Honestly, if you grew up anywhere near a television in the last thirty years, the sight of a wide-mouthed clay inventor or a paranoid chicken is probably burned into your brain. But there’s a weird thing that happens when we talk about Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run. People tend to lump them together as just "those British clay movies," without realizing how much blood, sweat, and literal fingerprints go into making them.
We’re talking about a studio, Aardman Animations, that basically looked at the rise of CGI in the 90s and said, "Nah, we’re good with plasticine." It’s kind of wild. While Pixar was busy rendering millions of individual hairs for Sulley in Monsters, Inc., Nick Park and Peter Lord were in a warehouse in Bristol, moving a tiny clay wing a fraction of a millimeter, then taking a photo. Twenty-four times. For every single second of film.
It's a madness that works.
The Secret History of Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run
Most people think Wallace & Gromit was always this massive global franchise. It wasn't. It started as Nick Park’s graduation project, A Grand Day Out, which took six years to finish because he kept running out of time and money. When it finally came out in 1989, it actually lost the Oscar for Best Animated Short to another Aardman film, Creature Comforts. Imagine being so good you lose to yourself.
Then came Chicken Run in 2000. This was the big pivot. It was Aardman’s first full-length feature, and they pitched it to Steven Spielberg by basically saying, "It's The Great Escape, but with chickens."
Spielberg, who apparently owns 300 chickens (fun fact), loved it.
Why the "Thumbiness" Matters
You’ve probably noticed the little ridges and marks on the characters' skin—or clay, rather. Nick Park calls this "thumbiness." In a world where every big-budget movie looks like it was polished by a laser in a vacuum, those fingerprints are a deliberate choice. It reminds you that a human being sat there and touched that model.
- The Clay Problem: They used to use a specific brand called Lewis Newplast. In 2023, the factory that made it shut down. Aardman had to buy the last 400kg of stock just to keep going.
- The Speed: An animator is lucky to finish two seconds of footage in a full day of work.
- The Metal Skeleton: Underneath the clay, there’s an armature—a metal skeleton with joints that allow the puppets to hold their pose without wilting under the hot studio lights.
The Feathers McGraw Comeback (and Why it Matters)
If you haven't kept up with the news lately, 2024 and 2025 have been huge for the studio. We finally got the sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on Netflix, and then the big one: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Let’s be real for a second—bringing back Feathers McGraw was a risky move. He’s arguably the greatest silent villain in cinema history. How do you top a penguin who wears a rubber glove on his head to pretend he's a chicken? But the new film leans into this "Smart Home" paranoia, where Wallace’s new invention, a robotic gnome named Norbot, gets hacked by our favorite vengeful bird.
It hits on something very real. We're all becoming a bit too dependent on tech, and seeing Gromit—who doesn't say a word but has more emotional range in his eyebrows than most A-list actors—worry about Wallace’s "Smart Gnome" feels weirdly relatable in 2026.
The Voice Change Nobody Wanted but Everyone Accepted
One of the hardest things for fans was the passing of Peter Sallis, the original voice of Wallace. He was the soul of those "Cracking toast, Gromit!" lines. Ben Whitehead has taken over now, and honestly, he nails it. It’s a bit like when a new actor takes over Bond; you’re skeptical at first, but then they say the line about Wensleydale and you’re back in 1993.
What it Takes to Build a Chicken (Literally)
Making Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget wasn't just about sticking some feathers on a clay ball. The production used over 800 puppets.
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Think about that.
They had to build hundreds of identical Gingers and Rockys so they could film multiple scenes at once. If they only had one Ginger, the movie would have taken 40 years to film instead of four.
And then there's the set. For the original Chicken Run, they had to build massive miniature versions of the farm. In 2005, a fire destroyed a huge chunk of Aardman's archives, including many of the original models and the famous "Pie Machine." It was a devastating loss for film history, but it also forced them to reinvent how they build their worlds.
The newer films use a "hybrid" approach. The characters are still physical clay puppets, but the backgrounds might be enhanced with digital matte paintings or CGI crowds. It’s the only way to make a movie on this scale without everyone involved losing their minds.
Practical Steps for Animation Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into this world or maybe even try it yourself, here is how you can actually engage with the craft:
- Visit the Exhibition: If you’re in London, the Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends exhibition is running at the Young V&A through November 2025. You can actually see the puppets up close and see the scale of the sets.
- Try the Software: You don't need a million-dollar studio. Apps like Stop Motion Studio (available on phones) are exactly how a lot of modern animators start. Use a bit of Plasticine (or any non-drying clay) and a steady tripod.
- Watch the Shorts First: Don't just stick to the feature films. The real genius of Aardman is often found in the 30-minute shorts like The Wrong Trousers or A Matter of Loaf and Death. The pacing is tighter, and the jokes are often more "British" and dry.
- Look for the Details: Next time you watch, ignore the main action for a second. Look at the background labels on the food tins or the headlines on the newspapers Wallace is reading. The "pun density" is insane.
Aardman isn't just making cartoons; they're preserving a type of handmade storytelling that is becoming extinct. Whether it's a bunch of chickens trying to escape a nugget factory or a dog trying to save his master from a "Smart Gnome," the stakes always feel high because you can see the human touch in every frame. It’s imperfect, it’s wonky, and that’s exactly why it works.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
Check out the "Art of Aardman" books if you want to see the original sketches. They show the evolution of characters like Gromit, who was originally supposed to be a cat before Nick Park realized dogs are much easier to sculpt. You can also track the 50th-anniversary events planned for 2026, which will likely include more behind-the-scenes releases on how they're transitioning to new clay materials after the Newplast shortage.