Often, when a film fan is watching a stop-motion film from a studio like Aardman, the idea of the actual substance used in the modeling isn’t much of a concern. Is the story good? Is the animation top-notch? Of course it is. So, unless you’re a stop-motion aficionado and someone who wants to know about the nuts and bolts of the production, you aren’t worried about anything else. But, what if I were to tell you that Aardman might have to stop using stop-motion animation after its upcoming 2024 ‘Wallace and Gromit’ film? Why would that be the case? They are literally running out of clay, and without it, they can’t make stop-motion films.
According to a report from The Telegraph, the acclaimed animation studio, Aardman, known for its wildly successful stop-motion features, only has enough clay for one more film, the aforementioned ‘Wallace and Gromit’ feature coming next year. After that, unless there is a new clay being concocted in a lab somewhere, then Aardman is out of luck.
This uncertain, and honestly, tragic, situation came about when the only factory remaining who made Lewis Newplast—the very specific type of clay that Aardman uses in its films—shut down earlier this year. Lewis Newplast apparently is the much preferred clay to use for filming because of how it reacts under the hot lights and intense filming. At the time, the studio came in and bought all the remaining stock, which is only enough for one more film. And, as mentioned above, unless someone out there creates a new formula or starts producing clay that is a suitable replacement, then the days of Aardman making its signature stop-motion films are numbered.
In the meantime, the upcoming “Wallace and Gromit” film isn’t the only chance you’ll get to see this type of animation from Aardman. The studio is prepping the release of “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the highly-anticipated sequel to the original “Chicken Run,” which debuted 23 years ago and is still the highest-grossing stop-motion film ever released. Then after that, the film coming in 2024 could be the swansong.
“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” is set to be released by Netflix on December 15.