Aardman Animations, the studio behind films like Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, is running out of clay – a crisis that could put the “stop†in stop-motion. According to The Telegraph, the studio has used a specific clay called “Lewis Newplast†to create their classic characters since their inception in the early 1970s, but this March the only factory that produced the miracle clay closed down. Naturally, Aardman Animations bought up all of the remaining stock, which was reportedly only enough for one more film – next year’s latest installment to the Wallace and Gromit franchise. So the hunt is on for a replacement clay that can both sustain hot studio lights and be malleable enough to live up to Lewis Newplast’s 50 year reputation.
Thankfully unaffected by the impending clay shortage is the studio’s upcoming long-awaited sequel, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which is set to hit Netflix on December 15. Hopefully it proves worthy of all the precious clay used during its production.