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Dustin: welcome to another Top 10 list everyone, now when you think of stop motion a lot of examples come to mind be it movies like the original King Kong or The Adventures of Mark Twain or amazing people who worked on movies or commercials with stop motion in them like Ray Harryhausen & Will Vinton or even Tim Burton & Henry Sellick but when most people think Stop Motion the first they think of is the UK based studio Aardman

Ken: Established on April 12, 1972 in Bristol, England, Aardman started out providing animated segments to Vision On, a British show aimed at deaf children. Then, they created their own series of shorts called "Morph". But it wouldn't be until the 1980's that the company really took off.

Dustin: oh yes this company has grown a lot over the years since their early years not only with shorts but TV shows, movies, commercials and of course a beloved franchise which we'll talk about soon but let's go over Aardman's animations and see what are the best for this list we're going all in from Aardman we're looking at shorts, movies, series, if it has the Aardman name on it it'll be on this list so be ready this is the Top 10 Aardman Projects

Ken: And with the exception of what Dustin just foreshadowed, this was not an easy list to make, especially with the sheer number of things the studio has made.

Dustin: indeed so let's begin with a short series they made for Nickelodeon in the mid 2000's

Number 10: The Presentators [Series, 2003-2004]

Ken: These were a series of wrap-around segments on Nickelodeon, focusing on these three characters, Brian, Dan, and Stefan, who were actually named after the animators who made this. However, this wouldn't be the first time they showed up. Two years prior, they appeared in a short called "The Deadline", in which they were running behind on their next project and had to throw something together last minute.

Dustin: i remember seeing these shorts a lot on Nicktoons when i was younger [back when that channel was actually legit than a graveyard for non Spongebob shows where they go to silently die] they were pretty funny at times as it's three monsters in front of a camera with a really messy desk with the Nickelodeon splat on the wall [which changed to Nicktoons' space splat and later Nicktoons Network] and a few Nick cards on this desk one of them having Spongebob on it one of the shorts i remember is the one where Dan tastes three cakes one of them having 57 chilis in it X3

Ken: Simple, yet fun. And really, with how Claymation is, most folks can really only work with short and simple. But from here on out, we're getting to bigger and more ambitious projects. Starting with...

Number 9: Not Without My Handbag [Short, 1993]

Dustin: now when you first look at this short you'd think it's something made by Tim Burton at least for me but this is not the case in this short an aunt of a little girl received a bill informing her that she didn't make any payments for her washing machine her punishment? she gets sent to hell by Satan!

Ken: Harsh. However, she heads back because she doesn't have a proper handbag. Odd priorities when you've essentially sold your soul for a honkin' washing machine.

Dustin: so 6 months later the aunt comes back to life only now she's a zombified skeleton

Girl: my aunt is a zombie from hell!

Dustin: oh the days of childish cursing in cartoons is long gone much like the word Jackass in Looney Tunes anyways Satan tries to get the aunt back to hell he does so by... eating and disguising himself as her handbag

Ken: The girl catches him, but is then abducted and tortured at the washing machine that started all this. When the Aunt calls this handbag a "cheap imitation", he tries to drag her back to Hell again.

Dustin: then the girl runs to the city to a bakery, buys everything onto a trolley, goes back to the house and the devil handbag eats everything until he explodes! okay not an epic death but still interesting afterwards the aunt decides to go back to her grave since she now has her handbag back and can now rest in peace as she says goodbye to her niece this was an interesting short i remember seeing this in an Aardman collection DVD called Creature Comforts and Other Shorts and this was an interesting short to see it's in a way Burtonesque due to it's tone and style and the characters look more plastic than clay mostly

Ken: Funny you should mention that.

Number 8: Creature Comforts [Series, 2003-2011]

Ken: A spin-off the 1989 short film of the same name, Creature Comforts is a mockumentary series that essentially imitates the idea of the "man on the street" interviews, but does it with animals. While the original short film did this exclusively with zoo animals, the series branches out a bit.

Dustin: now the short i mostly remember the most as it was Nick Park and Aardman's first Oscar in Best Animated Short but from what i see with this show it really did branch out more as i can see they interview animals in houses, neighborhoods, gardens, even a dog track they even interview bugs like flies! and there was apparently an episode where they interviewed aliens!

Ken: Like I said. Branching out. This even got an Americanized version that aired on Animal Planet. And it's a better case of Americanization than Doogal. Mostly because it's just rerecorded lines from American actors, and not drowning in awful pop culture references.

Dustin: interesting if i ever find that i'll check that out sometime :)

Number 7: Wat's Pig [Short, 1996]

Dustin: coming from the same Creature Comforts DVD as Not Without my Handbag is this interesting little short in this one a twin from a royal family was kidnapped one night and while the thief runs off he drops the twin who is called Wat in the forest and a pig finds him it then cuts to years later where we see the twins living separate lives Wat living a simple farm life with his pig and the royal twin being lazy and enjoying the lap of luxury with this split screen effect they used here

Ken: What's worse, is that the Prince's arrogance leads to starting a war with another lord just because he doesn't want to share any land. But the Prince is too lazy to lead the troops or even step onto the battlefield himself, so Wat decides to go to the castle to get him off his high horse, with his pig helping him get inside the castle.

