LEGO, Aardman Launch Stop-Motion Challenge With New Clay Alien Character

The Lego Group is teaming up with Aardman Animations, the stop-motion studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep, on a new project encouraging kids to combine brick-building with filmmaking.

The partnership’s first step is a creative challenge in the Lego Play app, where kids can make and share short stop-motion stories. Some submissions may be featured in an official Aardman project.

Aardman has created a one-minute short to introduce the challenge, although it appears to only be available on the Lego store website, so we can’t embed it here yet. In it, Boop, a clay alien, finds themself transported into a Lego world and befriends a group of minifigures. The film ends without resolution, inviting kids to decide what happens next.

Over the coming months, Lego and Aardman will release five mini stop-motion challenges, starting with “Build Your Own Boop.” Director Magda Osinska will also lead an online workshop on Lego.com, supported by tutorials from fan creators.

Anna Rafferty, Lego Group’s SVP of digital consumer engagement, said in a release: “To work with the iconic Aardman Animations is incredibly exciting, and we’re thrilled to see our two brands inspiring kids in this way for the first time. We hope young builders find this a unique opportunity and, together with Aardman, we’re excited to explore more opportunities to collaborate together in the future.”

Aardman chief creative officer Sarah Cox added: “It is safe to say that at Aardman we are all huge fans of the Lego Group – so to get to collaborate with our dream partners has been a complete joy. Our partnership has been one of mutual respect, openness, and a shared commitment to creativity and play, which unites the brick and the clay.”

Animations for the challenge can be submitted through the Lego Play app by members of the free Lego Insiders Club, which also provides exclusive content, avatar customization, and build-sharing tools.