Aardman the legendary stop motion studio located in Bristol UK has just been announced to be working with Netflix on their next production. The production is titled “Robin Robin” and will be it’s first stop motion animated musical. The adventure is to take place in the forest where a baby bird is raised by a family of mice. As the robin grows it tries to fit into the life style of the mice but is unable due to its nature. She tries to puff herself up to look like a mouse but finds it nearly impossible to sneak into houses or steal food. Though she loves cheese, she is just no able to be a mouse. However, she finds that her unique features give her advantages in other ways and this plays out in the film to show that diversity is a good thing.
The production is supposedly going to run for 30 minutes and be shown on Netflix. The film is to be directed by Daniel Ojari and Mikey Please and they also wrote the screenplay with Sam Morrison. The Guardian broke the story today and was able to speak with Aardmans managing director who told them “It’s a bit like The Ugly Duckling meets Oliver Twist. An egg fortuitously rolls into a rubbish dump. The robin hatches and is raised by a family of mice. The robin grows up trying to act like a mouse. She fluffs her feathers to look like a mouse and enjoys the delights of cheese – but she can’t sneak into houses.”
Please added to this by saying in the Guardian interview “We establish a world in which woodland creatures stick to their own and difference is something to be wary of. Robin learns that the thing that makes her different is actually a benefit for her and for others. The music plays with that idea; when varying tones overlay each other, they harmonise into something more beautiful.”
Aardman will be going in a different direction then their prior stop motion productions by instead of using plasticine clay they will be using felt/fabric puppets. Sarah Cox Aardmans creative director said in her Guardian interview, “We’re trying to get a crafted, handmade look in a very professional way. Robin will have an armature and a resin core body, covered with felt. The look is quite different from previous Aardman characters. They won’t be made from Plasticine. But it will feel reassuringly Aardman in its sensibility and its character-driven comedy.”
This production is a major shift from not just the traditional medium used by Aardman but also in their collaboration with long time production partners the BBC. One of the reason for this is that the BBC is going through a financial restructuring and are finding it harder and harder to compete with internet media giants Netflix. Netflix is able to distribute the film internationally and this is an advantage over traditional media outlets. Aardman has said however that they will still be making productions with the BBC in the future but they had to go with Netflix for this specific venture.
Aardman is currently in the beginning stages of production for the 30 minute film which is slotted for a December 2020 release. They are anticipating a star studded super cast of celebrities and will be making announcements throughout the year about the coming production. We look forward to seeing this production in December 2020 and are excited by a whole new chapter in the Aardman history book.
You can read the original source article at the Guardian website: LINK
Works Cited:
Alberge, Dalya. “Hold the Plasticine: Aardman’s New Look for Musical Made with Netflix.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Nov. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/22/a-grand-way-out-wallace-gromit-makers-ditch-bbc-for-netflix-film?fbclid=IwAR3jydMqtT98pGKNLSjEzqLtfJhH85GCAyLWcB31jSAALmovUXlm9aoEqiA.
