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Aardman (Wallace and Gromit) Is Selling Its Original Movie Puppets

85 points by Gaishan 1mo ago

bcraven 1mo ago
This is a surprising headline for anyone who remembers the huge fire they had in '05: "Curses, Gromit! Fire destroys animation firm's history on eve of box office triumph" https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/11/arts.media https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/11/arts.media
- Symbiote 1mo ago
  > All the sets and figures from the new Wallace and Gromit film are safe because they are being exhibited elsewhere in Bristol. That looks to be what's being auctioned.
Gaishan 1mo ago
I only wish there were more pieces involving one of my favorite villains; Feathers McGraw. Auction link: https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/catalog/id/549?page=1 https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/catalog/id/549?page=1
- unsnap_biceps 1mo ago
  If I had the disposable money, https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/549/lot/212361/Lot-203-Feathers-McGraw-Stop-Motion-Puppet-WALLACE-GROMIT-VENGEANCE-MOST-FOWL-2024 https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/549/l... would have been mine.
- aces98 1mo ago
  So, not quite the same, but if you want some general Wallace and Gromit bits, including little figurines then the Gromit Unleashed shop has you covered <https://gromitunleashedshop.org.uk/collections/available-figurines https://gromitunleashedshop.org.uk/collections/available-fig...>
  - clan 1mo ago
    [dead]
abstractspoon 1mo ago
'Morph' mesmerised me as a child in the 70s
hankbond 1mo ago
Might be a dumb question but are they actually made of clay?
- unsnap_biceps 1mo ago
  some are > Feathers McGraw’s body, including his wicked flippers, is made of clay, crafted over a fully jointed internal metal armature. The red glove he famously wears as a remarkably effective disguise — one that somehow seems to fool Wallace every time — is made of silicone. His eyes are glass pins, while his beak is fast-cast resin. The tea-stained mug he grips is resin. He comes displayed on a wooden base.
- bluehatbrit 1mo ago
  Mostly, yes! They use a very specific clay from a producer which went out of business a few years ago. They've bought up all the stock they can and use that clay for pretty much all of the character puppets, along with other materials. There was a great documentary on the BBC a couple of years back which went behind the scenes and talked about how they make and use the puppets.
  - alt227 1mo ago
    Was it this documentary?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19hF7-nT8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19hF7-nT8g /s
  - esskay 1mo ago
    There has since been another company that has been able to produce the same clay so its now less of an issue.
  - hankbond 1mo ago
    kind of like that japanese chalk producer from 10 years ago that math people were going on about?
- marsx-dev 1mo ago
  It’s interesting that they use such specific materials. Do you think the material itself makes a big difference to how the characters move, or is most of the animation in the armature?
devilfileprong 1mo ago
[dead]
ilamont 1mo ago
Creatively, how is Aardman holding up? I know they had issues working with Hollywood 20 years ago on Flushed Away when it came creative control, and assumed they got their mojo back. But I was disappointed with Chicken Run 2 … I had to bail about halfway through.
- schnevets 1mo ago
  All of the Shaun the Sheep stuff is phenomenal
- nxobject 1mo ago
  It’s certainly money and funding issues, too - Studio Laika with the same paradigm can always draw on Nike founder’s son money during lean times. (This isn’t to diminish the actual quality and artistry of their work!)
vr46 1mo ago
Old enough to remember Morph and Chas, still have a lovely letter from Tony Hart and some postcards. The two things I want are a Feathers McGraw wanted poster and mug
- saltypixel 1mo ago
  [dead]
hermitcrab 1mo ago
Wallace and Gromit have bought a lot of joy to multiple generations of my family. "Curse of the Were-rabbit" is as close to the perfect comedy film as I have seen. Hard to think of any way in which it could be improved.
- ModernMech 1mo ago
  It could be “The Wrong Trousers”, that’s the only way ;P
  - hermitcrab 1mo ago
    "The wrong trousers" is also close to perfect.
waltbosz 1mo ago
> Hugh Grant describes buying an original Morph figure only to have it squashed by his children, meaning he effectively spent £10,000 on a lump of clay. https://screengoblin.com/2021/03/25/a-grand-night-in-the-story-of-aardman/ https://screengoblin.com/2021/03/25/a-grand-night-in-the-sto... He talks about this in he did for an Aardman movie in which he starred. He relayed the story of the squashed Morph to someone at Aardman, who offered to remold the clay back into Morph for him.

