Considering that Aardman Animation enjoys the same level of respect in Britain's animated circles that Pixar does in the U.S., it's not surprising that their product dominated the nominee list at this year's British Animation Awards.
Shaun the Sheep Up for Best Children's Series Award
The Bristol-based stop-motion studio, best known for their Wallace and Gromit films, received 4 nominations for the awards, including a Best Children's Series nod for the Shaun the Sheep episode "Still Life." The dialog-free show, about an errant sheep who exhibits human creativity and intelligence, has been a highly-rated fixture on the CBBC since March of 2007.
Shaun the Sheep is up against the KNTV Philosophy episode "Smith," and The Secret Show's "Flick the Switch."
Aardman got two additional nominations (Best Short Film and Craft Award) for The Pierce Sisters, a film that follows two lonely sisters who live by the sea. It competes against The Old, Old, Very Old Man and Yours Truly in the Best Short Film category, and is against Adjustment and Dreams and Desires' "Family Ties" in the Craft category.
The studio's The Peculiar Adventures of Hector also received a nod in the Best New Media category, competing against C'Mons' "Red Viral" and Heavenly Sword.
Tim Burton Nominated for Sweeney Todd
Tim Burton, whose 2006 stop-motion film Corpse Bride won a BAA at the previous ceremony, is up for Best Film and TV graphics with his horror musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The Oscar-nominated movie stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as a barber and meat pie maker in an unholy alliance. Sweeney Todd is getting noticed by the British Animated Awards for its opening credit sequence, which depicts the gory plot in animated form.
"The mix of nominees for the 2008 awards reflects the diversity of the work that makes the UK such a powerhouse in the international animation scene," said British Animation Awards director Jayne Pilling, during the nominations announcement.
The British Animation Awards are held once every two years. This year's winners will be announced March 13 at a ceremony at London's National Film Theatre, hosted by squeaky-voiced television comedian Joe Pasquale.
Fun Fact: Shaun the Sheep started as a minor character on the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit animated short film, A Close Shave. In the 1995 short, the sheep was accidentally sucked into Wallace's latest invention, the Knit-o-Matic, and had all his fleece taken off. After the incident, Wallace named him 'Shaun,' a verbal pun since 'Shaun' is pronounced 'shorn' in certain areas of England.
Shaun the Sheep later appeared in 2002 Cracking Contraptions episode entitled "Shopper 13," trying to rescue a runaway wheel of cheese.
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