Aardman Announces New Preschool Series 'Very Small Creatures'
Through more than four decades of shorts, specials, features and TV series Aardman Animation have established itself as one of the most successful studios in Europe. The beloved British studio has been expanding beyond its traditional partner the BBC lately and is producing work for Netflix and ITV. In their newest project, they are working with Sky, the Comcast owned broadcaster.
Sky Kids has commissioned Very Small Creatures, which will be Aardman's first preschool series since Timmy Time, the Shaun The Sheep spin-off first aired in 2009. Unlike the recently announced Lloyd Of The Flies, Very Small Creatures will be produced in stop-motion "with occasional visual flourishes."
The initial commission is for 20 episodes that will run for three minutes each. Aardman describes the series:
The Very Small Creatures is about five genderless, toddler-like clay creatures who explore a child’s play area when no one’s around. In each episode Pink, Blue, Orange, Yellow and Green explore their surroundings and, through play, learn about the world around them, each other, and themselves. The themes of each episode relate to an aspect of toddler’s lives, from learning about relationships, teamwork and empathy, to understanding each other’s differences. Whilst comedy is at the forefront of The Very Small Creatures, it is a show with a lot of heart. Characters show emotions such as jealousy and impatience, but ultimately, they are five friends who care about each other and act with kindness.
Although the series may be brand new, it has a strong connection with the studio's past. The Very Small Creatures first appeared back in the 80s alongside one of Aardman's first successes Morph. The mischievous blobs have appeared alongside Morph in numerous shorts and episodes, most recently appearing in his latest series The Epic Adventures of Morph.
Morph initially appeared in segments as part of the BBC children's art program Take Hart, alongside the late great Tony Hart in 1977. He subsequently appeared in Take Hart's successors Hartbeat and SMart and started in three spin-off series of his own. In 2016 Aardman signed a deal with Sky to create new Morph material.
Very Small Creatures will be directed by Aardman's Lucy Izzard. In the past, Izzard has directed shorts for organisations including the NSPCC, Cat's Protection and The Gates Foundation as well as working for Disney Junior.
The series will debut in November 2021 on Sky Kids and the NOW streaming service.