Dustin: soon after sneaking in as one of the army Wat goes to war but their side loses as Wat is the only survivor with the flag destroyed Wat then noticed his pig is in the castle about to become a feast so he goes back into the castle to save him while the royal twin tries to deal with some rather upset villagers in the castle after the war was lost and the army of the other kingdom is approaching it's then that both Wat and the royal twin are reunited as their mother shows Wat was the twin that was kidnapped long ago

Ken: The royal twin decides to pull the ol' 'Prince and Pauper' thing, having Wat do the hard work and rally the troops to drive back the invaders. With peace restored, Wat decides to show his brother how to do hard work properly, which may take some time.

Dustin: yeah especially since the castle has been destroyed and the royal family now lives in Wat's farm shack XD now we move onto something a little different from Aardman but before we do so Ken will explain what happened to Aardman before this movie came out

Ken: In 2005, a fire broke out in a studio warehouse, destroying most of their props and figures. While it wasn't as big a tragedy as the KyoAni fire from a couple years ago, it lead to Aardman taking a different direction with this next entry...

Number 6: Flushed Away [Movie, 2006]

Ken: Aardman's first entry into CGI after the loss of their warehouse, but not a bad one. The story focuses on Roddy St. James, a rat living as a pet in a Kensington flat, unceremoniously flushed down the toilet by an unwanted guest after his owners leave on holiday. He ends up in Ratopolis, a rat-sized version of London in the sewers, and seeks the help of Rita Malone, captain of a scavenger boat called the "Jammy Dodger", to get home. Along the way, they find themselves pursued by the minions of The Toad, a dangerous, Kingpin-esque amphibian who has an evil plan to wipe out the city.

Dustin: for this being Aardman's first CG movie it was pretty cool and they even learned how to do computer animation with this similar to another movie where they learned to make Stop Motion features but that's for later and this movie was done so they wouldn't deal with stop motion related issues like water and all that

Ken: It's not exactly the best movie they've made, but it's still really good. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet do a great job as Roddy and Rita, and Sir Ian McKellen as the Toad really works. There are other great characters here, most of them being the Toad's main lackeies, Spike and Whitey, and his French cousin, Le Frog. Also, throughout the movie, we get these singing slugs that show up at certain points, acting as a sort-of Greek Chorus for the movie.

Dustin: yeah however after this movie it made Dreamworks lose a lot of money and along with creative differences both studios parted ways there would have been another movie they would have worked on based on Roald Dahl's The Twits which would have gotten John Cleese to co-write the movie but Dreamworks kept the rights and they would later make that movie into The Croods which got a sequel late last year

Ken: Guess they can't all be gems. But let's move on to another movie. We'll come back to DreamWorks later.

Number 5: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!/The Pirates! Band of Misfits [Movie, 2012]

Dustin: before Sony got too overreliant on Hotel Transylvnia as a franchise, was involved in the infamous Sony Hack which cost some good movie ideas including their animated Popeye movie with Genndy Tartakovsky and of course that horrible movie about Emoji's Aardman actually made a stop motion feature with them which is one pretty funny movie in this one we're introduced to a pirate captain and his band of misfits as they meet Charles Darwin who is interested in their dodo who at first was thought to be a parrot

Ken: This is actually based on a series of books called, well, "The Pirates!", even being named after the first book, and the script being written by the author, Gideon DeFoe. It's an entertaining movie that made a great return for Claymation at a time where CGI ruled the animated movie scene. Though, it does take liberties with history. A lot.

Dustin: oh yes indeed but it's still funny and i love it it also had it's own share of americanizing not just on the name since apparently "scientist" is not a word Hollywood thinks is cool but they also changed voice actors too such as one pirate being voiced by everyone's favorite weatherman Al Roker

Ken: It actually did somewhat well at the box office, too. I'd love to see more adventures with the Pirate Captain someday, but given how arduous Claymation, and stop-motion as a whole, can be, it might be a pipe. Maybe I'll just look into the books.

Number 4: Shaun the Sheep [Series, 2007-Present]

Ken: Originating as a major character in the Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave, Shaun the Sheep ended up becoming one of the studio's most popular characters. Mainly as the start of his own series of shorts.

Dustin: the show is pretty much like it's own thing it's about Shaun on a farm with a bunch of sheep and they do a lot of random things under the eye of the watchdog there it's a lot of fun there's no dialogue, mostly baaing, growling and sometimes a few mumbles from the farmer but it's still a fun watch especially since it got it's own spinoff with Timmy Time and two movies

Ken: Though, the lack of any dialogue actually helps us pay closer attention to what's happening on screen. Let's us figure out the plot for ourselves. It makes us better enjoy the antics of Shaun, Bitzer, Shirley, Timmy, the Farmer, and the rest of the characters. I mean, even Nintendo contributed to a short.

