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Aardman Signs with HITHIT Entertainment is New Licensing Rep for British Studio
Aardman Animation, best known for Wallace & Gromit , has signed a licensing and distribution deal with HIT Entertainment, which will manage its licensing and DVD rights.
It didn't take long for Aardman Animation to find new partners and get back into the North American market. The Bristol-based studio announced that it has signed a deal with HIT Entertainment, a company best known for controlling the licensing for such kiddie properties as Thomas the Tank Engine and Barney. HIT will control the licensing and home entertainment rights for several of Aardman 's animated properties, including Wallace and Gromit and the kiddie-oriented Shaun the Sheep. Aardman's products have a small, but very devoted following, in North America. Wallace & Gromit Prestige Properties“We are delighted at the prospect of partnering with HIT in the U.S. and Canada on these our two most precious properties," said Stephen Moore, the COO of Aardman Animation. "Their talent in managing top international brands will give Shaun and Wallace & Gromit a great springboard for tremendous success.” Aardman had previously signed a North American deal with DreamWorks Animation back in 1999. Their collaboration had started promisingly enough with 2000's Chicken Run, but ran into trouble when the two studios started wrangling over Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. DreamWorks didn't think much of actor Peter Sallis, who had voiced Wallace since 1989, and wanted Aardman to replace him with someone North American audiences would recognize. For their part, Aardman refused to pink-slip the veteran voice actor but compromised by casting familiar Brit thespians like Helena Bonham-Carter (Corpse Bride) and Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) in important roles. Despite winning the 2006 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and over 100 other awards, Curse of the Were-Rabbit did disappointing business in North America, making only $56 million. Last Collaboration with DreamWorksThings went rapidly downhill when Aardman and DreamWorks were working on their last collaboration, the all-CGI Flushed Away. Battles over script and animation changes caused the film's costs to spiral out of control, resulting in a $145 million budget. Despite solid reviews, Flushed Away bombed at the box office, not even coming close to making back its costs in theatres. DreamWorks had to apply for a $109 million tax write-down to cover Flushed Away's costs, and the studio and Aardman announced they were splitting up shortly thereafter. Back in April, Aardman announced they were in the final stages of inking a 3-year, first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Aardman also announced that they are working on an as-yet untitled Wallace & Gromit "project" (not sure if it's a movie or another short), which is scheduled for a late 2008 release.
The copyright of the article Aardman Signs with HIT in International Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Aardman Signs with HIT in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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