Background[]
Aardman Animations, Ltd. (also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as 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), which was the very first thing Aardman worked on. Aardman is well-known for its animated shorts made using stop-motion animation and claymation, particularly those featuring plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit. It has also experimented with computer 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 top-grossing film as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film. In 1999, Aardman made a co-financial and distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation and produced Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and 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 Arthur Christmas (the studio's first full CGI animated film) and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (known in the US and internationally as The Pirates! Band of Misfits) with Sony. The deal ended in 2012 with the disappointing performance of the latter film. In 2015, Aardman bought a majority share in New York-based animation studio Nathan Love. Aardman had a brief distribution deal with Lionsgate to release films in the US, starting with The 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 films globally, starting with Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie in late 2019
Logos[]
1st logo (1989-1999)[]
On a sunny sky blue background, we see the top of a clay green planet with a river running through it, trees, etc. The planet turns right and a red/yellow polkadot bowtie shaped butterfly places itself on a patch of blue and white, which appears to be a suit. As this is happening, the letters
A
A
R
D
M
A
N
in various shapes, arrange and form themselves to the right so they are in separate wooden boxes which form in the same time. A brown pillar, a staircase, A wooden pillar with a yellow and black zigzag plank, and two pieces of wood also arrange and form themselves as a picture frame. A smiling clay face drops from behind the top part of the frame to the suit where we can't see the eyes. Then four clouds drop into place in the sky, as Aardman Animations
presents
(in white)
fades in below. All of this takes place inside a small white box against a black background.
Variants[]
- Sometimes, a still version of this logo exists with different text and a copyright notice below.
- On Not Without My Handbag and The Wrong Trousers, the logo is shown to be altered: the smile is different, the number of red pots on the bowtie is slightly reduced and the last "A" in the vertical stacked "AARDMAN" is in a different style.
- A print version exists on the end card of Rex the Runt: it has the font from the next logo and it seems to be the face speaking through a megaphone with stars (with the one from the next logo) shooting out of it.
- There is an alternate version of this logo shown on the VHS Aardman Animations Vol. 1. The box, instead of the normal animation, shows a time-lapse video of a man in a set building the logo together. After a while, we zoom in to the logo and the finished result is the altered variant, and "Aardman Animations presents" is in an different font.
- At the end of the VHS Aardman Animations Vol. 1, the normal logo plays, but the text says "Coming Soon: Aardman Animations Vol II", in a different font.
2nd logo (1998-2000's)[]
On a light cerulean-blue background with three matching gears, we slowly zoom toward a blue square with a red star (with gears inside) on it. It has little arms, legs, and a head, and is running on a green gear-like object that has some of the letters of "Aardman" printed on it in red and green and some letters in red are spinning around in different directions on black sticks by teal and green gears. Surrounding the square are clouds, hands, cars, trees, anthropomorphic planes, houses, buildings, and people rotating around on different colored gears. A human hand then reaches out from the right, grabs the square, and presses its head like a stopwatch, freezing the scenery. "Aardman" is formed below.
Variant[]
On Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit, a short version was used.
3rd logo (2000-)[]
On a black background, we see the word "Aardman" (similar to the previous logo, but in a grungy font), with a star drawn in the same style shown on the top left. Sometimes, below the logo is a copyright notice.
Variants[]
- On Aardman-produced TV shows since 2003, the logo is a brighter shade of red and is a still image.
- On Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions, a white background is used.
- On Shaun the Sheep, this logo is shown at the top, with the CBBC logo (a green egg shape with a big purple C on it and the BBC logo below in white) in the center. Copyright info is shown below. Later episodes have the logo in white.
- On Timmy Time and later episodes of Shaun the Sheep, the logo is in-credit.
- Sometimes, the star is slightly shifted further away from the word.
- At the end of the films, the logo is completely still.
- On Flushed Away, the logo appears one-by-one.
- A filmed variant was spotted on a Russian print of Flushed Away.
4th logo (2011-2022)[]
On a black background, we see the Aardman logo peeling up out of the blackness, while a printed reflection is seen at an angle below. When the logo fully appears, the reflection fades out, leaving just the logo.
5th logo (2022-present)[]
TBA
Variants[]
- There is a cinematic variant, where the print blocks of "Aardman" are placed in the machine. A pair of tweezers puts the star print block in its matching slot. Then we zoom out and pan as the machine starts up and we see on the other side that "Aardman" and the star is printed on the conveyor belt. This was initially exclusive to online before making it's debut onEarly Man. The regular version described above is a shorter version.
- On Shaun the Sheep Movie, there's a custom variant of the logo. On a gray background, we see the sheep from the TV series the movie, based off of huddled around, before moving to reveal the letters of "Aardman", printed on their bodies. They accidentally form "Amadran", and 2 of the sheep move around to form "Aardman". A tiny staircase is pushed into the picture, and Timmy (a character from Shaun the Sheep)climbs onto it while wearing a red star.
6th Logo
TBA
Music/Sounds[]
1st logo[]
Two ominous violin notes, followed by a 3-note flute tune, a musical "thud" as the head falls into place, and two more short bass violin notes as the clouds fall into place and bounce. At the beginning water can be heard.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- A slightly lower pitched version was found when Cartoon Network aired The Wrong Trousers on April 21, 2012 and on later North American prints of A Close Shave (due to the PAL-to-NTSC conversion).
- On the Aardman Animations Vol. 1 variant, we hear an eerie tune with several synth toms, crash-like sound effects and a harp-like noise when the logo zooms in.
- At the end of A Close Shave, we hear sheep bleating over the logo.
- At the end of The Wrong Trousers, we hear the final note of the closing theme.
2nd logo[]
A sly jazz tune with ticking that stops when the logo does.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On the Pathé print of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the opening theme of the movie is heard.
- On Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions on Disc 2 (Cracking Extras) of the 2 disc edition of the DVD of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the logo is low pitched. This can only be seen when you press "Play All".
3rd logo[]
Just the ending music of the show or the film.
4th logo[]
A quiet grinding noise plays as the logo slides in, then silence, or the opening music of the film.
5th logo[]
TBA
6th Logo
TBA
Scare Factor[]
1st logo[]
None to low, due to the music and clay face. This has scared a fair amount of young British people, though it's unlikely to induce nightmares. The print variant might raise the scare factor a little because it looks strange.
2nd logo[]
None, unless the hand pressing the button and sudden stop gets you.
3rd logo[]
None.
4th logo[]
Low. The weird sound and silence at the end may scare a few.
5th logo[]
TBA
6th Logo
TBA
Videos[]
