Advanced Television

Aardman movie exclusive for Netflix

November 22, 2019

By Nik Roseveare

Aardman Studios, the celebrated British production house behind the likes of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun The Sheep, has ended a longstanding relationship with the BBC and is working on a new short movie exclusively for Netflix.

The new movie – a 30 minute musical – is entitled Robin Robin and will tell the story of baby robin redbreast named Robin who, after hatching in a rubbish dump, is raised by a loving family of mice. As she grows up, her differences become more apparent.

“It’s a beautifully crafted stop-frame musical that immediately feels classic whilst being groundbreaking and modern,” commented Sarah Cox, Executive Producer of the feature.

Robin Robin is currently in production at Aardman’s studio in the UK and will debut on Netflix in time for the 2020 holiday season.

“Together with Aardman, we’re thrilled to celebrate and introduce new generations of families around the world to the craft of stop motion animation through Robin Robin, a magical tale that warms the heart and can be enjoyed by the whole family,” commented Alexi Wheeler, Manager of Kids and Family International Originals at Netflix.

Director Sean Clarke, speaking to The Guardian, said that the decision to go with Netflix rather than the BBC with the movie was a financial one. “[…] Netflix has the ability to buy for the whole world rather than just the UK. Everything we’ve done with Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit has been done with the BBC, but BBC budgets are under pressure. The last one we did was probably four or five years ago. The BBC would have loved to have taken Robin Robin. But they weren’t in a position to afford it,” he commented.

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