is a YouTube Partner channel featuring the entireCreature Comforts TV series, the Morph series,Cracking Contraptions and clips from the Wallace and Gromit films.[33] From December 2008, Aardman also started posting variousflash games onNewgrounds, the majority of which are based onWallace and Gromit andShaun the Sheep.[34]
In 2009,Nintendo announced that Aardman would make twelve short films using onlyFlipnote Studio. The films were posted on Flipnote'sHatena web service provider. The first film was calledThe 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.[35] 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 inAztec West andBedminster.[36] In April 2009, Aardman Animations edited the existingWatch identity byUKTV to make the inflatable eyeball (called "Blinky") in the idents blink.
In October 2013, Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) created a fundraising project on the crowdfunding siteKickstarter. The campaign has a target of £75,000 which would 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 would 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.[37][38]
In 2015, the studio bought a majority share in New York-based animation studio Nathan Love,[39] announcing the merger with a short film calledIntroducing: Aardman Nathan Love on 25 September of the same year[40] of that being that the British stop-motion animated seriesDigby Dragon debuted onNick Jr. UK in 2016.
In advance of Aardman's 40th anniversary, the BBC One channel aired the one-hour television documentaryA Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman, first broadcast in December 2015. Narrated byJulie Walters, this career retrospective includes commentary by the company's founders and staff, as well as various friends, fans and colleagues includingTerry Gilliam,John Lasseter, andMatt Groening.[41][42]
From 29 June 2017 to 29 October 2017, an exhibition entitled "Wallace & Gromit and Friends" was shown at theAustralian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) inMelbourne. A report on this exhibition was shown on AustralianABC News Breakfast on Wednesday, 28 June, featuring an eight-minute interview with producers Lord and Sproxton.[43] The exhibition revealed that in 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,[44] which gives information not only on Wallace and Gromit, but also Shaun the Sheep and others.
On 9 November 2018, Aardman Animations announced that Lord and Sproxton would be transferring majority ownership of the company to its employees in order to keep the studio independent.[45] In January 2019, Lord and Sproxton released a book detailing the history of the studio, calledA Grand Success! The Aardman Journey, One Frame at a Time.[46]
In December 2020,Netflix announced an Aardman Christmas musical special entitledRobin Robin.[47] The 30-minute short, starring Bronte Carmichael,Richard E. Grant,Gillian Anderson andAdeel Akhtar, was released on the platform on 24 November 2021.
On 9 August 2021, it was announced thatGurinder Chadha was directing a musical claymation feature set in India, telling the story of an elephant dreaming about becoming a dancer.[48][49]
On 30 November 2021, Aardman began producingThe Very Small Creatures forSky Kids andApple TV.[50][51]
On 20 January 2022, Netflix announced a sequel toChicken Run entitledChicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.[52][53] The film, starringThandiwe Newton andZachary Levi, premiered on the platform on 15 December 2023.[52][54] A newWallace and Gromit film was also confirmed to be 'in the works' for a 2024 release on the BBC in the UK and Netflix for the rest the world.[52][55] Also in 2022–2023, the 52 episode children's seriesLloyd of the Flies[56] aired onCITV.
Aardman is one of the nine studios involved withLucasfilm'sStar Wars: Visions Volume 2, contributing the film "I Am Your Mother".[57]
Newclay Products, the factory that made Lewis Newplast, themodelling clay used by Aardman, shut down in March 2023; Aardman purchased enough remaining clay to cover the 2024Wallace and Gromit film.[58]The Daily Telegraph initially reported that the studio may not be able to produce new films afterwards due to a lack of clay, but Aardman later released a statement clarifying that it would find a new supplier.[59][60]
On 1 March 2024, the company announced a number of changes. Emma Hardie was to take up the newly created role of Executive Commercial and Brand Director, and would be responsible for overseeing the financing, distribution, licensing, marketing, and planning of the studio's animated intellectual property. She took up the role, which includes a seat on Aardman's executive board, on April 15. Peter Lord was also stepping down from Aardman's executive board to focus on a slate of individual projects as the Creative Director and would act as an ambassador for the company and British animation. Among the announcements, Sarah Cox and Daniel Efergan were promoted to Chief Creative Director and Executive Creative Director of Interactive & Innovation, respectively.[61]
On 8 March 2024 Aardman and the BBC announced a new collaboration calledThings We Love, based on the studio'sCreature Comforts films, set to air throughout 2024. LikeCreature Comforts, the six, 30-second-long shorts feature animated animals matched to the audio of real, unscripted interviews.[62]
On 6 June 2024, Aardman announced the title of the newWallace and Gromit feature film asWallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.[63]
On 22 September 2024,Cartoon Network announced onTwitter that they had recruited Aardman to work on anOver the Garden Wall special alongside series creatorPatrick McHale to celebrate the miniseries' 10th anniversary, set for release on 3 November 2024.[64] On 21 October 2024, Aardman announced that they would team up withMattel Television Studios to produce a newPingu series.[65] Additionally, on 11 December that year, it was announced that Aardman would be collaborating withThe Pokémon Company for a project in 2027.[66][67]
On 7 May 2025, Aardman announced that they were developing a newShaun the Sheep feature film titledShaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, set for release in theaters and on theSky Cinema channel in 2026.[68]
The company name is taken from one of its early characters, a superhero created forVision On in 1972.[69] Unlike the claymation productions that the company are famous for, Aardman was cel-animated.[70] 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 foundaardvark 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.[71] 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.[72]
A number of Aardman directors have worked at other studios, taking the distinctive Aardman style with them.
