The Genuine Aardicle
(continued from page 1)
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With
a four picture deal already signed,Chicken Run is only
the beginning of the Aardman/DreamWorks relationship. TM &
© 1998 DreamWorks LLC.
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The next feature in the Aardman pipeline
is an adaptation of the Aesop fable, The Tortoise and the Hare,
to be directed by Richard Golezsowski, creator of Rex the Runt.
Other projects in development include a Wallace and Gromit feature,
but the characters may make it to TV or into another short first,
says Michael Rose, executive producer of the features and head of
film and TV production at Aardman, who says the goal is to release
a feature every two years or so.
With all of this feature film activity, one might assume that the
whole company has shifted its focus in that direction. But Aardman
is not only continuing to work in other areas, it is expanding.
Television
Aardman has plenty going on in television, the area where the company
first started in the 1970s with The Amazing Adventures of Morph
for BBC. The studio is currently in pre-production on new episodes
of the continuing series Rex the Runt, which will be delivered
to BBC in early 2001 and is being available to international broadcasters
through Aardman. Also in production is Angry Kid, a 26-episode
batch of one-minute shorts directed by Darren Walsh, using a technique
(pixilation of actors wearing animated masks) he developed for the
1997 short film Owzat. There are several more projects on
the development slate at Aardman, including Rabbits, a kids
show directed by Sam Fell, and based on a pilot presented at the
Cartoon Forum. It will be available for worldwide broadcast in fall
2001.
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Fans
can discover all the information they need about Aardman on
their new Web site, The Aardman Observer. © AtomFilms.
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Shorts
Over the years, Aardman has produced over two dozen short films,
a practice which has spawned many properties that have gone on to
other areas. "Shorts are terribly important for us for developing
new ideas, new talent and new techniques," says Rose. To fully
exploit this library of shorts, Aardman has joined forces with AtomFilms,
which is distributing the entire catalog of Aardman shorts on-line
and through traditional media sales such as TV and airlines. In
January, AtomFilms launched The Aardman Observer, a unique "3D
newspaper" Web environment that showcases Aardman's classics
such as Creature Comforts, Adam and Rex the Runt
as well as more recent films like Humdrum.
Liz Keynes, Head of Rights and Licensing at Aardman says, "The
work we are doing with AtomFilms is as much a chronicle of our output
over the last 20 years as it is a marketing tool. The Internet is
the only medium which allows audiences the flexibility to trace
the development of our film-making techniques in this way, as well
as providing the most personal and interactive viewing experience
for our films."
