Aardman Animations Faces Clay Crisis Without Supplier, Closed Since March

The studio is known for stop-motion and claymation works Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and the Chicken Run movies

Brexit was most certainly a mistake. Aardman Animations, the beloved and renowned stop motion animation studio is about to run out of clay.

Ever since the studio was founded in 1972 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, Aardman has used Lewis Newplast, a specific kind of plasticine-like modeling material named after its creator, a family of Chiselhurst art teachers who made it in their shed. It was the absolute perfect fit for the work: easy to mold and keeps its shape under hot studio lights. It was nylon-reinforced air-drying clay that did not require either the long hours or complication of firing and glazing. But the only factory that made it, Newclay Products located outside of Torquay, closed down in March. The studio bought up the remaining stock from the warehouse, but it’s only two years’ worth. According to company co-head Valerie Dearing it came to about 40 boxes, which she estimates to have been around 400 kg. That would be enough for one more project: a new Wallace and Gromit film coming next year. But that’s it, unless a suitable replacement can be found… or invented. And someone they can get it from.

While things might seem desperate, a visit during production on Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which will release on December 8 in limited release before its Netflix release the following Friday, seemed business as usual. In addition to the Wallace & Gromit productions and Chicken Run films, Aardman is also behind the Shaun the Sheep franchise spawned, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas, The Pirates, and Early Man.

But still, Dearing and her husband Paul’s decision to retire and close their firm sent shockwaves through the clay modeling world which had grown reliant on the clay. What’s even worse is that according to Paul, despite 16 years of success and thriving, they couldn’t find buyers so they sold everything off instead. “It’s always given us both tremendous satisfaction that Aardman used our product. They thought it was the best material of its type in the world.” He added, “It’s a great legacy to be part of, to look back and think that all those wonderful characters they created were made with our clay and that our company was such a key part of the artistic process. We’re very proud of it, although we didn’t always get the credit because, as a supplier, we were so behind the scenes.”

Source: Telegraph