The future of the studio behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run among many other properties could be in doubt due to a shortage of key filming material.
Aardman Animations made their name creating stop-motion short and feature-length films with characters created out of modelling clay.
However, the closure of their only supplier of the material has caused concern for their future.
Newclay Products announced it was it was closing its factory in Newton Abbot, near Torquay, in March this year, The Telegraph reports.
Aardman’s staff moved quickly to buy up all remaining stock of the clay, which was enough to allow them to finish work on a new Wallace and Gromit film set for release next year.
Aardman Animation is running out of clay.
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) November 19, 2023
The factory responsible for providing the studio its materials reportedly shut down.
The studio managed to procure materials for the 2024 ‘WALLACE & GROMIT’ movie.
(Via: @Telegraph) pic.twitter.com/ztkjhtlslB
Due to this specific type of clay they use not being made elsewhere there are questions over the future of the studio's output.
Aardman Animations clay supplier shuts up shop
The directors of Newclay Products, Paul and Valerie Dearing, chose to retire and close their firm earlier this year which came as a shock to many in the world of modelling.
This is because they had grown to rely on the clay originally named Lewis Newplast which Newclay Products made.
"Newplast, a nylon-reinforced air-drying clay, was an ideal modelling material for children as it did not require either the long hours or complication of firing and glazing," The Telegraph wrote.
These properties made it suitable for making models that could be easily manipulated.
Speaking on the closure Mrs Dearing, 67, said: “Aardman bought a lot of our remaining stock of Newplast to keep them going. They got what they said was two years’ worth. It came to about 40 boxes, which must have been around 400 kg.”
Meanwhile, Mr Dearing said: “We ran the business for 16 years and it was thriving, but we couldn’t find anyone who wanted to take over the firm after we retired so we sold off everything.
“It’s always given us both tremendous satisfaction that Aardman used our product. They thought it was the best material of its type in the world.”
In the long run it is expected that Aardman will have to find a new supplier if they are to continue as a studio.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here