Aardman Logo History (#87)
Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios or simply Aardman) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, which was founded in 1972. The studio's name is taken from Aardman, one of the characters they created for Vision On (a show for deaf children), the company's first project.
Aardman is well-known for its animated shorts made using stop-motion animation and claymation, particularly those featuring a duo of claymation characters, known as Wallace & Gromit. It has also experimented with CGI animation during the late 1990s, including the short film Owzat. Almost all of Aardman's stop-motion films were well-received critically and commercially, with their first feature film, Chicken Run, being their highest-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film.
In 1999, Aardman made a co-financial and distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures and produced their first film, the aforementioned Chicken Run, followed up by Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and their last film, Flushed Away. However, the contract was not extended beyond the latter film, mainly due to creative differences between the two studios.
Aardman struck a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment afterwards (which was renewed in 2010) and produced two films with Sony Pictures Animation: their first fully CGI film Arthur Christmas, and the stop-motion film The Pirates! In an Adventure with the Scientists!. The deal ended in 2012 with the disappointing performance of the latter film.
In 2015, Aardman bought a majority share in Nathan Love, a New York-based animation studio. Aardman had a brief distribution deal with Lionsgate to release films in the US, starting with Shaun the Sheep Movie in 2015, but ended with the disappointing performance of Early Man in early 2018. In 2019, Aardman partnered with Netflix, which has been distributing their content globally, starting with their first Netflix original film, Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie, in late 2019.