Disney Channel in the U.S. has picked up the award-winning clay-animated children’s series Shaun the Sheep from Aardman Animations, producer of the Oscar-winning feature film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, as well as Chicken Run and Flushed Away. The internationally successful show last week won the Cristal Award as Best TV Production at the Annecy Animated Film Festival, and will premiere in prime time on Disney Channel on Sunday, July 8th. The property has sold to primary broadcasters in 145 territories including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, India, France, Benelux, Japan, and Latin America.
Made for kids 5-10, Shaun the Sheep follows the comedic misadventures of a young sheep who leads his barnyard buddies into all sorts of funny and calamitous situations, turning peace in the valley into mayhem in the meadow. The Shaun character was first introduced in director Nick Park’s Oscar-winning 1995 animated Wallace & Gromit short, A Close Shave, and has finally landed a starring role in his own series. He’s surrounded by such funny animal pals as the Naughty Pigs and Timmy the baby lamb. Together, they run rings around their hapless sheepdog, Bitzer, as he tries to stop the Farmer from finding out what’s going on behind his back.
Bristol-based Aardman Animations produces feature films, television series, and television commercials for the domestic and international markets. The company’s debut feature film, Chicken Run, grossed more than $225 million worldwide and led to two other feature collaborations with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman is now working with Sony Pictures to produce a slate of animated features as its critically acclaimed series, Creature Comforts, entertains audiences in the U.S. with a new Americanized version airing on CBS.