Aardman'sSteve Box directed the animated music video for theSpice Girls' final single as a five-piece, "Viva Forever". 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 seriesMoominvalley, based on theMoomins books.
Barry Purves, director of the Aardman shortNext, also directedHamilton Mattress for Harvest Films. The film, a half-hour special that premiered onChristmas Day 2001, was produced by Chris Moll, producer of theWallace & Gromitshort filmThe Wrong Trousers. The models were provided by Mackinnon & Saunders, a firm that did the same forBob the Builder andCorpse Bride.
Similarly,Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire, a BBC Bristol/Comic Relief production, was directed byRichard Goleszowski, creator ofRex the Runt. Its sequel,Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe, was directed by Peter Peake, whose directorial credits for Aardman includePib and Pog andHumdrum.
Aardman alumni also produced many of the claymation shorts used in the 1986–1990 American television seriesPee-wee's Playhouse.[73][74]
Aardman Animations has produced a number of animated features, shorts, videos and TV series, as well as adverts. Their major feature films are:
| |
| Industry | Film |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Founder | Peter Lord Nick Park |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom  |
| Parent | Aardman Animations |
Aardman Features Limited[75] is a motion picture subsidiary of Aardman Animations. It has produced eleven films so far, three with DreamWorks Animation, two with Sony Pictures Animation, four with StudioCanal and two with Netflix.
| |
| Formerly | Aardman Nathan Love LLC (2007–2019) |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) |
| Founder | Joe Burrascano |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
| Parent | Aardman Animations |
| Website | nathanlove |
Nathan Love LLC (formerlyAardman Nathan Love LLC from 2007–2019)[76] is an American subsidiary of Aardman Animations. Joe Burrascano founded the company in 2007.
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Morph | 1977–present |
| Wallace & Gromit/Shaun the Sheep/Timmy Time | 1989–present |
| Chicken Run | 2000–present |
| Title | Release date | Platform(s) | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Run | 2000 | PlayStation,Dreamcast,Windows | Blitz Games | Eidos Interactive |
| Chicken Run[77] | 2000 | Game Boy Color | Blitz Games | THQ |
| Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo | 2003 | PlayStation 2,Xbox,GameCube,Windows | Frontier Developments | BAM! Entertainment |
| Rex the Runt: Lost Marbles | 2005 | Mobile Phone | AirPlay UK | Coyote Wireless |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | 2005 | PlayStation 2,Xbox,Mobile Phone | Frontier Developments | Konami |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit[78] | 2005 | Mobile Phone | Frontier Developments | Konami |
| Flushed Away | 2006 | PlayStation 2,GameCube | Monkey Bar Games | D3 Publisher |
| Flushed Away[79] | 2006 | Game Boy Advance | Altron | D3 Publisher |
| Flushed Away[79] | 2006 | DS | Art Co., Ltd | D3 Publisher |
| Shaun the Sheep | 2008 | DS | Art Co., Ltd | D3 Publisher |
| Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures | 2009 | Windows,Xbox 360,iOS | Telltale Games | Telltale Games |
| Shaun the Sheep: Off His Head | 2009 | DS | Art Co., Ltd | D3 Publisher |
| Home Sheep Home | 2011 | iOS,Flash | Aardman Digital (Browser), Virtual Programming (iOS port) | Aardman Animations (Browser) / Virtual Programming |
| Home Sheep Home 2 | 2011 | iOS,Flash | Aardman Digital (PC), Mobile Pie., Ltd (iOS port) | Aardman Animations (Browser) /Chillingo |
| Fleece Lightning | 2013 | Android,iOS | Aardman Interactive | Aardman Interactive |
| Shaun the Sheep: Llama League | 2015 | Android,iOS | Aardman Animations | Aardman Animations |
| Shaun the Sheep: Shear Speed | 2015 | Android,iOS | Aardman Animations | Aardman Animations |
| 11-11: Memories Retold | 2018 | Windows,PlayStation 4,Xbox One | DigixArt and Aardman Animations | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Shaun the Sheep: Home Sheep Home - Farmageddon Party Edition | 2019 | Windows,Switch | Aardman Animations | Aardman Animations |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up | 2021 | Android,iOS | Aardman Animations, Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, Sugar Creative | Fictioneers |
| Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway | 2023 | Meta Quest 3,Meta Quest Pro,Quest 2 | Aardman, Atlas V, No Ghost, Albyon, Reynard Films | Astrea |
The works of Aardman have received numerous awards and nominations, the major awards won include theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature andBAFTA Award for Best British Film forWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Impressively, Chicken Run is still the highest grossing stop motion animated movie of all time.
The show is nevertheless full of marvelous animated sequences, some by Peter Lord and Nick Park of Aardman Animation/"Wallace & Gromit" fame.
Goleszowski has been part of the Aardman family since joining the company in 1983. He stayed for nine years, working on projects including Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video and "Pee Wee's Playhouse" in New York before going freelance.
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