There’s been plenty of unique Pokémon projects released both in the gaming and entertainment space, but an collaboration with Aardman looks like it could be the weirdest, and possibly even best.
Aardman is an iconic stop-motion animation studio that has become a sensation for its productions which include Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep. Now the team is taking those talents into a new world: Pokémon.
On Dec. 11, 2024, it was announced that The Pokémon Company is teaming up with Aardman on an project. While the project was giving the mysterious monicker “special project,” no further details were shared. All we know is that it’s currently scheduled to land in 2027.
The Pokémon Company International VP of Marketing Taito Okiura shared a statement regarding the new partnership with Variety, calling it a “dream” and sharing respect for everything that the iconic animation studio has accomplished.
“This is a dream partnership for Pokémon. Aardman are masters of their craft, and we have been blown away by their talent and creativity. What we have been working on together ensures our global Pokémon fans are in for a treat!”
Aardman also shared their statement on the partnership echoing much of the same respect and desire to create something unique for audiences. Their managing director, Sean Clarke said:
“It’s a huge honour to be working with The Pokémon Company International — we feel sincerely privileged to be trusted with bringing their characters and world to life in a brand-new way. Bringing together Pokémon, the world’s biggest entertainment brand, together with our love of craft, character and comedic storytelling feels incredibly exciting. Aardman and TPCi share an emphasis on heritage and attention to detail as well as putting our fans and audiences at the heart of what we do, which we know will steer us right as we together create charming, original and new stories for audiences around the world.”
It’s anyone’s guess what this special project will be or where it will be shared, but given that both parties have contracts with Netflix that would seem like the perfect spot for it to land. Aardman will be releasing their next big film Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl on the platform in early 2025.
This won’t be the further jump into stop motion for the Pokémon franchise. Pokémon Concierge was a stop-motion series that was released on Netflix in 2023 to positive reviews. This series was animated by Dwarf Studios, so the project will be the first time that Aardman has been given the keys to the intellectual property.
2027 might seem like a far distance away, and that’s because it is. However, given the animation studio’s track record, having extra time to work on projects has only resulted in some of the best stop-motion movies ever made, so it’s probably a bonus that Aardman will have so long to work.
The good news is that there will be no shortage of new content for Pokémon fans in the meantime. The next major release for the franchise will be Pokémon Legends: Z-A which is set to be released in 2025, but on the anime front, Pokémon Horizons is still going strong bringing fans fresh stories from the Paldea region each week.
If you aren’t familiar with Aardman the best place to start is by watching Chicken Run and its sequel Dawn of the Nugget, which are available to stream right now on Netflix. This should give you plenty of familiarity with the studio’s signature style and what you should expect this project to look and feel like. Expect more information to be shared in the coming months.
Published: Dec 12, 2024 06:03 am