Dustin: wow that's pretty cool :) here's hoping for more Shaun :)

Number 3: Sledgehammer [Music Video, Peter Gabriel, 1986]

Dustin: okay yeah i'm cheating because this is a music video but Aardman did work on this along with the Brothers Quay and it's a fun music video too especially since Nick Park started his career at Aardman with this even though it was a brief scene with dancing chickens

Ken: And it's not the only music video they've done either. They also did work on vids for Tina Turner, the Spice Girls, Coldplay, and.... Justin Bieber?

JonTron: Whyyy?

Ken: Regardless, this one needs to take spot because of Nick Park alone.

Dustin: indeed without Nick we wouldn't have our top spots which number 2 is... :)

Number 2: Chicken Run [Movie, 2000]

Ken: Imagine "The Great Escape", but starring chickens. That's basically this movie. I mean, Tweedy's Farm looks heavily like a concentration camp, so it works.

Dustin: this is basically Aardman's first movie collaboration with new movie company Dreamworks before they'd be a formidable rival to Disney with the release of Shrek and this movie brought out a bunch of firsts this was Aardman's first feature film with Stop Motion and because of this movie alone we got a new category for the Academy Awards the next year being Best Animated Feature which of course gave Dreamworks the first ever win of that category with Shrek

Ken: It focuses on Ginger, leader of a group of chickens who tries to escape this very unethical egg farm, run by the cruel Mrs. Tweedy and her bumbling oaf of a husband. When Rocky, a 'Flying Rooster' from an American circus, voiced by Mel Gibson, lands in the farm, Ginger gets the idea of flying over the fence. But they have little time, as Mrs. Tweedy plans on turning all the chickens into chicken pot pies.

Dustin: this movie is a lot of fun and i have good memories of it maybe i should see it again sometime but first before we get to Number 1 it's time we go into some honorable mentions

Honorable Mention #1: Chevron Cars [Commercials, 1995-Present]

Dustin: in 1995 the American based gas company Chevron decided to team up with Aardman to make a few commercials featuring a bunch of living cars as they talk about Chevron with Techron and how good it is for your car's engine and all that since Techron was brand new at the time, think Creature Comforts mixed with Thomas the Tank Engine but with cars it was so popular the cars were even given a toyline a full year later and ran from 1996 till 2010 a new car would be released last year however with Trent Techron to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the cars and for a while the Chevron cars were part of Disneyland's Autopia as not only were there 4 exclusive cars based on the Autopia cars but there were also a few animated preshow walls with some Chevron cars these would be replaced later on when Honda became the new sponsor

Ken: Very classic.

Honorable Mention #2: Arthur Christmas [Movie, 2011]

Ken: Not the best Sony/Aardman collab, but the ideas, the message, and its Christmas spirit still make it a must watch. Besides, it's better than a certain other Sony Pictures Christmas movie.

Dustin: i haven't seen it myself yet but i'll take your word for it :-)

Number 1: Wallace & Gromit [Franchise, 1989-Present]

Dustin: admit it you knew Wallace & Gromit were going to be on this list i mean it's the only thing most people associate the company with ever since it first came out but let's go back to where it all started first when Nick Park brought the characters to Aardman and made them global stars after working on them on his own for a few years

Ken: It all began in 1989 with A Grand Day Out, in which a Cheese-loving inventor named Wallace, and his dog Gromit, build a rocket to collect cheese from the Moon. They'd make other short film appearances that really helped define them. 1993's The Wrong Trousers, and 1995's A Close Shave.

Dustin: these shorts aside from A Grand Day Out would be major Oscar winners and even started a global popularity later it got an Oscar winning animated feature with Dreamworks with The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a few mini shorts with Cracking Contraptions, a fourth main short with A Matter of Loaf & Death, and a mini series called Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention which was the last project to involve Peter Sallis as Wallace before his passing in 2017

Ken: They even had a few video games, like Project Zoo, and a tie-in game for Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but the best of all of them is Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures by Telltale Games, recently brought to Steam after being unavailable for years.

Dustin: oh yes and the franchise is still going strong to this day so much so that even Hayao Miyazaki one of the most well known and legendary Japanese animators out there is a big fan of Wallace & Gromit

Kentaro: Like Mickey Mouse to Disney, Wallace & Gromit may not be Aardman's first property, but it is what defines the company. I look forward to seeing more of them in the future.

Dustin: yeah Aardman really is quite big as of right now their next big movie plan is a sequel to Chicken Run after over 20 years but we'll see how that goes first

Ken: Until then, we'll see you later.

~skullz & Ken out