Last Friday, UK’s The Telegraph reported that Aardman Animations is currently experiencing a clay shortage after their clay supplier closed down earlier this year. The stop-motion studio reportedly only have enough animation clay for one more movie. This news left some people concerned over the possibility that the animation studio behind Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep may shutdown.
However, Aardman took to social media to address the said reports by immediately denying that the studio has a clay shortage. The animation company reassured fans that they have “high levels of existing stocks of modelling clay” for their ongoing projects and currently have a plan in place to ensure that they would never run out of new clay stocks.
“We are touched about the recent concern over the future of our beloved clay creations, but wanted to reassure fans that there is absolutely no need to worry,” Aarman wrote. “We have high levels of existing stocks of modelling clay to service current and future productions and, much like Wallace in his workshop, we have been tinkering away behind the scenes for quite some time with plans in place to ensure a smooth transition to new stocks to continue to make our iconic productions.”
Aardman’s Continued Partnership with Netflix
At the moment, Aardman Animations currently has two projects lined-up for Netflix. This includes: the upcoming comedy sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which arrives on December 15 on Netflix, and the highly-anticipated Wallace and Gromit movie which was first announced in January 2022. The latter is currently slated for a 2024 release.
Described as a comedy action-adventure with a moving family story at its heart, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will feature the voices of Thandiwe Newton as Ginger, Zachary Levi as Rocky, Bella Ramsey as Molly, Jane Horrocks as Babs, Imelda Staunton as Bunty, Lynn Ferguson as Mac, Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Tweedy, and more. It is directed by Sam Fell (Flushed Away, ParaNorman) from a screenplay written by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard.
The untitled Wallace and Gromit movie hails from creator Nick Park, who is once again directing alongside Aardman’s Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit, Merlin Crossingham. According to the synopsis, “Gromit’s concern that Wallace has become over-dependant on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart gnome” that seems to develop a mind of its own…As events spiral out of control, it falls to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces – or Wallace may never be able to invent again!”
