Stop-motion superstars Aardman add two new world records to their collection

The British animation studio Aardman - behind classics like Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run - has earned two brand-new Guinness World Records titles, a quarter of a decade after securing their first.

Aardman was established in 1972 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who began collaborating as teenagers. They got their first glimpse of glory in their founding year when the BBC bought one of their sketches, and since then they’ve become a household name, making entertainment for all the family to enjoy.

Their record collection began in 2000 when their first full-length movie, Chicken Run, became the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film.

The claymation classic still holds the record now, having grossed $227,793,915 (£185 m) worldwide, according to The-Numbers.com.

Expanding their haul of GWR titles, Aardman has set the record for the most claymation feature films made by a studio, which stands at eight as of 7 August.

This total includes Chicken Run (2000); Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005); The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (2012); Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015); Early Man (2018); A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019); Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024).

It is worth noting this figure would increase if the guidelines also acknowledged their short films, such as the Oscar-award-winning Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave (1995).

Sean Clarke, Managing Director of Aardman, told GWR: “These two new Guinness World Records titles build on the incredible legacy of our studio, where we continue to pioneer and innovate our filmmaking to tell unique stories grounded with strong characters, comedy, and craft.

“Aardman now holds a total of five Guinness World Records titles, and we’re proud to share these achievements with our amazing teams, and with the audiences around the world who continue to support and inspire us.”

As well as being recognized for their prolificacy, Aardman has also been named the highest-grossing stop-motion film studio.

Their six theatrical releases in this genre have accumulated a worldwide gross of $756,529,838 (£494 m).

This tally excludes their CGI movies - Flushed Away (2006) and Arthur Christmas (2011) – and their films that went direct to TV or Netflix and therefore didn’t take any money at the box office (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl).

From left to right: Sean Clarke (Managing Director), Sarah Cox (Chief Creative Director) and Peter Lord (Co-founder)

These record titles prove that Aardman are trailblazers in the world of claymation – a form of stop-motion animation in which adjustable clay characters are shot in different positions and made to look like they can move when the frames are played back in quick succession.

Due to the intricacy of this art form, projects require a lot of time and patience.

During the peak production periods of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, a team of 30 animators would only be able to make up to 127 seconds of the film each week.

It took them five weeks to create the 17-second shot of Police Constable Mukherjee on the telephone - the longest scene in the movie.

Thanks to these new records, the Bristol-based studio has gained a coveted spot in Guinness World Records 2026, out in August.

GWR’s Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday said: “Aardman has been breaking records for 25 years, which is a testament to their passion for pushing the boundaries of what's possible with physical, handcrafted animation.”

Aardman’s other records include the most clay used in a feature film (2,844.9 kg; 6,271 lb 14.89 oz) and the largest stop-motion animation set (1,025.04 m²; 11,033 sq ft).

Respectively, this much clay was needed for Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which took five years to make, and the record-breaking set was used for a commercial called Nokia Gulp in 2011, filmed solely on a Nokia N8.