Aardman Turns 50, But Its Annecy Presentation Was All About The Future

One of the first significant events of Annecy 2026 featured one of the world’s most celebrated studios. Aardman Animations took to the Grande Salle stage to celebrate 50 years as an animation house, complete with nostalgic recollections from founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton, fresh off their knighthoods and celebratory British currency minting, and Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park.

The panel wasn’t completely sepia-toned, however, with the studio wheeling out plenty of exclusives on upcoming projects. Here are the main takeaways from the event.

Let’s Go Timmy!

A spin-off of a spin-off is always a good idea in the IP era, and Aardman has gotten in on the act. Let’s Go Timmy! (pictured above) focuses on a side character in the Shaun the Sheep universe, with Shaun himself being an extension of Wallace & Gromit’s world. Aimed at preschoolers and distributed through the BBC, Let’s Go Timmy! is most significant for its heavy use of 2D animation alongside the stop-frame work you’d expect from Aardman.

Cox explained, “We use 2D to see the world through Timmy’s eyes, and even Bitzer, who’s got to watch over him, gets absorbed into the joy and beauty of the moment.” The 2D elements in Let’s Go Timmy! take on a wonderfully innocent crayon feel, unlike anything we’ve seen from the studio before.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Horror-inspired Aardman features seem to come along only once every couple of decades, but when they do, they’re usually great. Following on from the influences behind Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Mossy Bottom dips into the Hammer Horror catalog and covers its tropes in clay. “It’s the biggest shoot in the fastest time that we’ve ever done,” stated Cox. “Because the crew worked so hard, we’re delighted that it’s going to have a cinematic release.”

Footage shown depicted a delicious Aardman twist on the home invasion trope, with the titular Beast bumbling its way through the farmer’s home. Collaborating with StudioCanal internationally and Sky in the U.K., Mossy Bottom hits cinemas in mid-September.

The (Almost) Untold Story of Danger Delilah

The second completely new announcement from the presentation was Danger Delilah, a project with a seemingly distinct art direction. Very little was shown, and it was not clarified whether what was presented was concept art, but the hand-drawn poster by Irish illustrator Oliver Jeffers hints at another project that aims for a more mixed-media approach. With direct involvement from Peter Lord, the story follows a girl who learns that she isn’t the main character of her own story as the world around her begins to disappear.

Based on the art shown, the project feels significantly more YA than Aardman typically goes for. The project has just completed initial development and is ready to be pitched.

The Aardman crew was also joined by The Pokémon Company to share new details about Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu, which we covered in more detail here.