cast_member wallace and gromit's cracking contraptions
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 . Nicholas Wulstan " Nick " Park , CBE ( born 6 December 1958 ) is an ___MASK62___ director , writer , and animator best known as the creator of " Wallace and Gromit " and " Shaun the Sheep ". Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of six times , and won four with " Creature Comforts " ( 1989 ), " The Wrong Trousers " ( 1993 ), " A Close Shave " ( 1995 ), and "" ( 2005 ). He has also received five BAFTA Awards , including the BAFTA for Best Short Animation for " A Matter of Loaf and Death ", which was also the most watched television programme in the UK in 2008 . His 2000 film " Chicken Run " is the highest - grossing stop motion animated film . ___MASK93___ , OBE ( born 1 February 1921 ) is an ___MASK62___ actor , well known for his work on British television . He gained worldwide fame as the voice of Wallace in the Academy Award - honored " Wallace and Gromit " films . Wallace and Gromit is a British clay animation comedy series created by ___MASK77___ 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 ___MASK93___ , but as of 2011 , this role has been passed on to ___MASK96___ . Gromit remains silent , communicating only through means of facial expressions and body language . Stop motion ( hyphenated stop - motion when used as an adjective ) is an animation technique that physically manipulates an object so that it appears to move on its own . The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames , creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a fast sequence . Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning . Stop motion animation using plasticine is called clay animation or " clay - mation ". Not all stop motion requires figures or ___MASK78___ ; many stop motion films can involve using humans , household appliances and other things for comedic effect . Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation . 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 ___MASK77___ ). 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 , David Sproxton , and ___MASK64___ Lord , and written by Dick Clement , Ian La Frenais , 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 ___MASK41___ , ___MASK97___ , ___MASK24___ , Bill Nighy , Ian McKellen , Shane Richie and Jean Reno . 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 ___MASK64___ Lord 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 ___MASK25___ , 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 .