85 points by Gaishan 1mo ago

This is a surprising headline for anyone who remembers the huge fire they had in '05: "Curses, Gromit! Fire destroys animation firm's history on eve of box office triumph" https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/11/arts.media https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/11/arts.media

Symbiote 1mo ago
> All the sets and figures from the new Wallace and Gromit film are safe because they are being exhibited elsewhere in Bristol. That looks to be what's being auctioned.

Gaishan 1mo ago

I only wish there were more pieces involving one of my favorite villains; Feathers McGraw. Auction link: https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/catalog/id/549?page=1 https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/catalog/id/549?page=1

unsnap_biceps 1mo ago
If I had the disposable money, https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/549/lot/212361/Lot-203-Feathers-McGraw-Stop-Motion-Puppet-WALLACE-GROMIT-VENGEANCE-MOST-FOWL-2024 https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/549/l... would have been mine.
aces98 1mo ago
So, not quite the same, but if you want some general Wallace and Gromit bits, including little figurines then the Gromit Unleashed shop has you covered <https://gromitunleashedshop.org.uk/collections/available-figurines https://gromitunleashedshop.org.uk/collections/available-fig...>
- clan 1mo ago
  [dead]

abstractspoon 1mo ago

'Morph' mesmerised me as a child in the 70s

hankbond 1mo ago

Might be a dumb question but are they actually made of clay?

unsnap_biceps 1mo ago
some are > Feathers McGraw’s body, including his wicked flippers, is made of clay, crafted over a fully jointed internal metal armature. The red glove he famously wears as a remarkably effective disguise — one that somehow seems to fool Wallace every time — is made of silicone. His eyes are glass pins, while his beak is fast-cast resin. The tea-stained mug he grips is resin. He comes displayed on a wooden base.
bluehatbrit 1mo ago
Mostly, yes! They use a very specific clay from a producer which went out of business a few years ago. They've bought up all the stock they can and use that clay for pretty much all of the character puppets, along with other materials. There was a great documentary on the BBC a couple of years back which went behind the scenes and talked about how they make and use the puppets.
- alt227 1mo ago
  Was it this documentary?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19hF7-nT8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f19hF7-nT8g /s
- esskay 1mo ago
  There has since been another company that has been able to produce the same clay so its now less of an issue.
- hankbond 1mo ago
  kind of like that japanese chalk producer from 10 years ago that math people were going on about?
marsx-dev 1mo ago
It’s interesting that they use such specific materials. Do you think the material itself makes a big difference to how the characters move, or is most of the animation in the armature?

devilfileprong 1mo ago

[dead]

ilamont 1mo ago

Creatively, how is Aardman holding up? I know they had issues working with Hollywood 20 years ago on Flushed Away when it came creative control, and assumed they got their mojo back. But I was disappointed with Chicken Run 2 … I had to bail about halfway through.

schnevets 1mo ago
All of the Shaun the Sheep stuff is phenomenal
nxobject 1mo ago
It’s certainly money and funding issues, too - Studio Laika with the same paradigm can always draw on Nike founder’s son money during lean times. (This isn’t to diminish the actual quality and artistry of their work!)

vr46 1mo ago

Old enough to remember Morph and Chas, still have a lovely letter from Tony Hart and some postcards. The two things I want are a Feathers McGraw wanted poster and mug

saltypixel 1mo ago
[dead]

hermitcrab 1mo ago

Wallace and Gromit have bought a lot of joy to multiple generations of my family. "Curse of the Were-rabbit" is as close to the perfect comedy film as I have seen. Hard to think of any way in which it could be improved.

ModernMech 1mo ago
It could be “The Wrong Trousers”, that’s the only way ;P
- hermitcrab 1mo ago
  "The wrong trousers" is also close to perfect.

waltbosz 1mo ago

> Hugh Grant describes buying an original Morph figure only to have it squashed by his children, meaning he effectively spent £10,000 on a lump of clay. https://screengoblin.com/2021/03/25/a-grand-night-in-the-story-of-aardman/ https://screengoblin.com/2021/03/25/a-grand-night-in-the-sto... He talks about this in he did for an Aardman movie in which he starred. He relayed the story of the squashed Morph to someone at Aardman, who offered to remold the clay back into Morph for him.