producer wallace and gromit's cracking contraptions
Chicken Run is a 2000 stop - motion comedy - drama film produced by the British studio Aardman Animations . As the studio ' s first feature - length film , it was directed by ___MASK85___ and Nick Park . It was co - financed by DreamWorks Pictures and Pathé , with the former distributing the film worldwide except for Europe , where it was handled by Pathé . The plot centres on a band of chickens who see a smooth - talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky as their only hope to escape from certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pot pies . The film features the voices of Julia Sawalha , Mel Gibson , Timothy Spall , Phil Daniels , Tony Haygarth , and Miranda Richardson . " Chicken Run " received positive reviews from critics , and grossed over $ 224 million , becoming the highest - grossing stop motion animated film ever . Wallace and Gromit ' s Cracking Contraptions is a series of ten Wallace and Gromit stop motion animations varying in length from 1 to 3 minutes . Each episode features one of Wallace ' s new inventions and Gromit ' s skeptical reaction to it . The series was produced and released in 2002 by Aardman Animations . Wallace and Gromit is a British clay animation comedy series created by ___MASK25___ of Aardman Animations . The series consists of four short films and a feature - length film . The series centres on Wallace , a good - natured , eccentric , cheese - loving inventor , along with his companion Gromit , a silent yet loyal and intelligent anthropomorphic dog . Wallace was originally voiced by veteran actor Peter Sallis , but as of 2011 , this role has been passed on to Ben Whitehead . Gromit remains silent , communicating only through means of facial expressions and body language . Aardman Animations , Ltd ., also known as Aardman Studios , or simply as Aardman , is a British animation studio based in Bristol . Aardman is known for films made using stop - motion clay animation techniques , particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit . After some experimental computer animated short films during the late 1990s , beginning with " Owzat " ( 1997 ), it entered the computer animation market with " Flushed Away " ( 2006 ). Aardman films have made $ 973 . 2 million worldwide and average $ 163 million per film . All of their stop motion films are among the highest - grossing stop - motion films , with their debut , " Chicken Run ", being their top - grossing film as well as the highest - grossing stop - motion film of all time . Plasticine , a brand of modelling clay , is a putty - like modelling material made from calcium salts , petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids . The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc . Plasticine is used extensively for children ' s play , but also as a modelling medium for more formal or permanent structures . Because of its non - drying property , it is a popular choice of material for stop - motion animation ( including several Oscar - winning films by ___MASK25___ ). The brand - name clay is mentioned in music , such as the " plasticine porters " in " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds " and the song " Plasticine " by Placebo . Flushed Away is a 2006 British - American computer - animated action - adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell , produced by Cecil Kramer , ___MASK81___ , and ___MASK85___ , and written by ___MASK3___ , ___MASK77___ , Chris Lloyd , Joe Keenan and William Davies . It was co - produced by Aardman Animations and DreamWorks Animation , and is Aardman ' s first completely computer - animated feature as opposed to the usual stop - motion . The film stars the voice talents of Hugh Jackman , Kate Winslet , Andy Serkis , Bill Nighy , Ian McKellen , Shane Richie and Jean Reno .